Your Copyright Solicitor and The Law: An Introduction - Law

Irrelevant of whether or not you are acting as an individual, SME or company, it is likely that at some point you will need to secure your copyright.

The law surrounding this issue can be quite complex, so if you find yourself with a copyright problem it is definitely a good idea to talk to get some specialist copyright legal advice in order to get a better understanding of the issue and to work out an effective solution. Read on for more information on the sort of issues a copyright solicitor deals with on a regular basis.

This area of law goes back to the 1709 Statute of Anne, when it entered common law and then, in 1911 it became statutory when the Copyright Act was passed. Most modern cases come under the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act.

This covers a range of different issues and the 1988 Act states that if you are the creator of some material, you essentially have the right to decide how that material can be used. For instance, if you write a book or other literature, create dramatic, artistic or musical works, make a broadcast, film or sound recording, you are covered by the Act. If someone uses your work without your consent, such as by lending it out to the public, you might need specialist copyright legal advice from your solicitor to work out what to do.

Your rights cover things such as asserting your right to be identified as the author of a piece of work, as well as when it comes to issues of broadcasting, public performances, copying, lending, renting and adapting a piece of work that you have created. If you ever suspect that one or more of these rights has been breached in relation to a piece of your work, your copyright solicitor will be able to advise you on your next steps.

If your work is going to be covered by copyright law then it needs to be an original piece of work and to have required a certain amount of judgement, labour or skill. It does not specifically incorporate ideas; rather, it refers to actual, tangible pieces of work. So, if you told someone you were going to write a novel on a specific subject and they used the idea, that wouldn't be a breach. However, it would be a breach of your copyright if they stole the actual text of a novel you have written.

Things like this make the issue more complicated, which is why specialist copyright legal advice is so important to this area of law.

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