Copyright

Ownership, not just existence

Copyright in a work made by an employee in the course of employment usually belongs to the employer. Copyright in a work made by a freelancer belongs to the freelancer unless it is assigned in writing. We see this mistake on almost every content audit.

We collect the contracts, the assignment language, and the chain from the author to the current owner. Where the chain is broken we draft the missing assignment and get it signed before a dispute makes the conversation expensive.

Software, databases and published editions

Source code is a literary work. A database may also attract the separate UK database right, which lasts fifteen years from completion or from a substantial new investment. We record both, because a later copier will argue about whichever one you forgot to mention.

Published editions have their own neighbouring right. If you publish, we keep the first-publication date and the publisher of record. If you commission photography, illustration or music, we check the licence actually covers the use you are making.

Term

For most authorial works the term is the life of the author plus seventy years. Sound recordings and films have their own rules. We do not quote a single number across a mixed catalogue. Each work in the register carries its own term calculation.

Questions we are asked

Should I use a copyright notice?

A notice is not required for protection in the UK, but it tells a copier that you claim the work and it identifies who to ask for a licence. We put the owner and the year on public-facing work as a matter of course.

Does UK copyright stop a copyist in another country?

Through the Berne Convention, most countries protect UK works without a local filing. Enforcement is still local. We keep the ownership file in a form that foreign counsel can use without rebuilding it from scratch.