Law - Copyright

Copyright laws are established within the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Copyright is a branch of intellectual property law which protects the products of people’s skill, creativity, labour or time. The laws on copyright allow the creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts and films the rights to control the ways in which their material may be used. This law covers any of these creations being broadcast, performed, copied, adapted, issued and rented to the public. When someone has created something, it is likely that they will have the right to be identified as the author and to establish any alterations or distortions to their work. For any work to be protected by the laws of copyright that product must pass the test of originality.

Having the right of copyright is automatic, and happens once an individual or a company creates a work. Works should be original and should show a degree of labour, skill or judgement.
An idea of something would not be protected by copyright, but once that book has been written, the content of that will be protected. Once something has been created using a number of aspects such as the use of colours or phrases then the laws of copyright will protect that product. However just the colour or phrase used will not be protected.

The owner of any work created can vary on the situation. In most situations, the owner is the author of the work, and this person is known as the ‘first owner of copyright’ under the 1988 Act. When a work has been produced under the employment of a company, then the owner will be the company who that person works for.

Reproduction of a substantial part of a copyright work may constitute infringement. When a work is protected by the laws of copyright, it is an offence to; copy the work, rent or issue copies to the public, broadcast the work to the public or adapt the work without the consent of the owner.

With regards to news stories, there is no copyright in facts and information. Copyright does exist however in the form of which the information is expressed by the writer and the selection and arrangement of the material because all of these aspects involve skill and labour. The defence of Fair Dealing can be used when reporting current stories, as this allows using some quotes from another paper, providing the use is accompanied by sufficient acknowledgement of the work and its author. This requirement is only necessary when it is being provided to the public.
Fair dealing is a defence, which comes under copyright law. The defence sets out ways in which actions may be carried out so that they are not regarded as infringement of the work. The defence allows the use of quotations or excerpts where a piece of work has been made available to the public. This is only on the grounds that:
- The use is acceptable under the terms of fair dealing,
- The material used is justified and no more than is necessary is included,
- That the source of the used material is mentioned, along with the name of the author.

The use of fair dealing prevents any infringement. You can use fair dealing for any of the following:

• Private research,
• Criticism or review,
• Incidental inclusion,
• Reporting current events.