UK Copyright Law
Introduction
Copyright law in the United Kingdom is governed principally by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988), which provides a comprehensive statutory code for the protection of original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, as well as sound recordings, films, broadcasts, and typographical arrangements. Copyright is a property right that subsists automatically upon the creation of a qualifying work, without any requirement for registration. UK copyright law has been shaped by EU directives (retained following Brexit) and by the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The Categories of Copyright Works
Section 1 of the CDPA 1988 defines the categories of works in which copyright may subsist. Literary works include novels, poems, articles, computer programs, and databases, but not the titles of works or single words. Dramatic works include plays, dance, and mime. Musical works consist of music, excluding any words or action intended to be sung, spoken, or performed with the music. Artistic works include paintings, sculptures, photographs, engravings, works of architecture, and works of artistic craftsmanship.
Separate copyright exists in sound recordings, films, broadcasts, and the typographical arrangement of published editions. These entrepreneurial works protect the investment in producing and distributing copyright content.
Originality
Copyright subsists only in original works. The test for originality in UK law requires that the work be the author’s own intellectual creation and that it has not been copied from another work. The standard was influenced by the Court of Justice decision in Infopaq International A/S v Danske Dagblades Forening (2009), which held that copyright subsists only in works that are the “author’s own intellectual creation.”
The originality requirement has been applied strictly. In University of London Press v University Tutorial Press (1916), Peterson J held that originality does not require novelty or inventiveness but means that the work must have originated from the author and not have been copied. In Sawkins v Hyperion Records Ltd (2005), the Court of Appeal held that editorial work in reconstructing early music could be sufficiently original to attract copyright protection.
Ownership and Duration
The author of a work is the person who creates it. The first owner of copyright is the author, subject to the rule that copyright in works created by an employee in the course of employment belongs to the employer (section 11). Moral rights — including the right to be identified as the author and the right to object to derogatory treatment — belong to the author independently of the economic rights.
The duration of copyright varies by category: literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works are protected for the life of the author plus 70 years from the end of the calendar year of the author’s death. Sound recordings are protected for 50 years from publication, and films for 70 years from the death of the last principal director, author of the screenplay, author of the dialogue, or composer of the film music.
Infringement
Copyright infringement occurs where a person does any act restricted by copyright without the licence of the copyright owner. The restricted acts set out in sections 16 to 21 of the CDPA 1988 include: copying the work; issuing copies to the public; renting or lending the work; performing, showing, or playing the work in public; communicating the work to the public; and making an adaptation of the work.
Primary infringement requires no knowledge or intent on the part of the infringer. Secondary infringement — including importing, possessing, or dealing with infringing copies — requires that the person knew or had reason to believe that the article was an infringing copy.
Fair Dealing
The CDPA 1988 provides limited defences to copyright infringement, known as fair dealing. The fair dealing defences include: fair dealing for the purpose of research and private study (section 29); fair dealing for the purpose of criticism, review, or quotation (section 30); fair dealing for the purpose of news reporting (section 30); and fair dealing for the purpose of caricature, parody, or pastiche (section 30A).
The assessment of whether dealing is fair depends on the circumstances, including the purpose of the use, the amount of the work used, the effect on the original work’s market, and whether the use is commercial or non-commercial. The Court of Appeal in Ashdown v Telegraph Group Ltd (2001) held that freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention may, in exceptional circumstances, provide a defence to copyright infringement where the fair dealing defences are not available.
Moral Rights
The CDPA 1988 confers moral rights on authors: the right to be identified as the author (the paternity right); the right to object to derogatory treatment of the work (the integrity right); and the right not to have a work falsely attributed to the author. Moral rights are personal to the author and cannot be transferred, but they may be waived.
Copyright Licensing and Collectives
Copyright owners may license their rights through individual licences or through collective licensing organisations, including the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) , PRS for Music (performing rights), and the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) . The Copyright Tribunal resolves disputes about licensing schemes and terms.
Conclusion
UK copyright law under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 provides a comprehensive framework for the protection of original works. The categories of protectable works, the requirements of originality, the restricted acts, the fair dealing defences, and the moral rights provisions balance the interests of authors and users in the digital age.