What does copyright cover?
Types of work you can protect by copyright, and how to use this legal right to protect your intellectual property
If your business produces any of the following, they will automatically be protected by copyright once they are 'fixed' in some way, eg written or recorded:
- literary works, including books, webpages, computer programs and instruction manuals
- dramatic and musical works, including the music to songs
- artistic works, including technical drawings, photographs, diagrams and maps
- films, videos and broadcasts, including those on cable and satellite
- sound recordings
- databases, whether paper or electronic
- typographical arrangement or layout of publications
Copyright covers every medium in which work exists, including the internet.
Unlike most other intellectual property rights, copyright does not require registration. It is an automatic right once your work is 'fixed'.
What copyright doesn't cover
Copyright does not protect:
- names, titles, slogans or phrases - you can register these as trade marks
- ideas - see how to protect new product ideas
- products or industrial processes - you may protect these as patents or designs
How long does copyright last?
The period of protection varies according to the type of copyright work. When and where it was created may also be important. In the UK:
- copyright protection for literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works generally lasts for the lifetime of the creator plus 70 years after their death
- copyright in film lasts for 70 years after the death of the last of the following persons: the principal director, author of the screenplay, author of the dialogue or composer of the music
- copyright in sound recordings and broadcasts lasts for 50 years from the date they were made
- copyright for the typographical arrangement of publications lasts for 25 years from the end of the year in which the edition was first published
Copyright protection may last less in other countries. For artistic works, this is usually not less than the life of the artist plus 50 years.
The Intellectual Property Office has issued a . This notice explains how long the copyright lasts in new and existing works.
Contractors, copyright and copyright-related material
Your business owns the copyright in works created by your employees, but contractors typically own the copyright in any work they create for your organisation unless you agree otherwise. See more on contractors and copyright.
You may have files, research and development documentation or accounts that don't qualify for copyright, but could be connected with the particular copyright material you develop. You could consider registering them on an unofficial copyright register.