Copyright
What is copyright?
- Copyright is an automatic right, it does not need to be applied for and cannot be registered in this country - it exists as soon as a work is 'fixed' in some medium
- Copyright applies to original works of authorship regardless of the medium in which they exist, which includes the internet, whether published or unpublished
- literary, dramatic, musical work, film
- computer software programs broadcast, cablecast
- artistic work published editions
- sound recording
... as long as the work is original and involves sufficient skill, judgement and labour
- Ideas are not protected by copyright. Copyright protects only the form of expression of an idea, not the idea itself
- The owner of the copyright of a particular work can control the way in which that work can be copied, distributed, displayed or performed
- Generally copyright lasts for 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies; publishers' copyright lasts for 25 years from publication
- An employer automatically owns copyright in work produced by an employee if part of an employee's job is to write or draw. The employer is the first owner of the copyright if the work is produced in the course of employment
- The author can assert his moral right to be identified as the author of a work - the author must assert this right, it is not automatic. The author has the right to object to his work being subject to 'derogatory treatment'
- The use of copyright material can be controlled by licence agreements, loan agreements, user agreements etc.
Good practice
Although copyright exists automatically in the UK, all documents, computer programs and disks should be marked with the international copyright symbol, the owner of the copyright, and the year the work was produced. This meets the majority of international copyright requirements - for example:
© University of Bristol, 2005.
[use Ctrl Alt C on your keyboard for the Copyright symbol]
This action prevents infringers claiming that they did not know to whom the copyright belonged, warns off potential copiers, and can avoid the costly process of proving ownership of copyright. In some circumstances, particularly relevant to computer software, it may be possible to insert redundant material in a piece work, which if copied could be used to identify beyond doubt the origin of the work.
More information on copyright and its importance in HEIs can be found at: