Copyright Law

UK copyright law is set out in the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA).

There is no registration procedure for copyright. This means it is automatic. Copyright seeks to protect the form of expression of ideas, and not the ideas as such which may well be protected through the laws of confidentiality and know how.

It is very important to appreciate that copyright law is intended to prevent copying but does not provide a monopoly; it does not matter if a similar or identical work already exists provided it has not been copied.

Copyright protection lasts for a set period, most often the life of the author plus 70 years from the end of the calendar year of his death (section 12, CDPA).

Common Copyright Problems

Over the past 5 years these are the most common client copyright protection problems. Here is some guidance. If this sounds familiar then please get in touch by using our call back service or by using the "Instruct Us" online form.

1. I have found someone using my copyright – what can I do?

   The CDPA lists the types of work in which copyright subsists. Most common are original literary works ie website text or a film score or an original artistic work (defined in section 4) ie a photograph.  If your work is copied then your copyright is infringed. It can be copied either directly or indirectly.

2. So I have established that my copyright has been infringed what now?

   You as the owner has the right to sue for infringement of copyright (section 96, CDPA).

3. What is the next step? How do I reduce my legal costs?

   Before you send a letter of claim. Get your house in order. Your case is only as good as your documents. So we strongly advise that you consider the following:
   1. Check that you can prove you own the copyright work in question?
   2. Is the work original?
      As an author you must have created the work through your own skill, judgement and individual effort and must not have copied it from another work. The level of originality required is low in the UK.
   3. Do you qualify for copyright protection?
      You must be British; domiciled or resident in the UK or another country to which the CDPA extends; or a company incorporated in the UK or another country to which the CDPA extends (section 154, CDPA); or The work was first published in the UK, or a country to which the CDPA extends (section 155, CDPA).

4. What more can you tell me about the Letter of Claim? What are your fees?

   The Letter of Claim needs to be written enclosing as much evidence as possible.
   Legal fees for writing the letter start at £450+VAT. We do offer fixed fees where appropriate and a fixed fee for dealing with a copyright infringement claim will be £550+VAT. .

5. How long should we give the infringer?

   Generally, seven or 14 days are specified, although sometimes its 21 days; there are no IP-specific pre-action protocols. A shorter period may be appropriate if the copyright owner has just discovered an infringement which is damaging its business greatly, and intends to apply for an interim injunction. Specifying a time of day by which the undertakings must be received, such as 4.00 pm, is advisable for the avoidance of any doubt on either side.

6. Your fee is £550+VAT. Is this recoverable?

   Much depends on the parties involved. We usually obtain these monies but you need to note rule 17.05 of the Law Society's Guide to the Professional Conduct of Solicitors 1999, which provides that in such a letter a solicitor must not "demand anything other than that recoverable under the due process of law". Paragraph 1 of the rule states: "For example, where a solicitor is retained to collect a simple debt, he or she must not demand from the debtor the cost of the letter before action, since it cannot be said, at that stage, that such costs are legally recoverable".

7. What is a good copyright protection result?

   Confirmation that:
   • copyright has been infringed;
   • Legal damages paid;
   • legal fees returned.