The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
The The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 gives the creator of published material the control over the way it is used. exists to protect peoples' creations.
When a person creates something, they own it. What they create might include:
- a picture, drawing or photograph
- a video, television programme or film
- text, such as a book, article or report
- a game
A set of rights that prevents people copying and distributing a piece of work without the copyright holder's permission. is a legal means of ensuring that content creators can protect what they create. It only applies to certain types of creative work, including art work, books and computer programs. In general, copyright does not apply to ideas.
Copyright is applied automatically as long as certain criteria are met - it is not necessary to register copyright or to use a © symbol. Work is automatically protected by copyright unless the copyright holder chooses to give that right away.
Copyright gives the copyright holder exclusive rights to publish, copy, distribute and sell their creation. No one else can use the work without permission.
Copyright on a piece of work lasts for a long time, although the rules about how long are quite complicated and vary from country to country. For example, in the UK, copyright on artistic work, literature, music and films lasts for 70 years after the death of the creator.
Licence
When you buy something, such as a book, film or music CD, the copyright holder grants permission for you to use it as part of the sale. This is called a A legal agreement between the company that published the software and the end user covering areas such as copyright.. The licence is generally only for you to use.
When using computers, unless you have permission with regard to particular copyrighted material, it is illegal to:
- make copies of the material
- publish it and sell it without permission
- distribute it to other people
- sell copies to other people
This applies to any copyrighted material, such as music, films, games and television programmes. The internet has made it extremely easy to access copyrighted material illegally. If you download a music track, film, game or programme without the copyright holder’s permission, you are breaking the law.
For example, supermarkets earn their money by selling food and other products. If someone takes their products without paying, the supermarket does not make any money. In the same way, musicians, photographers, filmmakers and artists earn their money by selling products. If someone takes their products without paying, the person who created the work does not make any money.
Exceptions
There are, however, some situations where it is legal to copy, publish, distribute or sell copyrighted material. These are:
- when you are the copyright holder
- when you have the copyright holder’s permission
- when the copyright holder has chosen to give up their copyright
