Our partners and attorneys are highly qualified and highly experienced to advise you in all areas of Intellectual Property law. We advise start-ups, SMEs, and multinational corporations and ensure that your inventions, brands and designs are expertly protected.
All of the Partners & People of AA Thornton are joining forces with Venner Shipley
Copyright is an Intellectual Property right giving the creator of certain types of materials (listed below) the right to control how those materials are used.
Copyright protects literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, as well as sound recordings, broadcasts and the layout or typographical arrangement of a published work.
No. Copyright protects the expression of an idea, but the idea itself cannot be protected.
Generally, the first owner of copyright is the author of the work. Care should be taken for works created in the course of employment or commissioned works.
Copyright in literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works lasts 70 years after the death of the author. Sound recordings and broadcasts are protected for 50 years from publication or broadcast. Typographical arrangements are protected for 25 years from publication. If the work was created outside the UK, the term of protection may be shorter.
No. In the UK, copyright arises automatically upon the creation of a work.
No, this isn’t required in the UK. However, marking your work with © and the date of the work may help when enforcing your copyright and could give you automatic protection in some foreign countries.
Yes. When using online material, find out who owns the copyright and seek permission before using their work.
If you think your copyright has been infringed you should seek legal advice.
If you’re contacted by a third party who claims you have infringed its copyright, don’t ignore it. Seek legal advice immediately.
We can assist you in all aspects of copyright protection and enforcement. If you have any questions please contact a member of our trade marks team or contact us at aat@www.aathornton.com.
