Copyright

Copyright protects original artistic, literary and dramatic works as well as musical scores, recordings and other such creative works.

In the context of our clients’ businesses, copyright is often relevant to protecting technical drawings, plans, brochures, websites, computer code and graphical user interfaces.

Copyright does not protect technical inventions or, generally speaking, the appearance of industrial articles. Patent and design protection are the more appropriate rights for such works.

Copyright exists from the time a qualifying work is created; no formal registration process is required. Its purpose is to prevent unauthorised copying of original works that have been created using a degree of skill, labour or judgment.

Copyright is somewhat different from patents and registered designs in that the right does not provide an exclusive monopoly. Rather, it is necessary to prove that the alleged infringer copied the work. Creating a similar work independently of the original will not infringe copyright since there is no copying.

We advise clients in all areas of industrial, commercial and IT copyright, including ownership issues, licensing, enforcement & defence, as well as practical help with establishing ownership and detecting copying.

To book an appointment with one of our attorneys, please follow the link to our contact us page. We are always happy to chat and do not charge for intial consultations or informal advice.