The Intellectual Property Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published on 11 November "A quick guide to protecting your creative work" for self-employed creatives, focused on copyright, together with ready-to-use materials for industry bodies and membership organisations. The guide notes that UK copyright is automatic and needs no registration, and that copyright in original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works usually lasts for the creator's life plus 70 years.
Who owns the copyright
- Work you create yourself: usually you.
- Work created with others: usually joint ownership.
- Commissioned work: usually the creator, though joint ownership may apply if the commissioner took part in the creative process. The commissioner may have an implied licence to use the work for the purpose it was created, while ownership stays with the creator.
- Work created in the course of employment: usually the employer.
Licensing, assignment and enforcement
Creators can license work while keeping ownership, or assign it; in the UK an assignment is effective only if in writing and signed by or on behalf of the person transferring the rights. The guide advises agreeing ownership and licensing in writing before work begins. The UK has no US-style fair use principle, and copyright exceptions are limited. Enforcement is usually up to the rights holder, through negotiation, mediation or legal proceedings.
The stakeholder materials include social media templates with examples for photography, museums and libraries, and writing and publishing, newsletter and email copy, a printable checklist, a presentation pack and campaign images, and state that they do not provide legal advice.
J&C recommends: photographers, designers and publishing professionals taking commissions or collaborating in the UK, and businesses commissioning UK creatives, should agree in writing before work starts who owns the copyright and the scope, territory and duration of use. Where the commissioner needs ownership, a signed written assignment is safer than relying on an implied licence.
Source: www.gov.uk | www.gov.uk
