Copyright Law Articles

It has been reported that officials in the USA have continued their crackdown on online copyright infringement by closing down nine websites.

So how has copyright law been shaped and where does it originate from?

Despite the introduction of the draft Code from OFCOM and the Digital Economy Act 2010, more lawyers are apparently jumping on the 'cash cow' that is the file sharing campaigns first started by Davenport Lyons, and then ACS law.

As the battle between music copyright owners and illegal file sharers continues, a third party has entered its hat into the ring. The ISP.

There is no official statutory provision offering 'in the public interest' as a defence to copyright infringement. However can it be used?

Two major concerns concerning filesharing are the identity of the bill payer vis a vis the infringer and the double recovery

Pursuant to section 1(1) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) copyright subsists in sound recordings, and in the music and lyrics of a song.

A very important case has come out of the US. Youtube has been successful in defending a $1 Billion claim by media giants Viacom.

Secondary infringement of copyright occurs when the infringer has not himself committed the infringement i.e. he has not made the copy but has instead used the infringing copy in some way.

Three of the UK's biggest broadcasters have teamed up against the website tvcatchup.com.

So the Digital Economy Act 2010 is in force as of 08 April 2010. Of course it made its way into the legislation book during the pre-election uncertainty, as a result some aspects were watered down or even removed in order to facilitate its quick enactment.

Database rights are derived from copyright, this article looks at the ownership of database rights in employer / employee relationships.

Have you have received a letter of claim from Acs: Law alleging that your internet connection has been used to make certain works available to the public via peer 2 peer networks where further infringements could occur? If so this is a must read.

The increasing vexatious and acrimonious battle Viacom and Google/You Tube between picked up pace this week as the documents relied upon in their battle were disclosed.

Who owns copyright works created by an employee?

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was successful this week with an application (known as a motion in the US) for summary judgement against Limeware and its founder Mark Gorton. If this seems straightforward then it was not, as the lawsuit was filed in 2006. The bonus for RIAA was the personal judgement against mark Gorton for inducing copyright and engaging in unfair competition.

The arguments in favour of protection rely on the fact that "each of the Fixture Lists is a collection of independent works, data and/or other materials which are arranged in a systematic or methodical way and are individually accessible by electronic or other means", and as a consequence copyright subsists in the Fixture Lists. The main problem with this statement is that it is argued by many that the Fixture Lists do not satisfy the definition of originality in section 3A(2) of the CDPA and they fail to satisfy the requirements of a literary work. In addition the Database Regulations do not apply as there has been no substantial investment in the obtaining, verification or presentation of the contents of the Fixture Lists as required by regulation 13 of the Databases Regulation.

This article outlines the procedure used to threaten copyright infringement proceedings under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, with a focus on the checks that need to be done before sending a letter of claim.

The Digital Economy Act 2010 is now in force, this article discusses the nature and impact which the Act will have on filesharng and "illegal downloads".

A key aspect to any infringement case concerns tactics. That is who to sue and why; does one party have any assets or any cash in the bank to pay any award or damages? Often bringing a claim against a limited company may well result in a victory although a hollow victory as the victor is left with nothing but a large legal bill as the defendant leaps in to liquidation. So it is becoming more and more common for a claimant to consider joining an individual in an IP case by way of common design. It can be a useful tactic especially if the defendant owns his own home and the costs consequences can often make an individual think twice.

A discussion on the meaning of authorisation and the implications for copyright in the filesharing work

UK copyright law can be found contained in the splendid Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (as amended) 1988 (‘CDPA’). The CDPA protects creative people and in particular the following works (a) original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, (b) sound recordings, films, broadcasts or cable programmes, and (c) the typographical arrangement of published editions. If you can claim to have rights in these works, you have the exclusive right to do various acts specified in the CPDA as these are acts restricted by the copyright in a work of that description.

Illegal downloading cost almost 9billion GBP in revenue across Europe in 2008, enough to finance 185,000 jobs according to a report by the International Chamber of Commerce, released last week.

The High Court has ruled in favour of the band, Pink Floyd, who had brought proceedings against the record company EMI.

The copyright position in relation to consultants

Who owns the copyright?

Fashion and copyright

Copyright in the fashion world

Conservative peer Lord Lucas has proposed amendments to the Government’s Digital Economy Bill which would give search engines a presumption that they have the right to copy material for the purpose of providing search engine services.

Copyright gives the author, designer or creator of a work the exclusive right to control the way his or her work is used or exploited.

Another win against the PPL

Iconic Australian Song in Copyright Scandel

Victory for Publicans

This article looks at how to find the holder of a work protected by copyright

More controversy over this unpopular Bill

Important Austrlian case pleases UK internet firms on file sharing concerns

Beware DJs! A look at DJs using samples of music in their tracks and how this could be copyright infringement

A look at Copyright Law on Music and songs

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) says that global government legislation is essential to the music sector’s survival.

Best advice is to ensure your wireless router is protected with a password and above all please respect the copyright of the rights holders. However if you receive a letter please do not make any admissions until you have had the chance to speak to someone who is experienced in these matters,

evidence gathering will be an important factor to complete before claiming infringement.

Copyright Infringement how can you tell?

Oink's creater Alan Ellis was acquitted last week for file-sharing

Lord Mandelson is abolishing the exemption for charities and not-for-profit organisations from music licensing rules.

You may have noticed recently that Microsoft’s offer on its online store has shrunk.

A number of exceptions allow limited use of copyright works without the permission of the copyright owner, this article takes a look at those exceptions.

The PRS (formerly known as MCPS-PRS Alliance) is a royalties collection agency. It is essentially a membership of music copyright owners.

One interesting topic for Lawdit readers is topic 2 namely online infringement of copyright, the role of OFCOM and how the Bill will seek to attack the downloading of works.

Under U.S law, how do you know whether copyright subsists?

A quick review of how the ISPs and rights holders will use the Bill

This article takes a look at the U.S. Copyright Term Extension Act.

In the first article we looked at Digital Britain's legislative proposals regarding illegal file-sharing on the internet. Now we will see why the repressive approach to copyright infringement is flawed, due to the fast-changing nature of electronic copyright infringement.

The Government has published its legislative proposals against illegal file sharing in the 2009 edition of 'Digital Britain', Lord Mandelson's policy pamphlet.

This is the first part of the articles dealing duration of copyright under the Copyright Act 1976

This article takes a look at the provisions dealing with duration of copyright under the Copyright Act 1976.

The 4th January is the date when the new French law comes in to play which the world will watch with interest

This article takes you through the basics of copyright exploitation and protection in U.S copyright law.

This article takes a look at the fair use doctrine under U.S copyright law.

This article takes a look at the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Copyright not available for blank forms under U.S copyright laws.

What materials are uncopyrightable? This article details what cannot attract copyright protection

Works published in the United States are subject to a mandatory deposit requirement.

Rickey Allen filed suit against Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams claiming that their song "Cater 2 U" was copied, the matter has been settled

How do I find out whether a work is protected by copyright in the US?

This article details the basic position of US copyright law.

£8,000 fine imposed on pub owner when a customer used his public Wi-Fi hotspot to illegally download copyrighted content.

Regulators in China to close down hundreds of file sharing websites crackdown on copyright infringement.

This article discusses the pending Digital Economy Bill and the changes to be made to the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Virgin Media trials new and copyright infringement tool.

This article takes a look at the scope and meaning of the words 'substantial copying' for copyright infringement in the case of R v. Gilham.

I am an employee and I have created a work in which copyright subsists. Who owns the copyright?

This article takes a look at the often overlapping relationship between a dramatic work and film work under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Guns N Roses are in a spot of bother.

What is primary infringement of copyright?

A proposal to amend the right to terminate may well be unlawful. It shall be subject to adequate procedural safeguards in conformity with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and with general principles of Community law, including effective judicial protection and due process.

Recording a call is not unlawful but you must make all reasonable efforts to inform callers.

Here is the recent copyright infringement disputes concerning Lil Wayne and Birdman.

Calls to relax the libel laws were made this month

Apple's Copyright Infringement claim was a success, see inside for details.

An employer is the first owner of the work.

The Beatles have sued an online web site in California for offering for sale its catalogue

Computer code is also protected as a literary work. The law has changed since the introduction of the UK in to the EC. A review of the relevant law if your code has been copied

What is the extent of the communication right and its role in the peer to peer context?

It is an offence to play a sound recording without the copyright owner's consent, if you are the owner of a pub, club or restaurant and you want to play music; take note of the recent decision in Phonographic Performance Limited v The British Hospitality Association and others, 18 September 2009.

Freelance photographer issued claim against MGN for the latter's use of the former's photographs. This article takes a look at this case and the relevant provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Owners of copyright works have a number of exclusive rights bestowed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

It is vital to expressly state that that the parties intend the relationship to be that of as an independent contractor providing services and not that of employee and employer. Click to read more.

What is the meaning of joint authorship under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988?

This article takes a look at who owns the copyright in the employment context.

A look at what to do when your copyright is being infringed

Music artists condemn new plans by the Government to allow ISP's to temporarily disable internet accounts of file sharers

The dispute between the well know guitarist Joe Satriani and the group Coldplay has reportedly be settled.

It has been a week where the debate on file sharing has very much been in the media spotlight.

One of the main aspects of copyright protection is to establish that the works (over which copyright protection is being claimed) is original.

I have received a Part 36 letter. What do I do now?

An internet service provider based in Hull has adopted the policy whereby they will block your use of the internet if they suspect that you are downloading or uploading material in which copyright subsists. Would this policy solve the peer to peer file sharing problem?

One form of defence for copyright infringement provided by section 31 (1) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 is that of incidental use.

The potential for copyright infringement of a garment or item of clothing has been assessed under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 as amended:

The UK Intellectual Property Office has issued a recent newsletter discussing the issue of copyright and ways to protect the same.

New measures, the details of which have been released by the Government in an amendment to the Digital Britain Report, will see those individuals who illegally download films, music and games disconnected from the internet.

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 allows owners of literary, dramatic and musical works the exclusive right to make adaptations of the works.

It is becoming more and more common for people on holiday to buy counterfeit/ fake goods. They are available in most streets and even on the beaches. Until now buyers have enjoyed the idea of having, for example, a designer hand bag at less than half the price of the original. Whilst most consumers realise this is wrong the pull of such a 'good deal' is often too much.

It became apparent a the turn of the 20th century that Sound Recordings differed from Musical Works and therefore needed to be defined separately and protected separately. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 incorporated this requirement and deals with Sound Recordings as a separate right.

The first step in analysing if copyright infringement has occurred is to identify whether the works in question are protected by copyright. If so the next step is to analyse whether the 'infringer' has copied a whole or substantial part of the works.

Is it illegal to make back-up copies of copyrighted computer software?

A long running dispute between the recording artist Jackson Browne and the Republican Party has finally been settled.

Under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 the terms of your business must comply with the criteria of reasonableness, however, this should be contrasted with the courts decision in Salvage Association v CAP Financial Services Ltd 1995.

This article takes a look at the issues which surround U.S. copyright law and the protection of choreography, pantomimes, plays, treatments, and scripts prepared for cinema, radio, and television.

This article takes a detailed look at the fine but often uncertain line between copyright law, patent law and design law, with a particular focus on designs for useful articles

Is there an international copyright law? This article explains the relationship between international copyright laws and U.S. copyright laws.

This article gives an overview of the issues that surround the U.S. registration of copyright in photographs, which are either published or unpublished.

This article takes a look at whether copyright protection is available for computer games.

This article takes a look at copyright protection in relation to photographs.

As indicated by the U.S. Copyright Office, one of the rights accorded to the owner of copyright is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords - this article details the fair use doctrine in US copyright law.

Can a recipe be protected by copyright?

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, a pseudonym or pen name may be used by an author of a copyrighted work. A work is pseudonymous if the author is identified on copies or phonorecords of that work by a fictitious name - this article details copyright protection and Pseudonyms.

This article details the US copyright law issues

There are several ways to investigate whether a work is under copyright protection

Copyright in the digital age: discussed

This article details the basics of the copyright licence agreement

This article takes a look at the pending Pharrell Williams case and section 17 of the CDPA.

In this article we take a look at the recent case of UMG v Yeoh.

A proposal to extend the period of copyright protection from 50 years to 70 years from the date of first release for sound recordings in the EU, has been approved by the European Parliament on 23 April 2009.

This article takes a look at the progress of the Digital Economy Bill.

This article will discuss the so called "information age" and the issues that surround copyright.

The four founders of the infamous "The Pirate Bay" get no retrial it is revealed.

This article takes a look at section 20(2)(b) of the CDPA and the problems with electronic transmissions in the peer 2 peer file sharing context

This article discusses the rights that a copyright owner will attract if that work attracts copyright protection

This article take a look at the idea - expression dischotomy

P2P (peer-to-peer) file sharing has fuelled on line copyright infringement in recent years.

Record award against mother of 4 in US peer to peer file sharing case.

A US jury has ruled that repeat copyright infringer, Jammie Thomas-Rasset, must pay nearly $2 million to recording companies for sharing 24 songs

The European Parliament has voted to extend the copyright term for sound recordings to 70 years.

A new deal struck between the Internet Service Provider Virgin Media and record label Universal Music is set to reposition the music download market.

There are a number of rights available to you, for example but not limited to....

The definition of database under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 ('the Act') is 'a collection of independent works, data or other materials which are arranged in a systematic or methodical way, and are individually accessible by electronic or other means.'

A dispute has arisen over a new book being described as the sequel to the J.D. Salinger novel 'The Catcher in the Rye'.

Copyright subsists in computer programs by virtue of their inclusion in the definition of literary works under the Copyright, Design and Patent Act 1988 (the 'Act').

The simple answer is no.

The ongoing dispute between clothing store Primark and fashion label 'Superdry' has been settled out of court

The French are to introduce an agency which is directed to deal with illegal internet downloading and file sharing - we have the details inside.

A new government report released this week states that approximately 7 million people in the UK download files illegally.

This article takes a look at the moral rights of musicians and the issue of the BNP selling music.

The PRS (formerly known as MCPS-PRS Alliance) is a royalties collection agency.

It has long been argued by some experts that illegal downloading of music stimulates growth of the lesser known artist and actually benefits the industry.

An action taken by Woody Allen against US Clothing company American Apparel has been settled moments before the case was due to be heard in Manhattan Federal Court.

Have you received a letter alleging illegal file sharing over the internet? If so, here is the P2P Defence team's commitment to you.

As has been much publicised recently the war against illegal peer to peer (P2P) file sharing rages on. The only problem however is that many innocent victims are being caught in the cross fire.

This article discusses the issues which relate to authorisation of copyright infringements in the context of the digital age.

A short note on copyright infringement and litigation.

More and moreon Copyright and the P2P saga, coming to a house soon near you

What is primary infringement of copyright?

Copyright is dealt with under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Having been involved in the past two years with P2P cases. It seems new level has been reached as many thousands more receive letters

The Special 301 Report which was just released is an effort to guide the protection of American innovation and creativity around the world. We have the details inside.

Two European commissioners are proposing the creation of a Europewide copyright license for online content that could clear the way for cross-border sales of digital music, games and video - and lower prices for consumers. We have the details inside.

Apple is set to head to court over their stance on 'jailbreaking' and the question of who owns the iPhone, the user who paid for it, or the company who manufactured it?

The manner of implementation of the moral rights provisions of the Berne Convention has, as noted above, always been left to Contracting States.

For limited periods of time and subject to certain permitted exceptions, in respect of original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, such as novels, plays, poems, musical compositions, paintings, sculptures, as well as of sound recordings, films, broadcasts and typographical arrangements of published editions.

As a rule, copyright and related rights are granted with respect to a particular territory only and give protection to nationals of that territory alone...

This article is part 3 of three, which deals with copyright investigations. The focus of this section is in relation to the notice and duration of periods of copyright in the United States.

This article is part 2 of three, which deals with copyright investigations. The focus of this section is on the impact of the Copyright Act of 1976, the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 and the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992.

This article is part 1 of three which deals with copyright investigations of a work in the United States. This section focuses on copyright investigations and the difficulties which arise when such investigations are inconclusive.

All works under copyright protection that are published in the United States are subject to the mandatory deposit provision of the copyright law - this article provides the details.

There are several ways to investigate whether a work is under copyright protection in the US - this article addresses the surrounding issues comprehensively.

Further to the radio Broadcast earlier today with BBC Radio Solent, this article discusses the problems surrounding copyright protection in relation to ingredients and recipes generally.

This article details when and how an employer gets copyright protection in a work created by an employee pursuant to section 11(2) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. If you are creating works as an employee: take note of this article.

The founders of the Pirate Bay website were sentenced to one year in prison in Sweden yesterday

Tips on how to protect yourself against illegal use

Copyright ownership

Internet traffic in Sweden has reduced dramatically following the introduction of a law banning online piracy.

This article looks at how copyright can benefit your business

Copyright, theatre and exceptions in schools.

Copyright, tv and films.

This article takes a look at a recent ruling that allows a search engine to publish certain works.

Tips on protecting your copyright

further ways to exploit your copyright

2 ways to exploit your copyright

Copyright in employment

copyright and Commissioned works

copyright and Joint authorship

copyright and Computer-generated works

Copyright and databases

The authors of copyright works or the director of a copyright film have the right to be identified as the author. But how do you enforce these rights?

Can I use the work of others?

Does your work have to be orginial?

A look at whether the standard term of copyright protection should be shortened

A look at the Law of Copyright and in particular, copyright protection for Software programmes

Swedish file sharing company Pirate Bay won its first round against the copyright holders

What protection do you have in your website's layout?

At the end of last year Andy Burnham signalled a possible extension to the copyright term to 70 years for sound recordings

How to exploit your copyright.

Copyright and databases

Copyright and databases

A report by a Dutch P2P expert is worrying news for rights holders as the social networks exploit the P2P environment

The Times this week interview Minister for Intellectual Property.

Internet Service Providers are fighting back against illegal downloaders. Early last year, Virgin Media became the first major ISP to start a trial of the 'three strikes' policy.

An agreement will be signed with India and the UK to protect the copyright of authors and publishers

The auhor of Popeye dies 70 years ago. This means that his image is free to be used.

Big names write a letter in the Times requesting that ISP be encouraged to do more to protect their work

After five years of threats the RIAA seems to be changing tactics

A look at Moral Rights and the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1998

A guide as to what you need to do when assigning a work of copyright

An interesting update on the Peer 2 Peer file sharing and copyright infringement claims

The Consumer's champion Which? magazine reports Davenport Lyons to the SRA

If you are a business it is essential that if you engage a consultant that you have a consultancy agreement in place

As Copyright Solicitors we are often asked about the law on software and copying

The games industry is unhappy about the conduct of Davenport Lyons

Davenport Lyons now instructed to recover damages from the porn industry

If you have received a letter from Lawyers claiming that you have you illegally downloaded copyright material please read on.

Musicians and Performers have lobbied the British PM with the aide of You Tube to extend the rights in copyright to performers

Trend setting German band Kraftwerk lost a recent copyight sampling case

Lawdit is being instructed daily by individuals who have been sent a letter from Digiprotect’s lawyer threatening commencement of legal proceedings in the High Court unless they pay GBP500 within 21 days.

Lawyers have widened the targets for the alleged downloading of copyright works by targeting users of hardcore pornography.

While noone is condoning copyright infringment. Just how good is the evidence alluding to the wrongdoing?

This article looks briefly at the legislation governing the ownership of Copyrights

This is an infomative article that looks at the Intellectual Property Right of Copyrights; what it is, how it comes into being, and the law that governs Copyrights.

Copyright subsists in computer programs by virtue of its inclusion in the definition of literary works under the Copyright, Design and Patent Act 1988 (the act).

The BBC have run an excellent article based on the recent filesharing cases

Its important that prior to enforcing your copyright you are aware of the rights available to you.

How do I protect my copyright?

Do You Need a Music Licence?

The above recent decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) means that the transfer of material from a protected database to another form of database may be prevented, even if there is no technical process of copying!

When you access a webpage the details of that webpage that you access are stored on your computer hard disk in your web-browser in the cache directory.

Over 20,000 letters have been sent to thousands of individuals but are they guilty of any infringment? Probably not

A database is a structured collection of data.

merican actress Demi Moore has filed a lawsuit in Melbourne against New Idea magazine for publishing pictures taken at party she and Madonna had organised.

Directive 96/9/EC is concerned with the legal protection of databases, it is a sui generis right.

Although copyrights and trade marks are under the same umbrella of Intellectual Property rights, the two are often mistaken to be one of the same.

An issue over the rate of music royalties composers and songwriters should be paid for their work has emerged in the US.

If you want to use a work that is under copyright, it is likely that you will need to approach the copyright owner in order to obtain a licence.

The Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/3032) provided new rights over databases.

Copyright exemptions apply in a number of educational settings including.

It is allowed to make single copies or take short extracts of works when used for research that you do not make any money from or from private studying, educational course or even as a hobby.

This brief note looks at how ownership of copyright is determined in employer / employee situations.

As a copyright owner it is for you to decide how you should use your copyright work.

On first impression, it appeared that credit had to be given to Governor Sarah Palin for her selection of the soundtrack signalling the beginning of her speech at the Republican Party conference in St Paul, Minnesota. The song Barracuda is very motivating and uplifting, with its throbbing guitar riffs and catchy lyrics, made even more significant as Governor Palin was aptly named “Sarah Barracuda” as a high school basketball player.

Copyright applies to computing and the internet in the same way as material in other media.

There is no official registration system for copyright in the United Kingdom (UK) and most other parts of the world.

Copyright is essentially a private right. You, the copyright owner must decide how to exploit your copyright work and how to enforce your copyright. A copyright owner can decide whether or not there will be any use of the copyright work falling within the scope of the economic rights and, if so, whether he or she will use the copyright work and/or license one or more other people to use the work.

You may not directly realise it, or indeed make a direct correlation with it, but the reason we all sat listening to Croatia v England on the radio on Wednesday 10th September was the law of copyright.

This is the scenario. Your identity was obtained by the complainant following an order from the court against various Internet service providers whose Internet facilities it is claimed have been used by you for the purposes of downloading copyright material. You are a user of P2P software and you have been 'helping yourself' ie downloading and subsequently 'helping others' to download ie a sort of uploading the copyright works for others to download. In short you are committing an act of copyright infringement.

One of the most common myths about copyright is that it requires some form of application or other formality such as use of the copyright symbol. This first element has not been required in the UK since 1911, while use of the latter, although desirable, is not a requirement or securing copyright protection in the UK. The law governing copyright is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

P2P Copyright and UK Law.

In some limited circumstances, you can copy the work of a copyright owner without their permission.

This article gives a brief summary of the two types of copyright infringement.

The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has issued a consultation paper dealing with the issue of copyright infinging peer-to-peer file sharing of music, films and videos

You will need to obtain a copyright licence if you wish to use a work which is subject to copyright protection.

Printing any tartan design without a licence is a breach of Copyright law.

The silly season produced a story which all the newspapers and media outlets were more than happy to promote. The BBC cried “A British woman who put a game on a file-sharing network has been ordered to pay damages to the game's creator. Topware Interactive has won more than 16,000UKP following legal action against Isabella Barwinska of London, who shared a copy of Dream Pinball 3D.“

With the first batch of rock n roll recordings like Elvis Pressley and others, due to run out of copyright in Europe soon, there has been much debate as to whether the current duration of 50 years for sound recordings in the United Kingdom should be extended

The computer games industry has launched an attack on illegal downloading, asserting that their copyright has been violated.

Competition law can have an impact on a copyright owner's ability to exploit their copyright.

Whether or not a television format should be protected as a copyright work has been debated in recent years.

Directive 2001/29/EC on Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society (the 'Copyright Directive') deals with harmonisation of copyright throughout the EU. In particular the Directive addresses issues of copyright protection on the internet and satellite and cable broadcasts.

The starting point is s 16 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, which gives the copyright owner the exclusive right to copy, publish, perform or show in public and / or to adapt the work in question. If any one else does any of the said acts within the UK without the owners permission, it will be likely to infringe.

The Uk is a signatory to two major international treaties, the Berne Copyright Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention.

Fans of Star Wars watched with considerable interest as a case reached the High Court which concerned the reproduction of replicas of various props used in the first Star Wars film. This case concerns the production of uniforms for the first of the films in the series, which is known as "Star Wars IV A New Hope" and which was first shown in 1977

This short article looks at ownership of copyright in work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or a work specially ordered or commissioned in certain specified circumstances.

This case involved a dispute between the creators of 'Popeye' the cartoon character and an unlicensed manufacturer of goods bearing the 'Popeye' drawing.

If you or your business has commissioned an artist / designer to develop your logo / design you may be confused as to who actually owns the intellectual property rights in that design or copyright work. It may be even more confusing due to the fact that the rules are different in copyright and design law.

Initially the author of a work is the first owner of any copyright in it. This is not however the case when the author is employed and acting in the course of their employment

Stephanie Lenz published a video of her child dancing to a Prince song on YouTube. It was taken down last year after the owner to the Prince song (music label) said that the background song infringed its copyright. In another case between Universal and Lenz and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the two sides faced off in a San Francisco court with Universal arguing that it simply could not be held liable for wrongly issuing a DMCA takedown notice.

The European Commission today adopted two initiatives in the area of copyright. First, the Commission proposed to align the copyright term for performers with that of authors. The advantage being that performers could now enjoy the same duration royalties as authors.

A case in point: Meridian International Services Limited v Ian Richardson and Others, 18 October 2007

Copyright is a property right which vests in the author of original literary, dramatic, artistic or musical works. Copyright subsists in sound recordings, and in the music and lyrics to a song, pursuant to section 1(1) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA).

Copyright in a photograph protects the author's work of origination. The essence of a photograph is that it should capture something for the purpose of its being reproduced for subsequent viewing.

Canada introduced new federal copyright legislation last week. The C-61, an Act to amend the Copyright Act, is the result of an intense public and private campaign waged by the U.S. government to pressure Canada into following its much-criticized digital copyright model.

The well know rapper Kanye West, along with his record company are being sued by the estate of Joe Farrell for the alleged use of a sample in the song 'Gone'.

Subject to the exemptions below copyright in literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work expires seventy years from the year in which the author of the work dies (see Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 S12(2)).

The ongoing battle between BSB Sky, publicans, foreign satellite companies, the public , beer loving fans, and angry wives has been transferred to Europe.

There are several ways to investigate whether a work is under copyright protection and, if so, the facts of the copyright. The main ones include examining a copy of the work for such elements as a copyright notice, place and date of publication, author and publisher, if the work is a sound recording, examine the disk, tape cartridge, or cassette in which the recorded sound is fixed, or the album cover, sleeve, or container in which the recording is sold; conducting a search of the Copyright Office catalogues and other records; or requesting the Copyright Office to conduct a search for you.

he traditional areas copyright applies to are widely known by most people (photographs, tv, film, art, the written word, music, theatre, the spoken word, etc) however many might be surprised to consider that copyright also extends into cyberspace and must always be considered in order to avoid inadvertent copyright infringement.

The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, better known as simply the Berne Convention, is an international agreement about copyright, which was first accepted in Berne, Switzerland in 1886.

Original works, such as books, music, research and other forms of creative expression, are intellectual property, and protected by copyright. For those involved in these creative industries, understanding copyright issues is essential, especially now that the production of counterfeit and pirated goods, including written works, has become so prevalent.

Lawdit has heard of yet another "solution" to the problem of copyright infringement in file sharing.

Initially the author of a work is the first owner of any copyright in it. This is not however the case when the author is employed and acting in the course of their employment

Copyright protects the result and expression of creative ability. Copyright law is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Copyright subsists in sound recordings, and in the music and lyrics to a song, pursuant to section 1(1) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA). The CDPA provides in section 16(1) that the owner of a work has a number of acts restricted to him or her, which are to:

The file sharing site TorrentSpy has been ordered to pay over $100m in damages to the Motion Picture Association of America for copyright infringement.

Yoko Ono, the famed widow of Beatles legend John Lennon, will soon be heading to court to prevent a video company from airing footage of her husband smoking marijuana.

One strand of copyright is called a Registered Design. Whilst this is considered a separate right to copyright it is essentially simply a stronger version

The note below looks at the duties owed by a principal to its agent. These are of course subject to variation by agreement and, where they apply, The Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (SI 1993/3053, as amended by SI 1993/3173 and SI 1998/2868) (the Regulations):

This note looks at the duties owed by an agent to its principal. These are of course subject to variation by agreement and, where they apply, The Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (SI 1993/3053, as amended by SI 1993/3173 and SI 1998/2868) (the Regulations):

work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or a work specially ordered or commissioned in certain specified circumstances.

This articles looks at the various remedies available for infringement of copyright.

The Copyright Licensing Agency has recently stated that it is to introduce a series of new collective digital licences to allow for photocopying, scanning and copying from digital publications.

J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers have commenced an action against the publishers of an encyclopedia called the "Harry Potter Lexicon." The lexicon is a guide or compilation for fans but it is alleged to be an infringement of Rowling's copyright.

The BBC and the estate of the founder of the daleks successfully defended a high court the Dalek Survival Guide published by BBC Worldwide Limited in 2002, infringed the copyright of JHP Limited.

It was reported in the Daily Telegraph that a crackdown has begun against copyright infringements in the world of music.

The author J.K Rowling is to testify to protect her ownership of Harry Potter against RDR Books, an independent American publisher, next month.

We are often asked as to whether a sound recording is protected by the laws of copyright. The 1988 Copyright Designs and Patents Act can answer this question. While it does not have an exact definition as to sound recordings, it is an infringement of the copyright in a sound recording where you copy or record a substantial part of it ss.16(1)(a), 17(1), s.16(3)(a). This can be done either directly or indirectly s.16(3)(b)

Viacom cannot amend its complaint against Google in its $1 billion copyright lawsuit to add a claim for punitive damages

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published a report setting out an action plan for government support of the creative industries.

The Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/3032) provided new rights over databases

Copyright infringement is centred on the concept of strict liability - that it is not necessary to consider the state of mind of the defendant when they carried out the infringing action. This means that it does not matter if the defendant was aware that the work was protected under the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988. Also irrelevant is if they defendant believed that they had permission to copy the work.

Where your work is similar to another, there are four possible explanations

One strand of copyright is called a Registered Design. Whilst this is considered a separate right to copyright it is essentially simply a stronger version

The main rights that are granted to copyright owners are provided under section 16-22 of the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988. Any person that carries out these actions, or authorises another to carry out the act will be infringing the rights of the owner.

Copyright is an automatic right which is afforded to the owner of various works upon creation of those works. There is no official registration system in the UK and this can make it very difficult to enforce

If you own the copyright in a piece of work then the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 affords you the following:

Article 5 of the Copyright Directive 2001/29 sets out various instances where copying ones work will not be infringement

Each strand of copyright (i.e. each type of work) holds a different duration. These have been indicated below:

Copyright protects the following types of works Literary, Dramatic, Musical, Database, Artistic, Sound, Film, and Broadcasts

Tom Cruise and his friends from the Church of Scientology seem to have failed in their bid to stop people seeing a video of Mr Cruise enthusiastically talking about the faith.

Apple is set to cut the price of its iTunes downloads in the UK to bring them in line with that of the rest of Europe.

Jay Lenon the host of many a US talk show has won an out of court settlement after an author included some of his jokes in a book without his permission.

Copyright applies to music when it is recorded. In most cases more than one person will have rights in a work.

France looks set to make an extension of copyright in sound recordings a priority during its six month presidency of the EU. Accoding to Christine Albanel, the French Culture Minister:

Where your work is similar to another, there are four possible explanations

If someone infringes your copyright you are entitled to damages

One of the biggest record and movie companies in India 'Super Cassettes Industries Ltd' has informed local media that it has a court order prohibiting YouTube India from carrying its music or videos.

Egypt has plans to copyright pyraminds, the Sphinx, and other well-known landmarks, such as the mask of Tutankhamun, and use the money from the royalties from copies of these monuments to pay for their upkeep and maintenance.

Copyright give the owner the exclusive right to copy their work, issue copies of the work to the public, rent or lend the work to the public, perform, show or play the work in public and communicate the work to the public.

Thailand's lawmakers have proposed changes to their copyright laws in order to regulate the collecting of royalties in domestic music.

If someone infringes your copyright you are entitled to damages

Internet providers may be forced to disconnect illegal filesharers.

The applicants, Ordnance Survey (the national mapping agency of Great Britain) claimed breach of Crown copyright against the defendant, Green Amps.

Karen Murphy has lost her case after the High Court dismissed an appeal by her against her conviction for screening a broadcast of live UK Premier League football matches.

The government has proposed legalising the copying of CDs to home computers.

Copyright subsists in sound recordings, and in the music and lyrics to a song, pursuant to section 1(1) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA)

In many circumstances it will be important to know who is the owner of the copyright.

A website which helped users exchange 'bit-torrents' of films, music and television programmes has lost a US copyright case.

One of the biggest record and movie companies in India 'Super Cassettes Industries Ltd' has informed local media that it has a court order prohibiting YouTube India from carrying its music or videos.

A Ukranian court has upheld a judgement against music download site mp3.ua.

This articles looks at the various remedies available for infringement of copyright.

A case in point: Meridian International Services Limited v Ian Richardson and Others, 18 October 2007

The French government has come up with a new policy to combat repeat illegal downloaders.

This note looks at the duties owed by an agent to its principal. These are of course subject to variation by agreement and, where they apply, The Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (SI 1993/3053, as amended by SI 1993/3173 and SI 1998/2868) (the Regulations)

Copyright in the UK is automatic.

There are two types of copyright infringement: Primary and Secondary, both of which are governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

No!

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published the results of a survey concerning young people and their use of networking sites

Kwick-Fit are being sued for breach of copyright by the Performing Rights Society because their mechanics had played the radio too loudly whilst working!

The main form of protection for copyright works internationally is through an agreement known as the Berne Convention.

Even if you do not have a confidentiality agreement in place it was Lord Denning in (Seager Limited v Copydex Limited [1967] 2 All ER 415, Lord Denning MR) who established the broad principle under equity law that a person who has received information in confidence cannot take unfair advantage of it.

The sort of material that benefits from copyright protection are dictated by statute

For the purposes of copyright protection, a computer program is treated as a literary work, so that copyright will subsist if the program is an original literary work: see Sections 1 and 3(1)(b) Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 ("the CDPA").

Counterfeiting is not just specific to the obvious, i.e., DVD’s, CD’s and clothes. It is prevalent in all areas of industry.

Copyright give the owner the exclusive right to copy their work, issue copies of the work to the public, rent or lend the work to the public, perform, show or play the work in public and communicate the work to the public.

Computer programs are protected by copyright in two ways, literal copying and non literal copying.

Work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or a work specially ordered or commissioned in certain specified circumstances.

Copyright subsists in computer programs by virtue of their inclusion in the definition of literary works under the Copyright, Design and Patent Act 1988 (the ‘Act’).

As a website owner it is essential that you consider the various forms of intellectual property in order to protect your website from both being copied and also ensure that material you use does not infringe the rights of another party. In what will be a series of articles I begin by looking at copyright.

With many businesses and organisations presenting themselves on the Internet it is unsurprising that copying by others, especially by competitors is not uncommon.

Copyright only protects the expression of an idea not the idea itself.

Subject to the exemptions below copyright in literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work expires seventy years from the year in which the author of the work dies (see Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 S12(2)).

Copyright is an automatic right. It exists to protect the expression of an idea rather than the actual underlying idea itself. The duration offered by this form of protection, is life of the author plus 70 years, and as such it provides quite a strong monopoly.

The definition of database under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (‘the Act’) is ‘a collection of independent works, data or other materials which are arranged in a systematic or methodical way, and are individually accessible by electronic or other means.’

Section 30(1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 provides a defence for copyright infringement of fair dealing for criticism or review.

This question often comes up hence, a short note on what your rights are.

Copyright is dealt with under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

For the purposes of copyright protection, a computer program is treated as a literary work, so that copyright will subsist if the program is an original literary work: see Sections 1 and 3(1)(b) Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 ("the CDPA").

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that google is not infringing copyright by using the thumb nail images which is does not own. Google was sued by Perfect 10 a porn site which alleged Google infringed its copyright in thumb nail.

After an extensive copyright inquiry probe, the website 'Oink' has been shut down for music piracy (and a 24 year old man has been arrested). British police have hailed the website as one of the world's largest music piracy websites.

The British and Dutch police have shut down the illegal music piracy website OiNK, which is said to be the primary source for illegal pre-releases worldwide.

The basic framework of UK copyright law is largely found in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A right of action will lie for breach or infringement of confidential information where you can prove the other party has used confidential information, directly or indirectly obtained from you and without your consent.

The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (Commencement No 14) Order 2007 has given effect to changes in the enforcement of copyright.

Copyright - databases A database may be protected by copyright or under the provisions governing database right.

Generally the first owner of the copyright in a work will be the person who created the work.

The UK Premier League (FAPL) is asking the Government to shake-up the UK's copyright law.

A scottish court will decide on whether employees can listen to the radio

Copyright subsists in sound recordings, and in the music and lyrics to a song, pursuant to section 1(1) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA).

The circumstances in which an individual can be jointly liable with a company were considered by the Court of Appeal in MCA Records Inc. v. Charly Records

As a website owner it is essential that you consider the various forms of intellectual property in order to protect your website from both being copied and also ensure that material you use does not infringe the rights of another party. In what will be a series of articles I begin by looking at copyright.

A single mother from Minnesota has made legal history by forcing America's biggest record companies into a trial after she has refused to settle out of court for alleged music piracy.

In many circumstances it will be important to know who is the owner of the copyright.

Copyright is dealt with under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Copyright is a right which arises automatically- i.e. there is no registration system, so no forms to fill out and no fees to pay- unlike, e.g. trade mark law.

Useful tips to recognise website copying and infringement

Stuart Silverstein is suing media giant Pearson's book publishing unit Penguin for more than $1m (UKP500,000) over alleged copyright infringement of his collection Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker. The six-year-old case will come to a head in a New York courtroom on October 9 when both sides will make their closing arguments.

Prince the singing superstar has had enough. He has instucted his representatives to get heavy with 'You Tube' and a host of other web site infringements

Enforcement in the High Court of a foreign judgement is governed by the Civil Procedure Rules Parts 70 and 74 together with RSC Orders 17, 45 to 47 and 52 as in Schedule 1 to the CPR

A revolutionary record label which allows consumers to choose how much they pay for music has suffered a dramatic drop in sales.

A Court has held that a software developer responsible for a copyright infringement, described by the copyright owner as insignificant, broke the law.

Quick guide to copyright

AllofMP3.com, a Russian music download website shut down in July after accusations of copyright infringement, has announced it shall re-open. The site sold music downloads well below market prices, and as a result has been a source of much antagonism for the record labels. AllofMP3.com announced on their blog that they were looking to resume services as soon as possible and that member accounts had been re-activated.

“One of Europes most notorious music pirates”: Robert Langley (known as Mr Toad) has pleaded guilty to selling bootlegged recordings of Led Zeppelin gigs.

Youtube have agreed to pay royalties for songs used in videos on the site.

A new study by the US’s Institute for Policy Innovation estimates that worldwide recorded music piracy costs the US $12.5 billion

Copyright only protects the expression of an idea not the idea itself.

Yes under section 4 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Generally the first owner of the copyright in a work will be the person who created the work.

A database may be protected by copyright or under the provisions governing database right.

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

SCO has suffered a serious setback in its long running case against Novell.

A Moscow court has rejected the case brought against the former owner of mp3 site Allofmp3.com for copyright infringement.

If you commission someone to create a work such as a logo or a piece of software, any copyright which arises from this will remain with the author unless it is assigned in writing to you.

The definition of database under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (‘the Act’) is ‘a collection of independent works, data or other materials which are arranged in a systematic or methodical way, and are individually accessible by electronic or other means.’

In the recent case of The Flashing Badge Company Limited v Brian David Groves (T/A Flashing Badges By Virgo And Virgo Distribution) Justice Rimmer provided guidance as to the dividing line to be applied when deciding whether a design is protected by copyright or design right.

The law of copyright rests on a very clear principle:

A computer programmer has been given royalties for systems he was commissioned to create, even though no copyright agreement existed.

Copyright is an automatic right. It exists to protect the expression of an idea rather than the actual underlying idea itself.

The complaints against YouTube and its owners Google Inc regarding the uploading by users of copyright works to the YouTube site continue to flood in.

Westminster City Council has reportedly bought the copyright in the distinctive red and black street signs from the estate Sir Misha Black, who designed them back in the 1960’s.

Can you copyright a name? No!

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 lists computer programs within its definition of literary works.

Generally the first owner of the copyright in a work will be the person who created the work.

How to start a claim at Nominet

An Attorney working for US video sharing site Youtube has told a court that they are near the completion of a system to filter out copyrighted content.

The government has announced plans to create an exemption from copyright law for people who are moving music to MP3 format

Strict copyright laws do not necessarily equate to higher earnings for authors.

Copyright is dealt with under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Copyright is dealt with under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Can you copyright a name?

Database right is a sui generis right created in the UK by the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997.

What is the Berne Convention?

We often get asked this question hence, a short note on what your rights are.

Counterfeiting is not just specific to the obvious, i.e., DVD’s, CD’s and clothes. It is prevalent in all areas of industry.

Russia has hit out at an illegal download site which threatened its entry into the World Trade Organisation.

Illegal downloading is a devastating problem for the record industry.

Open an account today!

Initially the author of a work is the first owner of any copyright in it.

Copyright is dealt with under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The WIPO has had to face an embarrassing turn around after a successful coalition of web activists and the technology industry

Prince Charles was successful in his defence of his diaries and their publication.

In the recent case of The Flashing Badge Company Limited v Brian David Groves

For literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, there is a requirement of ‘originality’ in order to obtain copyright in the work.

No need to register copyright.

Copyright is essentially a private right.

The judge who last week ordered Brazilian ISPs to block access to YouTube until it removed clips of a sexual nature featuring a Brazilian model has decided to reverse the ban.

CD- Wow lose argument as to where delivery takes place for the purposes of copyright infringement.

Copyright and the IPO

CD Wow facing huge payment

Copyright is essentially a private right.

In a recent High Court Decision of Cembrit Blunn Ltd & Dansk Eternit Holdings AS v Apex Roofing Services & Roy Leader [2007] EWHC 111, it was confirmed that business letters could be protected by the law.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that google is not infringing copyright by using the thumb nail images which is does not own. Google was sued by Perfect 10 a porn site which alleged Google infringed its copyright in thumb nail.

Copyright is a set of exclusive rights ...

Intellectual property simply means specific legal rights which authors, inventors and other rights holders may own and exercise, and not the intellectual work itself.

Ibcos Computers Limited v Barclays Mercantile Highland Finance Limited

The most common act of infringement in relation to software (meaning the source or object code) is unauthorised copying. English law makes two distinctions literal and non-literal copying:

YouTube will start displaying a notice in Japanese on its website warning users against uploading copyright content.

As per s 13A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the duration of copyright in sound recordings is 50 years.

Hew Raymond Griffiths, the leader of warez site DrinkorDie has pleaded guilty to “conspiracy to commit copyright infringement”.

Warner Music Group are suing Yahoo China for alleged copyright infringement as it claims that Yahoo is offering links to unlicensed music.

The leading case is Anton Pillar. Following Anton it became relatively easy to obtain search orders.

Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh claimed that Dan Brown’s blockbuster thriller "The Da Vinci Code" ("DVC") was an infringement of the copyright in their book.

Yesterday the UK Patent Office changed its name to the Intellectual Property Office.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has accused You Tube of copyright infringement and ordered the removal of all clips.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation have reported the People's Republic of China have given effect to the WIPO Copyright Treaty 1996 and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty 1996.

The copyright holder of George Orwell's classic novel 1984 may sue over the video that used Apple Inc.'s 23-year-old Macintosh advertisement to jab at Sen. Hillary Clinton, a lawyer for Rosenblum Productions Inc.

Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, have failed in their appeal against Random House regarding the dispute about novel, The Da Vinci Code.

For the past 25 years Arista records now Sony failed to pass on millions of dollars of royalties to the biggest band of the 70s.

Case: Robertson v Thomson Corp [2006] S.C.C. 43 (Sup Ct (Can))

A decision has been reached in the US regarding ‘Fartman’ and ‘Pull my finger fred’.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation have reported the People's Republic of China have given effect to the WIPO Copyright Treaty 1996 and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty 1996.

Initially the author of a work is the first owner of any copyright in it.

Copyright in the UK is automatic.....

Copyright subsists in computer programs by virtue of their inclusion in the definition of literary works under the Copyright, Design and Patent Act 1988 (the ‘Act’).

A killer for Seal Case.

Microsoft Associate General Counsel Thomas Rubin this week took Google to task over its move into new media markets ..

The E-Commerce Regulations apply to ‘information society services’ within the ‘co-ordinated field’, which covers a wide range of on-line activities that are ‘normally provided for remuneration’.

Furry Porn is fun for some see the above link for those who wish to be enlightened.

Copyright is dealt with under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

JK Rowling is suing eBay, the online auction hosting service, for breach of copyright.

This article is part of a series or articles that looks at website content which is used by an organisation to advertise its products and services and to promote its brand and the many legal issues that it can face.

A court in Mumbai, India has jailed a movie pirate for seven months and fined him 55,000 rupees ($1,250) following a case filed by the Motion Picture Assn under the Indian Copyright Act.

Two historians who failed to convince the High Court that Dan Brown stole their ideas for his The Da Vinci Code....

Counterfeiting is not just specific to the obvious, i.e., DVD’s, CD’s and clothes. It is prevalent in all areas of industry.

When deciding who owns the copyright to a photograph, it is essential to establish when it was taken. This falls into three categories:

Google has agreed to start filtering the videos uploaded to its video website, YouTube

A copyright ruling in Germany has identified the fact that it’s not what copyright infringement you do that matters, it’s where you do it.

It has been reported this week that the world renowned Website You Tube is playing it safe and is trying to gain widespread consent to use copyright material.

Arts and Cultural organisations in Japan are calling for an increase in the term of copyright.

Myspace is a virtual friend’s network owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and has announced that it will be using specially designed software to monitor videos uploaded onto the website.

It has been reported this week that Google have held back $206 million dollars as security against any actions in copyright

The Andrew Gower Review on Intellectual Property in December had recommended that the Department of Trade should give more powers to Trading Standards ....

It has been reported this week that the Malaysian authorities are cracking down on mobile phone copyright infringement.

In a recent landmark judgement the Court of Appeal in Attheraces v The British Horseracing Board has found that the BHB was not abusing its dominant position in the market of pre-race data.

The Guardian this week reported on Victor Hugo’s great-grandson has failed in an attempt to prevent the circulation of the great novel Les Miserables.

A Portsmouth licensee faces a fine of almost eight thousand pounds after being found guilty of showing foreign satellite football in her pub.

According to a new study, copyright industries in the U.S. accounted for $1.38 trillion in 2005, or 11.12% of the gross domestic product.

Singer/songwriter Tom Waits has settled his lawsuit against a German carmaker and plans to donate his legal windfall to charity.

A 73-year-old owner of a bar has been sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years, for allowing live piano performances to be played without permission,

An unsigned London band received an undisclosed financial settlement with Coca Cola over its use of the band's material in television commercials.

If a bar or restaurant owner has a DJ, live music or even a jukebox, he has to get a licence from one of the three major performing rights associations

A Publican is this week celebrating a famous victory in a legal battle with Sky and the FA Premier league over live TV football coverage.

A bear appearing on a Toblerone and an elephant on Cote d’Or bars have caused controversy leading to a copyright court case in Canada.

Media Companies are frustrated with Google's YouTube. For example, NBC Universal says it sends out more than 1,000 requests per month to have copyrighted content taken down

A group of Swedish file sharers are trying to buy the principality of Sealand, in an attempt to circumvent copyright laws.

Changes to Canada's copyright laws are expected as early as next month.

Saturday Night Live (SNL), the longest running sketch comedy show on television in the U.S. is being accused of copyright infringement by Stashwax

Japan and the United States have agreed to make it easier for inventors in one country to patent their ideas in the other as part of joint efforts to fight the global piracy of copyrighted goods.

A South Korean court handed down a prison sentence to exporters who descrambled signals from satellite broadcasters which are scrambled to prevent piracy.

Like any form of property, copyright can be bought, sold, transferred and inherited.

A concept known as fair use exists in copyright law

A lawsuit has been filed by one of China's largest newspapers, the Beijing News against one of the country's leading Internet portals, Tom.com over the issue of massive copyright violations

Copyright in the UK is automatic. There is no current requirement for an assertion of copyright to be made in the UK for copyright to subsist

The owner of a work or his exclusive licensee can bring legal action against an infringer

Copyright subsists in computer programs by virtue of their inclusion in the definition of literary works under the Copyright, Design and Patent Act 1988

The Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 introduced a new offshoot from copyright, the database right

Mobile phone owners in the U.S. will be allowed to break software locks on their handsets in order to use them with competing carriers under new copyright rules

Copyright in the UK is automatic. There is no current requirement for an assertion of copyright to be made in the UK for copyright to subsist.

The European Union has abandoned plans to reform copyright.

Gower suggests a private copying exemption which he recommends should be written into copyright law

Lonnette Fisher Lynch, Manager of Copyright and Related Rights at the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), has urged Jamaicans to adhere to the nation's copyright laws or face fines of prison terms.

A Japanese copyright advocacy group has asked YouTube, the popular video sharing website, to keep a closer watch on the posted videos for copyright infringement.

Thousands of musicians including Paul McCartney, U2 and Eric Clapton joined yesterday in an appeal to the government to extend the British copyright protection on their recordings.

A man convicted of recording films using a camcorder in cinemas has been sentenced in the US to seven years in jail.

Actress and singer Olivia Newton-John is suing Universal Music Group Inc. for allegedly failing to pay more than $1 million in royalties on sales of the "Grease" soundtrack album

L.A. celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavendeira, is being sued by photo agency X17 for copyright infringement

It would seem that yet again Dan Brown along with his publishers and the companies which distributed the film ‘The Da Vinci Code’ are trying to dismiss a claim

The Gower Review of Intellectual Property is an independent review which examines a variety of intellectual property issues

The United States and Russia announced that they will set up a copyright hotline

European Union internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy confirmed Wednesday his plans to overhaul the system of copyright levies on consumer goods that currently compensate artists in Europe.

Lyons Partnership, the owner of the loved children’s character Barney the purple dinosaur, sent threatening letters to a New York musicologist and computer repair technician

The UK recorded music industry has announced that an anti-piracy operation conducted over the past week in west London included the seizure of 200,000 Bollywood CDs and DVDs

Google says it has struck a deal involving the sharing of content with two organizations to partly settle a dispute in Belgium over news articles available through the Internet search engine

The US and Russia will set up a copyright hotline so that information about copyright infringement can be swapped between the two nations

The growth of men's magazines in Australia has increased demand for cover girls - but models say this means an increased trade in unauthorised pictures

Eric Nicoli, EMI’s chairman, made a last-ditch plea in favour of extending the copyright term for recorded music yesterday

Google settled a dispute with two Belgian groups representing photographers and journalists in a copyright dispute

Eric Nicoli, EMI’s chairman, made a last-ditch plea in favour of extending the copyright term for recorded music yesterday

The Delhi High Court has dismissed the plea of film producer Yash Raj Films seeking to drop its name as a party to the lawsuit accusing it of plagiarizing a costume design

The ongoing battle over photos from the 2000 wedding of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones went to the House of Lords on Monday

An alliance of music companies, claiming that Baidu had engaged in illegal downloading, have lost a copyright action against the Chinese search

Universal Music Group, the world's largest recorded-music company has sued News Corp.'s social networking website MySpace for copyright infringement

It could be argued that the predominant purpose of Article 7(1) the European Parliament & Council Directive 96/9 is to protect the investment involved in producing a database without affording exclusive rights in the data contained

Part 3

Part 2

Google signed a deal with YouTube and it agreed to pay $1.65 billion in shares for YouTube. Google has since announced that it will hold withhold 12.5% of those shares for copyright law suits

For almost 40 years the single ‘a Whiter Shade of Pale’ has always been credited to the lead singer of Beyond the Pale....

Part 1

Andrew Ainsworth who created the over 12 characters for the original Star Wars movie has been fined $20 million in damages for continuing to utilise his own designs.

Almost two thirds of the British public support a move to extend the number of years musicians can receive royalties for their work, a survey suggest.

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has suggested that the government examine the private right to copy exemption

The Supreme Court in Germany ruled in a case involving German citizen Holger Voss who wished to have his internet usage records deleted, that internet service providers (ISPs) must delete internet usage records

Copyright protects creative and artistic works. Copyright owner’s permission is required to copy or use a copyrighted work.

Zango, formerly known as 180Solutions, which is an internet advertising company using ‘unfair and deceptive methods’ to download irremovable adware to 70 million computers, has agreed to pay $3 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges.

Marcia Cross' is cross. Someone has stolen her nude photographs,

An author's exclusive right to his creation is mandated in the US Constitution in Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, also known as the Intellectual Property Clause

Sharman Networks, the company behind Kazaa, have already reached a settlement with the music industry and paid $115 million in penalties.

This will be determined whereby more than one individual has created the work. However to determine this you will need to consider the following:

judge from the Criminal Court n3 in Santander, Ms. Paz Aldecoa has this week acquitted an Internet surfer for downloading and sharing music

Market leading social networking site MySpace will use the Gracenote audio identification technology to identify audio recordings uploaded by its members in order to block copyrighted music hosted without permission on members' pages.

It is reported this week that the Institute of Public Policy Research is putting pressure on the Gowers Review to update the law of copyright.

The two men which were accused of attempting to steal the trade secrets of Coca Cola have appeared in Court this week

Hong Kong-based gaming hardware online retailer Lik-Sang.com has closed its doors. No more orders will be taken from today, the retailer said. Existing orders will be cancelled and refunded.

Constant questions are being fired at Downing Street in relation to the potential change in copyright law.

Literally days after the purchase of YouTube by Google Inc. a request to remove videos on the site was made by Japanese copyright related rights organisations

An Australian television station, Channel 9, instigated a copyright infringement action against one of its rivals, Ice TV.

It has been reported this week that over 8,000 illegal uploaders of music files onto peer-to-peer networks are facing legal action.

U.S. District Judge struck out a lawsuit accusing her of copyright infringement over lyrics to her single Baby Boy

The counterfeiting industry is a global problem

In order to implement the “EU InfoSoc Copyright Harmonization Directive 2001/29/EC” and the “EU IP Rights Enforcement Directive” Spanish parliament has introduced changes in Spanish Copyright law 1996.

A Federal Court judge has dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit against singer Beyonce Knowles.

The recent Miss World Pageant has led to allegations of copyright violation between the two biggest TV stations in Vietnam

A lawsuit filed by copyright management firm Copiepresse in Belgium in August 2006, accused Google of breaching copyrights of publications

Britain’s Sound Archive, which holds more than a million discs, 185,000 tapes and many other sound and video recordings, is facing the loss of a significant portion of its music

A list of online pharmacies suspected of offering illegal medicines were raided in Essex

The following organisations are also actively involved in a campaign against counterfeiting

Members of the 80’s pop/rock group The Knack filed a lawsuit last week in Los Angeles against hip-hop legend Run DMC claiming the group used an unlicensed sample for a song.

Two stories over the weekend saw Burberry flexing its muscles over unwanted use of its trademark and design

US Kanye West was enjoying victory as a court in NY threw out a claim by New Jersey group IOF that he had stolen beats and lyrics from one of their songs

A customer database developed by a sales agent while working on behalf of an insulation company was the property of the agent company

The Motion Picture Association of America has reported the UK as a key player in the piracy business

Myspace and Youtube face legal action

Burberry has threatened action against a company which offers motorised Rickshaws.

Procter & Gamble Co. has filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit against a New Jersey company.

The legal owner of copyright in software is permitted to do the following:

American rapper Kimberly Denise Jones, best known by her stage name Lil' Kim, has been named in a lawsuit filed by Jamaican reggae singer/songwriter Tanya Stephens.

The British Government has violated its own online copyright laws in an attempt to appeal to those checking out top video site YouTube.

A US man was sentenced to 6 years and three years probation for illegally selling more than $4.1 million of copyrighted software.

The award winning and immensely lucrative book that made Dan Brown the highest paid author in history has again hit the headlines as the Da Vinci Code plagiarism case returned to court for a determination on the length of the next transfixing instalment of the legal battle in the Court of Appeal.

Initially the author of a work is the first owner of any copyright in it.

Remedies: there are generally 7 different civil remedies applicable to copyright infringement in the UK.

George Orwell and copyright

Can sound recordings and films be protected under copyright law?

It has been reported that Madonna’s publishers are to sue Dr Dre, Mary J Blige and Eve for copyright infringement.

Comedians and Copyright

The New Zealand Federation Against Copyright (NZFACT) said today staff at the theatre reported seeing a woman allegedly recording a movie trailer before the screening of the movie ‘Cars’.

Copyright subsists in computer programs by virtue of their inclusion in the definition of literary works under the Copyright, Design and Patent Act 1988

The second form of protection available for databases is under the database right.

Tony Blair has this week stated that he feels it appropriate to extend the period of copyright in relation to musical works.

The French Constitutional Council gave a ruling last week on a recent copyright law that would require Apple to unlock its ‘digital rights management’ (DRM).

The protection offered under copyright law for databases

Initially the author of a work is the first owner of any copyright in it.... however

Kazaa agrees deal to end the law suits

Arts and Cultural organisations in Japan are calling for an increase in the term of copyright.

BBC sources can reveal the largest beverage company in the world, soft drinks giant Coca-Cola, have prosecuted three employees over the alleged theft and attempted distribution of samples and secret documentation to the company’s most loathed competitor in the soft drinks market, PepsiCo.

Many of us spend hours during work watching videos on YouTube. However, it may all be over and stopped.

A more detailed summary of the application of copyright law to computer programs is set out below.

This articles looks at the various remedies available for infringement of copyright.

It has been reported that the boy scouts in Hong Kong are to monitor copyright infringement over the internet.

The ongoing war against music piracy has increased in intensity, signified by the inclusion of major internet players in the hitlist of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Tiscali has issued a letter of rebuke to the BPI

No sex please- we are copyright lawyers

The British Government threaten former ambassador with the kitchen sink

It has been reported this week that three employees of the soft drinks company Coca Cola stole the secret recipe of the world famous coke drink and tried to sell it to Pepsi.

A group of major music companies are preparing to sue Yahoo China over complaints the popular search engine violates copyright by linking to Web sites that offer pirated music.

Britain have signed a treaty with India over the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights

Microsoft’s WGA (‘Windows Genuine Advantage’) software is set to be the centre of another claim in the US.

The US Department of Justice has now announced last week that two men have now been sent to prison for their involvement in relation to online software piracy.

The Virgin France music retailer has been fined 600,000 euros for illegally downloading a Madonna song to resell it on its pay-per-tune site.

It has been reported that Spain are soon to introduce a levy on blank media.

In Andrew Knight v Beyond Mann J has delivered the first case, which he is aware of, that requires a prospective cost-capping order in an IP case

The Dutch Supreme Court made a brave ruling last week when it insisted that copyright can exists in a smell.

The Walt Disney Company lost a round before the United States Supreme Court in an ongoing legal battle with the company that owns the merchandising rights to the Winnie the Pooh characters.

The ASU releases disappointing results

A battle over copyright sees a first round win to Steinback

Busted's former singer songwriter has been successful in a summary judgement application

The CBI has (along with other countries) objected to the TV without frontiers directive

EU Commissioner warns China

The battle for the right to manufacture and distribute Rover cars continues between Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and Nanjing Automobile Corporation.

The British Phonographic Industry has stated that they will sue Russian download website www.allofmp3.com for copyright infringement.

Well known rappers ‘Kanye West’ and ‘Ludacris’ have successfully defended a claim of copyright infringement against them.

Peter Jamieson is the chairman of the BPI and is fronting an independent review of copyright laws in England and Wales

PS3 and the problem of copyright.

Lawyer magazine defends contempt of court charge

Police in Bulgaria have made arrests on two men suspected of running Europe’s largest internet pirate ring.

A report by the Business Software Alliance has identified vast amounts of software piracy being conducted by United Kingdom businesses.

Well not quite Spartacus. But another author has come out of the woodwork claiming he is the ‘Spartacus’

Dogs are man’s best friend.

The employers’ organisation CBI has called for the way British intellectual property is looked after in international markets to be reviewed

The Business Software Alliance (‘BSA’) has increased its reward for reporting use of unlicensed software

A Government study conducted on internet crime.

“Where there’s a hit, there is a writ”.

Franchising is a system of marketing goods or services. The system is based on a close collaboration between separate undertakings, being each of them legally and financially independent companies.

A student from Harvard University has admitted that she inadvertently borrowed material from another author.

Brands are big business. They can be worth many millions of pounds.

Essays for sale!

The High Court came to pronounce a landmark decision last week in the case of Michael Baigent & Richard Leigh v The Random House Group Limited

The music industry has decided to push another wave of legal actions

The ongoing fight against piracy, which costs the audio-visual industry approximately £800 million, has now been taken to a new level with the implementation of a Metropolitan Police Specialist Unit.

The prosecution was brought by the Federation Against Copyright Theft.

An application was made by Polydor record company for Summary Judgement

There will be 150 worried individuals sitting at home waiting for the knock on the door.

A draft law has been approved in France by the French National Assembly that will force Apple and other MP3 player providers who offer music downloads which are copy protected to ensure that the music downloaded will be interoperable with other music players

The French parliament has backed plans to give consumers more choice over music downloads from the internet

Microsoft has filed lawsuits against several individuals accused of selling pirated software on eBay. The computer giant was able to trace some of the alleged pirates through its Windows Genuine Advantage programme and their anti-piracy hotline.

The French Government have done what appears to be a u-turn on their position regarding illegal downloading of copyright material.

It is quickly becoming apparent that plagiarism is a real problem in the school and even the university system.

What if you come across an idea, a very good idea at that. However you cannot afford the license fee and still wish to sell your idea. Provided you do not infringe a trademark or copy an image, then the owner will only be able to rely on the law of passing off. It has become known as character merchandising. The only relevant action open to the owner of the rights is the judge made law known as passing off. The law of passing off responds to changes in the nature of trade.

In another victory for the music and film industry, the illegal file-sharing network eDonkey have had one of its most major components shut down.

Columbia and Sony Studios are taking legal action against Irish video stores for the illegal acquisition and subsequent renting of retail DVD’s.

According to the commission the overall response to the consultation has been positive

The High Court began to hear a claim concerning the international best seller ‘The Da Vinci Code’ by Dan Brown.

Pop group U2 have found themselves entangled in an on-going legal battle between a multi-media firm and the creators of the ipod, Apple.

Copyright duration may vary depending on the work that seeks protection. European harmonisation took effect as a result of legislation that introduced new periods as of 1 January 1996.

A short term validation programme aimed at tackling software piracy has been started by Microsoft. With the introduction to Microsoft’s new Office Suite 2007, Microsoft is keen to ensure that this time round copying of its products is tougher than before.

The Federation Against Software Theft (FACT) and the Metropolitan Police have created a police unit which will focus its attention on tackle the ongoing battle with piracy and its link with organised crime.

Perfect 10 has recently obtained a partial victory over Google, preventing the search engine from copying and displaying copyright protected images within its result page of an image search.

Musician Charles Aznavour along with Henri Salvador and Sir Cliff Richard are leading the battle to force Europe to extend its copyright period.

Prince Charles has withdrawn his attempt to prevent confidential information from being placed in the public domain.

Microsoft has launched a new campaign named “Keep It Real” in an attempt to limit the ever increasing amount of software piracy in the UK. This is the latest in a series of moves by Microsoft to crackdown on software piracy

There will be 150 worried individuals sitting at home waiting for the knock on the door. The High Court this month ordered 150 ISP including Telewest, BT have been ordered to disclose the names of individuals who it is alleged have been illegally sharing software.

What if you come across an idea, a very good idea at that. However you cannot afford the license fee and still wish to sell your idea

Google claimed record profits recently yet its hare price fell wiping several million dollars of the share price. We know shareholders are only interested in the next financial results but are they also worried about two recent events.

Last year it was revealed that software known as ‘XCP’ would install anti-copying software on an individual’s computer when certain Sony BMG CDs were played. A discussion of the recent developments.

A law to legalise peer to peer file sharing was passed this week in France. The law states that if an internet subscriber agrees to pay an extra €7 per month on top of their existing rate, then they are permitted to download unlimited files for personal use.

Reports have indicated that nineteen participants have been indicted for pirating up to $6.5 million worth of copyright protected computer software, as well as games and movies online.

An important victory was win last week by copyright holders in the UK High Court after the judge ordered 10 Internet Service Providers to hand over details of 150 suspects in sharing software.

VW-Audi was found to have breached his copyright by using an impersonator to perform a version of Innocent When You Dream in an advert, Barcelona Appeal Court said.

A small Massachusetts company, TVMyPod, is selling iPods that come with movies and TV programs already loaded on them.

The London 2012 organisers (the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games – LOCOG) have started a campaign aimed to prevent the use by local authorities and business of the words “London”, “Olympics” or “2012”.

There has been heavy speculation this week that Google are set to offer on-line digital music to its users.

The year 2005 saw a massive attempt by music industry’s across the world to defeat music piracy. However, with an estimated 885 million music files available for download over the internet, the problem appears as apparent as ever.

A new bill called the ‘Olympic and Paralympic Bill’ which is currently being read in the House of Lords will seek to protect the Intellectual Property Rights of all associated Olympic words

A US district court has ruled that Google’s cache feature, which allows users to access snapshots of web pages taken when they were viewed by Google robots, does not breach copyright in those web pages. Use of the material is a fair use, said the Court.

The Department of Justice now reports that a man in California who operated a website selling thousands of pirated software has pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal copyright infringement.

There has been much debate this week as to whether or not the papal documents (the pope’s words) should be given copyright protection.

Thousands of children in Hong Kong have been recruited to report instances of copyright infringement to customs officers.

American rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has had a copyright infringement suit filed against him by the owner of the 2 Live Crew back catalogue.

The government of France is reportedly loosening restrictions in its proposed digital copyright protection bill

A consumers rights Watchdog this week has suggested that the music industry is placing unacceptable restrictions on consumers with regards to the use of tracks legally downloaded via the internet

In a bid to address the growing concerns of the rights attributed to media companies and individuals with regard to filesharing, the French Government is redrafting the copyright bill.

Jury selection about to take place in the Federal District Court in Houston, Texas for a copyright infringement suit filed against rap artist Lil' Flip, his former label Suckafree Records, Columbia Records and Sony Music BMG.

For the first time in history a Chinese court has ruled against a landlord of a shopping centre who allowed his tenants to pedal counterfeit wares.

Useful tips to recognise website copying and infringement

Securing your rights over an infringement of your copyright work

In November 2995, Sony BMG became embroiled in an internet row which exposed the company as having installed copyright protection software on user’s computers without permission.

The European Commission has recently published evidence to suggest that the Database Directive fails to meet its objective and causes too much confusion suggesting that the current legislative provisions should repealed.

A Chicago Woman’s claim that she only downloaded copyright protected music tracks illegally because she wanted a sample before purchasing them has recently been rejected by the US Court of Appeals.

The music industry will launch a legal campaign early next year to target those websites publishing copyright protected lyrics without the owner’s prior permission.

A Chicago woman has lost an appeal against charges of copyright infringement,

Following the war against file sharing, the music industry has set its sights on websites that provide song lyrics and sheet music.

The intellectual property rights afforded to individuals who create and innovate in the United Kingdom is set to be reviewed by an independent body.

The Korean Parliament is considering to pass a new bill under which internet file transfers will be highly controlled.

A class-action battle between newspaper giant “The Globe and Mail” and its freelancers over who owns the rights to material reproduced in databases and CD-ROMs goes to the Canadian Supreme Court this week.

The second largest peer to peer engine Grokster has waved the white flag and shut down as part of a settlement in a copyright infringement claim that lasted for three years brought against it by the US entertainment industry.

The owners of the Kazaa peer to peer filesharing program have been allowed until 05 December 2005 to modify the Kazaa software so that it includes a filter to screen out all copyright protected material.

Pop star Madonna has been found guilty of copyright infringement by a Belgium Court.

Shore to Shore Limited, a Nottingham-based printed clothing tags manufacturing company has to pay Business Software Alliance, a software industry trade group, £10,000 for its illegal use of unlicensed Apple, Adobe and Microsoft products.

The All Party Parliamentary Internet Group (APIG) is due to hold a public inquiry into the concerns surrounding the use of Digital Rights Management (DRM) to protect contents of a copyright work. The enquiry amongst other things will probe in to level of protection afforded to copyright holders as against consumers.

Arnold Schwarzenegger visited Beijing this week in an attempt to prevent film piracy in China.

Today’s technology provides significant advantages, including the ease in which digital copying can be carried out.

Director Disowns Drama Television director David Blair has dramatically disowned a piece of drama of which he directed.

Steve Wallace a songwriter from the United States of America has failed in his attempt to sue for breach of copyright over the Britney Spears hit record ‘Sometimes’.

The Utah based, SCO Group in pursuance of it s $5billion claim against IBM for infringing its rights in the UNIX operating system by leaking UNIX code into creating open-source Linux, last week filed five page court documents containing the list of 217 areas in which the company alleges IBM violated contracts under which SCO and its predecessors licensed the Unix operating system

In many circumstances it will be important to know who is the owner of the copyright.

Sweden have for the first time convicted a person for illegal file-sharing over the internet.

A person who publishes on or after 1 December 1996 for the first time a previously unpublished work has a property right (publication right), which is equivalent to copyright, provided that the work qualifies for publication.

This is the name given to certain technologies for limiting how people can use the music and video files they have purchased from legal downloading services or even with the music that they have physically bought on CD’s.

The United States of America has just passed a piece of copyright legislation that could see individuals found guilty of downloading films illegally, serving longer prison sentences and being fined up to $250,000.

A list of organisations which act for holders of copyright

In a statement made this week by a group of prominent legal scholars, artists and scientists, a number of reforms were proposed that would see copyright and patent laws relaxed

Warner Music’s Hong Kong subsidiary has been awarded 12,000 yuan ($1500) after a karaoke bar was found guilty of breaching the copyright of Warner music videos.

A number of copyright activists could be seen in Hyde Park’s Speakers’ Corner last Sunday, mooting about the evils surrounding strict copyright law.

Licensing is one of the best ways of exploiting the IP rights for those who own copyright, a patent or

Along the lines of Yahoo and Google the European Commission has decided to create an extensive digital library

Yahoo! which is part of the Open Content Alliance will digitise 18,000 works of American literature and also material from national and European archives.

A man convicted in China for producing and distributing pirated DVD’s has now been extradited to the United States to face further multiple charges of copyright infringement.

Retail Giant Wal-Mart is facing a copyright lawsuit instituted by Philadelphia-based retail chain Anthropologie

Monotype Imaging, a leading custom font development company, has lost a copyright battle to its rival font developer Bitstream

A colonial mansion has become the setting for a copyright dispute over the rights to the music released by Cuban band, Buena Vista Social Club.

A police raid in West London discovered a mass of fake DVD’s with an approximate value of £1,000,000.

It was revealed this week that music companies are pushing for higher prices on Apple’s iTunes internet music download store.

The European Commission is planning to implement a new European Directive to regulate broadcasting on the Internet

Google, who recently unveiled its plans to digitise major library book collections, has hit a major setback after the United States writers group, the ‘Authors Guild’ filed a law suit in the district court for copyright infringement

A 700-pound sculpture of a snake being sold on eBay is the cause of a legal battle involving copyright in Arizona, U.S.A. The dispute is between the owner of the restaurant which houses the sculpture, and the sculpture’s artist.

Google Inc. has a new program to scan millions of books and make their text fully searchable on the Internet.

Wolfgang Clement, the German Federal Minister of Economics and Labor has stated that the boom the legal download sector is experiencing is attributable to the reformed German Copyright Act.

A court in Korea has found that exam questions devised by teachers are entitled to copyright protection, preventing private educational institutions from using them without authorisation.

A Virginian congressman has criticised copyright laws in the U.S. for hampering legal downloads.

Those behind the Taiwanese P2P firm ‘Kuro’ have been sentenced to prison, for owning and running a file sharing service

The File swapping service, Kuro has been found guilty of copyright infringements and has become the first case to see the imposition of gaol terms.

An industry group has announced today that rather than importing them from foreign countries, an increasing amount of pirated DVDs and Videos are being made in Britain.

One of the worst IP Offices in the world has received a much awaited new office

A US appeals court has ruled that a copyright infringement case against the director of the film ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ can proceed.

Google’s library project, launched in December, involves the scanning of out-of-print and copyright works so their text can be found through the search engine's database.

Following the announcement by the Antitrust regulators in Brussels last week that music royalty collection agencies in Belgium and the Netherlands had given up monopoly rights for online licensing, the European Commission has launched a consultation

Database right is a sui generis right created in the UK by the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 and is of key relevance and importance in an advertising or marketing context in two principal ways:

A US District Court for the Southern district of New York has set precedent by stating that architectural works are entitled to the same copyright protection as other creative work.

Two of the EU member sates have initiated a move to ease sales of songs over the Internet in Europe. Antitrust regulators in Brussels announced Wednesday that music royalty collection agencies in Belgium and the Netherlands had given up monopoly rights for online licensing

Ireland has finally succumbed to pressure from the European Council and is soon to award royalties to authors whose books are borrowed from a public library.

Google's print scheme has suffered a set back over the scanning of copyright protected books.

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has formally filed court proceedings against individuals within the United Kingdom for downloading and sharing music filed over the internet without the copyright owner’s consent.

Google have responded to claims that their search engine facilitates breach of privacy by imposing a verbal prohibition between the company and the news web-site which broke the story.

The first person to be charged under new US copyright laws is a teenager.

The Government is due to introduce a new copyright law which will see artists receive royalties every time their work is sold.

It was 1998 when Soni-TriStar Pictures released its movie “The Mask of Zorro’ starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta Jones.

The Italian musician who died 265 years ago is the core of an actual copyright dispute.

Contentious new file-sharing software that would guarantee complete anonymity to users is expected to be available by the end of the year.

may claim proprietorship on ideas or procedures for doing, making or building things; scientific or technical methods or discoveries;

Novell has denied the allegations made by The SCO Group, that the Linux distributor transferred the copyrights in the UNIX system to SCO in the mid-nineties.

The British Phonographic Society has reportedly filed suits against five suspected file-sharers accused of making nearly nine thousand songs available for the public.

Lawyers acting for the author of the Harry Potter books, JK Rowling, have sent several legal warning ‘cease and desist letters’ to various websites hosting unauthorised electronic copies of the new Harry Potter book ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’.

Copyright duration may vary depending on the work that seeks protection.

An 86 year old man who apparently was commissioned by the Nazis to design the famous brand VW logo is apparently suing the car manufacturer for its failure to recognise his works. According to reports he is not asking for money.

Despite the stern measures taken by the likes of British Phonographic Industry (BPP) and Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) to control the menace of illegal music file sharing on the internet, the recent figures by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) show that the illegal file sharing has increased by 3 percent just in the first half of the year.

Last week a welcomed clarification of Article 4 of the Council Directive 93/83 was provided via the case of Legardere Active Broadcast v Societe pour la Perception de la Remuneration Equitable (Case C-192/04)

China has signed an agreement with the MPA in a bid to curb the gargantuan problem of copyright theft occurring in the country.

There are several copyrights which may simultaneously subsist in the contents of a newspaper. Each of the articles is a literary work in which, if it is original, copyright may subsist under section 1(1)(a) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Similarly, the drawings and photographs are artistic works

Can an owner of the copyrights in the typographical arrangements in newspapers succeed in protecting its works?

A Dutch court has refused to reveal the identities of a number of individuals whose IP addresses were collected in relation to file sharing offences.

Traditionally, Spain did not have specialized courts dealing with IP litigation. IP matters were sorted out by the civil jurisdiction under the general jurisdictional rule (art. 45 of Spanish Proceedings Law).

A 22-year old man has been convicted for modifying a Microsoft Xbox console and selling the games machine on his website.

Chelsea football club and Sky One are being challenged over the ownership of new reality football talent show.

'Kingstreet Media' acquire two more large music catalogues.

Lord Lloyd-Webber may soon sell his huge intellectual property empire.

Traditionally Spain did not have specialized courts for IP matters, now there are 24 new courts aimed to deal with IP

US court ruled that peer-to-peer can be held liable for copyright infringements.

This move comes as intellectual property concerns spread amongst large companies, many of them involved with lawsuits related with Linux Technology

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.

A closer look at ownership in equity

Part 3 looks at some examples

Part 1 looks at the principles governing copyright ownership

70% of businesses not aware of their position in relation to work carried out by subcontractors and the resulting copyright ownership.

Copyright is transmissible by assignment, by testamentary disposition or by operation of law, as personal or moveable property.

MPAA announces next wave of lawsuits against file-sharers.

Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber is set to auction his intellectual property estate which includes the rights to huge hits such as Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express, Whistle Down the Wind, Joseph and his Technicolor Dream Coat and many more.

The International Federation of the Phographic Industry, the body that represents European music labels, is pressing the European Commisson to extend copyright duration to fall in line with U.S. law

The US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal has reversed the decision proscribed by the District Court for Illinois, which found that the Copyright Act pre-empted the Illinois Right of Publicity Act.

The American Football team the Dallas Cowboys have paid a photographer $275,000 in an out of court settlement for breaching the copyright of a single photograph

Two men will apparently appear their in court next week, after being arrested over the alleged theft of the new Harry Potter book.

United Kingdom copyright law as set out in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (‘CDPA’) implemented the provisions of the EC Database Directive (Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March on the legal protection of databases).

In a recent application a court granted summary judgement against the publishers of The Sun (News Group Newspapers Limited) who had reproduced the cover of the July 2004 publication of IPC Media Limited’s ‘What’s On TV’ magazine

Search engine giant Google is proposing to introduce a new book search service that would provide the text of library books for users.

The FA Premier League is preparing to do battle with cyber pirates who are jeopardising its £1 Billion television rights deal by streaming live football matches over the Internet.

A woman has been awarded £3,000 in compensation by the Financial Ombudsman Service after she was assaulted by a violent former partner. The former partner was informed of her location after a bank’s clerical error.

In line with the UK Patent Office aim to promote intellectual property awareness it is now organising its ‘What is the Key?’ event on 7 April 2005 at the Crossmead Conference Centre, Exeter.

The ipod, the music player made by Apple, may force the Australian Federal government to amend current copyright laws in order to keep abreast of technological advances and consumer trends.

Last Thursday in Malacanang the Deputy Secretary of State, Robert Zoellick gave a press conference concerning the problem of enforcing anti-piracy laws in the Philippines. When asked to comment on the presence of the Philippines in a US piracy blacklist, Zoellick stated:

Apple Computer, Viacom (Apple’s MTV subsidiary) and an advertising agency have settled a copyright claim with Eight Mile Style, Eminem’s publisher. The dispute arose over the unauthorised use of an Eminem track on Apple’s advert.

There is currently a battle being fought at the High Court in London over classic Latin music.

Three men who were accused of piracy on an international scale, commonly known as drinkordie.com were sentenced to prison at the Old Bailey last Friday for terms between 19 months to two and a half years.

On April 19, 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005. The legislation is expected to be signed into law by President Bush.

The US senate has given go ahead to the Family Entertainment and Copyright Bill (FECB) of 2005. The Bill, authored by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), contains the following main provisions;

A District court in China has sentenced two US nationals and two locals for selling pirated DVDs online.

Saturday, 23 April was celebrated all around the Globe as the World Book and Copyright Day as designated by the UNITED Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Member-States.

The British Phonographic Industry has gained a Court order to compel ISP’s to reveal the identities of 33 peer to peer file-sharers targeted in its second wave of legal actions

The Canadian Recording Industry Association (‘CRIA’) was back in court again this week to try and overturn last years ruling by the Federal Court rejecting its application to compel ISP’s to reveal the identities of 29 file-sharers.

A bill entitled The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005 was accepted by the US House of Representatives this week.

Seven universities including the University of California, San Diego have been sued by The Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA will also send warning letters to the presidents of 141 other schools where the activity is allegedly occurring.

The fundamental reasoning behind intellectual property rights, the jurisprudence, is often neglected or underestimated by many.However, those businesses which have been particularly successful have embraced the practicality that intellectual property, whilst intangible, can in fact provide their greatest asset.

28 Hollywood studios and music firms have taken their ‘fight’ against file-sharing to the next level. Recently those illegally sharing files have come under attack and now it is the turn of the file-sharing internet sites.

The successful Irish band the Corrs have been accused of copying their biggest ever hit. The accusation has been made by an unknown American songwriter called Jenesee Ricco from Los Angeles

Judges in US are studying a rarely used element of copyright law that sparked bitter controversy when raised in Congress a year ago: the software companies’ behaviour.

At the same time that the US Supreme Court is considering a change of strategy in the fight against copyright counterfeiting, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has decided to sue more than 400 college students who were using a special high-speed network to copy songs and movies.

The High Court has recently pronounced a sentence dealing with the key points to construe the lawful use of copyrighted material owned by a third party.

Google which has recently lost cases brought against it in the French Courts for trademark infringement in relation to its Adwords service is now being sued in the US for copyright infringement in relation to its News service.

In order to counter rising threats of Counterfeiting and piracy (Counterfeiting is, wilful trade mark infringement, while piracy involves, wilful copyright infringement) to business, consumers and government, the UKPO as a part of its IP Crime Strategy has finally published its first Annual IP Enforcement Report .

The EU has now placed before member states Directive 2001/84/EC in a bid to harmonise the reselling rights of artists’ work. Although common throughout the EU, notably Austria, Ireland and the UK do not provide for such rights under their respective intellectual property legislation

Read this article in English / Lea este artículo en español

Should the duration of copyright be extended in light of the fact that various 'rock n roll' sound recordings are soon to become public domain?

23 people sued by the British Phonographic Industry admit to sharing upto 9,000 songs, they all settled out of court.

In a serial raid conducted by over 100 officers from the Dutch fiscal police, recently, over 140,000 CDs and DVDs containing Indian music and movies have been seized from 13 different shop premises in Rotterdam, The Netherlands

The Patent Office is challenging students across the UK to create a brand identity and promotional campaign for a pop group in the latest edition of its THINK kit® education pack which this year features Pop and R&B star Jamelia.

A man in Lon Angeles claim that the idea of the popular TV program broadcasted by the NBC and now by the BBC came from him, although others are making profit of it.

In the first part of the drama it was the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filing suits against individuals for sharing infringing files in the US. In the UK it all began in the March of 2004

Fred Durst the lead singer from the rock group Limp Bizkit filed a federal copyright infringement/invasion of privacy lawsuit last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, against 10 website operators

Small businesses and the NoSoftwarePatents (NSP) campaign are against the patent protection for software. They are of the view that patents would turn software publishing into the privilege of a few and would therefore make the software market more anticompetitive. Further, this step would not improve the current scope of protection for software under copyright laws.

An MP3 website in Russia accused of dealing in unauthorised digital copies of recorded music will not face the courts as Russian copyright law does not cover digital files!

A man from California has been charged with misappropriation of trade secrets. Shin-Guo Tsai 35 originally from Taiwan, is a semiconductor design engineer and has been accused of e-mailing his employer’s proprietary data to a rival firm in Taiwan.

Read this article in English / Lea este artículo en español

A Discussion of the recent case of The British Horseracing Board v William Hill.

Directive on the Resale Right For The Benefit of the Author of an Original Work of Art

Recently, the US broadcast regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (‘FCC’), has approved an anty-piracy tag which stops programmes being copied. By attaching a small chip to US digital broadcasts it blocks the possibility of copying the work.

new technology to combat DVD piracy

Groundless Threats of Infringement - the requirements

After some comments published on the Hellkom's website Telkom launched an expensive case for defamation. In addition Telkom decided to add an infringement of Telkom’s intellectual property rights, namely Telkom understood that the logos used by Hellkom were similar to the Telkom’s well-known ‘Keypad’.

RIAA’s practice of using IP addresses to identify file-sharers under the spotlight again as it leads to it effectively suing the dead.

Read this article in English / Lea este artículo en español

Read this article in English / Lea esta artículo en español

Microsoft sues on a copyright claim and in turn gets sued for libel

Court of Appeal upholds judgement that R Griggs Group Ltd are beneficial owners of the copyright in its logo.

Copyright News and Hollywood

More prosecutions state side

Norwegian man is fined for assisting copyright infringements

Windows will now introduce a Windows Genuine Advantage scheme. This scheme will allow users to voluntarily check that their version of Windows is legitimate, failing which the user will not receive essential software upgrades.

Senate Bill seeks to criminalise the sale, advertisement, distribution or otherwise making available P2P software without copyright filters.

Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man and other successful fictional characters such as X-Men, has been successful in suing Marvel Enterprises over its failure to pay him royalties from the profits made from the superhero movies.

The Patent Office is taking its ‘What is the Key?’ initiative to Belfast to raise intellectual property awareness in respect of trademarks, copyright, patents and designs

Read this article in English / Lea este artículo en español

The California State Senate has recently put forward a bill, aimed at addressing the P2P file sharing problem which the music and film industry face. The bill proposes to criminalise the distribution of P2P software which does not take adequate steps to prevent copyright infringement through the file sharing of music and film files.