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COPYRIGHT LAW
General Overview of Copyright:
• Intellectual property – i
...
a Generic term
• Ownership
• Originality
• Moral rights
• What protection?
• Assignment of
• Licence
• Legislation – Copyright, designs and patents act 1988
• Important case law aspects
• Defences: Fair dealing, Facts, Ideas
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Aim:
Protects original work in way others are generally ‘prevented’ from copying/‘pirating’ it
...

- Quality not a consideration, originality is key
- Used to protect 50 years but with most of Europe protecting for 70, was changed
...
People using it still wanted to use it so were able to under
licence
...

The basic rights of copyright holder include:
- The right to copy the work
- Right to issue copies of it to the public
- Right to Licence (rent) or Assign (sell) the work
- Right to make an adaptation of the work
...
g
...
g
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- Reproduction of news facts from another media source i
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‘lifting’
o Walter v Steinkopf [1892]
 lifting is ok, giving accreditation, unless on a regular basis
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 Lifting considered ‘fair use’ in the public interest
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Ideas
No copyright in an idea itself unless substance tagged onto it
- Fraser v Thames Television Ltd [1984] – Seminal Case
o Had fleshed out an idea for programme but Thames copied substantially
same fleshed out idea
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Program Format Rights:
No copyright in a format
 Opportunity Knocks & the ‘clapometer’?

o Green v Broadcasting Corp
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- Simon Cowell with X Factor
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But Simon could seek an
injunction
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People who buy tickets pay the price
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But how would one do it?
Questions for clients:
- Is there any copyright attached to it?
- If yes who owns it?
- Will use breach the law?
- Will use infringe other rights? e
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o Moral rights eg
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Clips used & discussed on programmes
...
e
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- Freelance Journalists
o Owns work unless otherwise agreed in writing i
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assigned (Sold)
- Commercial photographer own unless assigned – subject to ’Moral rights’ to
recognition
...
If defamatory, can sue
newspaper
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o Missing persons – copyright owned by photographer
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Film
- Complex – Numerous copyrights
Artistic – i
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the design of sets used in a film;

• Literary - within the material sourced and the original screenplay;
• Musical - the soundtrack of films
...
e
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(Beatrix Potter)
- Assigned - sale or left by a will by existing copyright holder eg Beatrix Potter)
Moral Rights (accrediting of author)
- The right to be identified as author or director
- The right not to have other persons work attributed to one
- The right not to have a work subjected to derogatory treatment
- Photographs in some cases are a privacy right
o Douglas
o Campbell
 Not their photograph but has privacy rights in it
...
This needs to be in writing
Length of Copyright Ownership
Literary – dramatic – or artistic works
- 70 years from death of author or if author unknown 70 years from its making or
from when made available to public (From when discovered)
- Computer generated works – 50 years
- Sound recordings – now 70 years from making or from release if during that time
o Cliff Richards & Maca? lobbied for extension from 50 years to 70
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g
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D
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g
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Healthcare NHS Trust v News Group Newspapers [2002]
o (I
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The Sun required to pay £10450 for wrongful use of photo obtained
from medical records)
- Account for profits & delivery up of copies
- Injunction to stop – interim / permanent

Defences:
Fair Dealings: (Usage)
- Applies to use of a reasonable extract from works of others:
o Ashdown v Telegraph Group ltd [2001]
The misuse of substantial amounts of a confidential note of a meeting between Paddy
Ashdown leader of the Liberal Party and Margaret Thatcher, the then Prime Minister,
together with some extracts from Ashdown’s autobiographical book
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Other News Items
- Use of facts from another news paper - television & re writing will not in general
be abuse of copyright but persistent use may be
o Walter & Steinkopf [1892]
i
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Skill and effort by the other newspaper
Public Interest:
Courts will not enforce copyright if a work is held to be
- Immoral - scandalous or contrary to family life
- Injurious to public life – public health -- safety or the administration of justice
- Incite or encouraged others to act in a way injurious to such matters
- Issued by police in order to trace persons as witnesses or wanted in connection
with serious crime
- Misleading information –set record straight
o Lion Laboratories Ltd v Evans [1985] – (Intoximeter case Daily Express)
In the Hyde Park Residents case mentioned above public interest was raised and
approved as a defence which existed
But, it was not upheld as a defence in that case
Innocent Infringement:
No reason to know or believe a work was subject to copyright
...

OWNER ACQUIESCED IN THE PUBLICATION
• The owner of the copyright had knowledge of an infringement at the time it occurred
but failed within a reasonable time to take any action
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• COPYRIGHT PENALTIES:
THE COPYRIGHT, ETC
...
music, films and computer software, that have been made
without the authorization of the copyright owner (i
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pirate copies)
Recording of live performances that have been made without the authorization of the
performer(s)
Copying devices and software that allow people to access encrypted transmissions
without paying the normal fee for their reception;
Goods, packaging or labels bearing a trade mark that has been applied without the
consent of the trade mark owner;

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
1
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List four types of work protected
3
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Who owns the copyright
i) In a ‘Letter to the editor’?
ii) The work of a staff reporter (In general)
iii) Film
5
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The client wishes to
know his legal position under the law of copyright?
6
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What do you understand by the terms:
i) Licence?
ii) Assignment?
8
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May they
be assigned?
9
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A man who works in the design department of a major car manufacturing company
gives a newspaper reporter a computer-prepared design of the new model of a car that
the company intends to launch at next year’s Paris motor show
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The reporter telephones
the company’s press office, and indicates that her newspaper intends to publish an
article based on the material passed to her
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What action may the solicitors take

on behalf of the newspaper in 

a) confidentiality
b) copyright
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A relative of a 93
year old woman who has been murdered lends a reporter a print of a photograph of the
victim that the victim ordered for her 70th birthday from a commercial photographer

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