week 8 - copyright law

what law governs copyright in the UK and what type of law is it

COPYRIGHT, DESIGNS AND PATENTS ACT 1998

• civil law

• protects original works created using skill, labour or judgement

who owns copyright in a work

owned by the creator of the work

HOWEVER

if the world is created in the course of employment, the employer owns the copyright

freelancers - retain copyright in their work unless they agree otherwise

what types of work are protected by copyright

• texts

• musical manuscripts

• photographs

• maps

• deigns

• websites

how can copyright be shared or transferred

copyright owners may license their work, allowing others to use it under agreed terms

they may also assign copyright, permanently selling ownership to another party

what remedies are available if copyright is breached

• injunctions to prevent further copyright

• damages

• account of profits earned from infringement

• order for possession or destruction of infringing copies

when does copyright infringement occur

infringement occurs when ALL OR A SUBSTANTIAL part of work is copied without permission

a “substantial part” may be qualitative not quantitive - could be single sentence or headline if it is highly original

can copyright infringement be a criminal offence?

yes, but rarely.

criminal offences usually involve systematic commercial infringement (pirate DVDs or counterfeit designer goods)

how does copyright affect journalistic work

not protected:

• facts

• events

• expression of them is

protected:

• writing style

• quotes, headlines, layouts

• interviews

copying quotes without attribution or reproducing whole interviews breaches copyright

who owns copyright in photos and videos found online

the person who took the photographs or video, not the person who uploaded it

permission must be obtained before use

rock city case

case invoiced a photographer suing for unauthorised use of a photograph of kesha

reinforces photographers retain copyright and can sue for unauthorised reproduction

what is the defence of fair dealing for news reporting

fair dealing allows limited use of copyrighted material for reporting news and current events, provided:

• there is a sufficient acknowledgment of the author

• no more than is necessary is sued

what are the limits of fair dealing

only enough material may be used to tell the story

photographs are excluded from fair dealing for news because photographers must be able to earn a living

when else does fair dealing apply

criticism or review

• again requiring acknowledgment and limited use of their work

can copyright be overridden in the public interest

very rarely - court assesses this case by case

publication may be allowed it is exposes serious wrongdoing, threats to public health or safety or damage to the administration

this is a narrower public interest test than other media codes

duchess of sussex v mail on sunday

court found the mail on sunday breached copyright by publishing meghan markles private letter to her father

this confirmed that private correspondence is protected by copyright

who owns the copyright in older photographs

• photos taken before 13th july 1989: commissioner

• photos taken after 31 july 1989; photographer