Copyright

INTRODUCTION

This section will deal with Copyright, Trademarks, and Moral Rights. PATENTS are dealt with in a separate section.

COPYRIGHT

Any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work is automatically given copyright protection. To be protected the work must be recorded in writing or in some other form. Restrictions exist to prevent the copying of the work, issuing copies to the public, and performing or broadcasting the work. There is the exception of “Fair Dealing” which allows limited copying for the purposes of private study and research and education. Copyright work need not be registered.

MORAL RIGHTS

There are four different types of moral rights. These are:
Paternity Rights
The right of an author to be identified when the work is used.
Integrity Rights
The right of an author not to have their work altered in such a way as to affect of prejudice the author’s reputation.
False Attribution
This prevents false statements being made about who the author is.
Privacy
If someone has commissioned photographs of himself or herself this right entitles that person to limit the number of photographs to be made available.

TRADEMARKS

A Trademark is a word or symbol that identifies the assets or goods of a business. The trademark must be distinctive and not just descriptive. The purpose of a trademark is to act as a guarantee of quality and to show the goods origin. Trademarks need to be registered to be protected.

PASSING OFF

Passing off occurs when someone else uses the same or similar name or description that causes confusion to the public. These types of matters are usually brought where a competitor in a business tries to use a similar name to someone else.

CONCLUSION

These areas are extremely complicated. Legal advice should always be obtained from a specialist patent agent or solicitor.