This chapter first discusses the two roots of copyright. On the one hand, copyright began as an exclusive right to make copies—that is, to reproduce the work of an author. This entrepreneurial side of copyright is linked in with the invention of the printing press, which made it much easier to copy a literary work and, for the first time, permitted the entrepreneur to make multiple identical copies. On the other hand, it became vital to protect the author now that his or her work could be copied much more easily and in much higher numbers. The chapter then outlines the key concepts on which copyright is based.
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Chapter
9. An introduction to copyright
Chapter
31. Character merchandising
Character merchandising does not have much in the way of specific recognition in UK law. In response, the character merchandising industry has sought legal protection via the adaptation of other intellectual property rights and their application to the merchandising field. This chapter discusses how copyright, trade mark law, and various torts combine to confer legal protection on character merchandising.
Chapter
11. Qualification
This chapter discusses the qualification requirement for copyright protection in the UK. The UK copyright system is based on the principle of national treatment contained in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works 1886, in the Universal Copyright Convention, and in the TRIPS Agreement. This requires that authors connected with another member state are to be treated in the same way as a member state’s own authors and should receive the same copyright protection. That connection with a member state might be provided in two ways: the author may have a personal relationship with the member state, or the work may be first published in that member state.
Chapter
13. Authorship and ownership of copyright
This chapter explains the law on authorship and copyright ownership. The creator of a work is, in principle, its author. There can be more than one creator for a work and therefore also more than one author. Joint authorship arises when more than one creator is involved in the creation of the work and the contribution of each creator can no longer be separated out in the final result. Copyright is a property right and, as such, needs an owner. The general principle is that the author will be the first owner of the copyright in his or her work.
Chapter
15. Copyright infringement
This chapter discusses the various acts that can infringe copyright. A distinction is made between primary infringement and secondary infringement. All forms of primary infringement involve copying, whether through reproduction or through performance of the work. Under s. 16(1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the rights of the copyright owner are infringed if: the work is copied; copies of the work are issued to the public; the work is lent or rented to the public; the work is performed, shown, or played in public; the work is communicated to the public; or an adaptation is made of the work or any of the above is done in relation to an adaptation. Secondary infringement involves the commercial exploitation of works that attract copyright.
Chapter
17. Rights in performances
This chapter focuses on rights in performances, which covers all aspects of the making of a recording of a performance and its subsequent exploitation. The discussion includes subsistence of rights; term of protection; the qualification requirement; content and infringement; the nature of the performer’s rights and their transfer; and moral rights.
Chapter
18. Dealing in copyright
This chapter discusses the commercial exploitation of copyright, both in a domestic and in a European context. It covers the Crown copyright in the UK; commercial exploitation of copyright in the UK; and exploitation under European law, i.e. friction with the free movement of goods and competition law.
Chapter
19. Copyright—an overview
This chapter provides a brief summary of the discussions on copyright. It covers the roots of copyright; the various types of work that attract copyright protection; and the duration of copyright protection.
Chapter
29. Copyright Protection for Designs
L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter deals with the conditions under which copyright law might protect designs as well as the limitations on the term of design protection. It first considers the subsistence of copyright in designs via two routes: either directly, by protecting the form and decoration of articles as artistic works (particularly sculptures, engravings, or works of artistic craftsmanship), or indirectly, by protecting the author of a preliminary document on which a design is based. It then discusses the limitation on protection afforded by design documents in section 51 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Chapter
7. Rights akin to copyright: database right and performers’ rights
This chapter considers two rights similar to copyright in many ways, in terms of both subject matter and the substantive contents of the rights: (1) the special or sui generis database right, which operates alongside the copyright in databases; and (2) performers’ rights. Both rights have been relatively recently introduced into the armoury of intellectual property law. The chapter gives an account of each of these rights, comparing them with copyright but also underlining the differences between the regimes, and the reasons behind these differences. The chapter considers relevant the relevant international and EU frameworks and also highlights the nature and importance of these rights.
Chapter
2. Copyright I: History, Justifications, Sources of Law, and Subsistence
All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. Copyright refers to a set of exclusive rights in relation to cultural works such as literature, newspapers, photographs, drawings, artworks, films, music, and plays, and also extends to less obviously aesthetic creations, such as computer programs and databases. This chapter discusses the history, justifications, and sources of UK copyright law as well as the requirements for copyright protection. The requirements for protection that are explored are subject matter, originality,and fixation. The impact of EU copyright law on these UK requirements is examined.
Chapter
2. Copyright 1: history, rationale, and policy context
This chapter considers the evolution of modern copyright law against the background of its historical development in the UK and the international and European legal frameworks within which UK copyright law has been increasingly set since the nineteenth century. It examines the rationale and justifications for copyright and identifies the general policy context within which law and policy has developed in the UK and the EU. It also highlights the rapid development of new technologies which has brought copyright reform to the forefront in recent times, the difficulties which this new environment presents for the copyright framework, and how the framework has developed to such challenges.
Chapter
10. The various types of copyright and the quality issue
This chapter discusses the conditions that a work must meet for it to attract copyright. Copyright will only exist if a work comes within the scope of a category of works defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The first set of categories requires some level of originality, and comprises literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. A second set involves mainly entrepreneurial rights. Originality as such is not required; often, these are derivative rights. This category includes films, sound recordings, broadcasts, and typographical arrangements of published editions.
Chapter
12. The term of copyright
This chapter discusses the duration of copyright protection in the UK. The basic rule is that the term of copyright has been harmonized at life of the author plus 70 years in the EU. The basic rule applies to the original category of works (literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works) and to films. Entrepreneurial works, such as sound recordings and broadcasts, receive 50 years of copyright protection. Performances fixated in a phonogram will in future be protected for 70 years. The term of protection for typographical arrangements is 25 years.
Chapter
14. Moral rights
This chapter explains the moral rights of the author in a copyright context. Moral rights emphasize the strong link between the work and its author. That link prevails regardless of the how the commercial exploitation of the work takes place. There are two core moral rights. First, there is the right to be identified, or the paternity right. This applies traditionally to literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic works, but it has been expanded to include films and performances. Second, there is the right of integrity, or the right to object to derogatory treatment of the work. This protects the reputation of the author, which again also has its value for users of the work. The discussion also includes the right against false attribution of the work; the right to privacy in relation to commissioned photographs; and consent and waiver.
Chapter
16. Defences to copyright infringement
This chapter discusses defences to copyright infringement. It covers authorization or consent of the owner; public interest; the Copyright and Rights in Performances (Disability) Regulations 2014; the making of temporary copies; fair dealing; incidental inclusion; educational use; exception for libraries, archives, and public administration; the Information Society Directive; and orphan works.
Chapter
5. Copyright 4: exceptions and limitations
This chapter discusses exceptions and limitations to the rights of the copyright owner. Copyright law establishes many such exceptions and limitations, listed in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) as the ‘permitted acts’. These acts can be carried out in relation to the copyright work without the owner’s permission or, in some cases, can be performed subject to terms and conditions specified by the statute rather than by the copyright owner. The chapter discusses the influence of the international framework and EU Directives on exceptions and limitations. It analyses the ‘permitted acts’ and discusses the freedoms afforded through them to users of protected works in the UK, and also briefly considers how far they may be set aside by contractual provision.
Chapter
7. Rights akin to copyright: database right and performers’ rights
This chapter considers two rights similar to copyright in many ways, in terms of both subject matter and the substantive contents of the rights: (1) the special or sui generis database right, which operates alongside the copyright in databases; and (2) performers’ rights. Both rights have been relatively recently introduced into the armoury of intellectual property law. The chapter gives an account of each of these rights, comparing them with copyright but also underlining the differences between the regimes, and the reasons behind these differences. The chapter considers relevant the relevant international and EU frameworks and also highlights the nature and importance of these rights.
Chapter
1. Introduction to copyright
This introductory chapter provides an overview of copyright protection. It discusses how United Kingdom copyright law has developed from the mid-16th century onward. The purpose of giving this account is to highlight two recurring themes: firstly, the law's struggle to keep up with changing technology; and, secondly, the effect of external influences on domestic law. The chapter then looks at the theoretical justifications for copyright and the extent to which they accord with the current law, and the principal characteristics of copyright, including the crucial difference between protecting an idea and protecting the expression of that idea. There are a number of aspects of copyright that do not apply to other intellectual property rights like patents and trade marks. Understanding these differences will help one in distinguishing between the different types of intellectual property right.
Chapter
2. Copyright 1: history, rationale, and policy context
This chapter considers the evolution of modern copyright law against the background of its historical development in the UK and the international and European legal frameworks within which UK copyright law has been set since the nineteenth century. It examines the rationale and justifications for copyright and identifies the general policy context within which law and policy has developed in the UK and the EU. It also highlights the rapid development of new technologies which has brought copyright reform to the forefront in recent times, the difficulties which this new environment presents for the copyright framework, and how the framework has developed to meet such challenges.
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