Copyright is relevant to much more than authors, artists, musicians and other creative folks. The commercial world relies on material which is protected by copyright. For example, on most days in most offices individuals are making copyright protected material.

 

This overview of copyright in the business context assists your organisation:

 

to look following and recognise the value of the copyright it has, and
to make positive it does not infringe the copyright of others.

Copyright is a sort of intellectual property which can be bought or sold just like any other property. The word “copyright” refers to a bundle of exclusive rights in certain works and materials.

 

These exclusive rights incorporate the rights:

 

to reproduce the material, and
to make the material accessible online or to 1st digitise the material.

If anybody other than the copyright owner does any of these things with out the consent of the copyright owner, then the other person has infringed the owner’s copyright.

What material does copyright safeguard?

Copyright protects two broad groups of supplies:

 

The initial group includes literary works (which actually, just means anything written), artistic works, dramatic works, and musical works. In the enterprise context, this consists of items as diverse as emails, letters, legal documents, articles, computer programs, spreadsheets, scientific models, drawings, architects plans, photographs, and images.
The second group includes sound recordings, films and published editions of works.

Why do numerous organisations lose or not take advantage of their copyright?

Simply because copyright is intangible, it is much more easily “damaged” or lost etc. than tangible property. This could happen if a competitor obtained a valuable document, which it modified and used, without having the organisation becoming conscious this has occurred.

 

The result is that an organisation is unaware of the copyright material it owns. Worse still, an organisation might be unaware when someone else (maybe an ex employee) starts making use of the organisation’s copyright material.

 

What remedies are available for a breach of copyright?

A individual who infringes copyright can be liable to compensate the copyright owner for its loss, or to account to the owner for the profit they have produced from the wrongful use of the material.

 

How is copyright protection obtained?

The rights covered by copyright are automatically created as soon as the relevant work is developed. There is no registration method for copyright.

 

Copyright is owned independently of a physical item in which the appropriate is embodied or reproduced. For example, if you get a book (the physical item) you are not purchasing the copyright in the literary work. As the owner of the book, your rights do not extend beyond reading the book (or maybe utilizing it as a door stop.)

 

Do you will need to include a copyright notice on copyright material?

Though copyright arises automatically, it is a good idea to put a copyright notice on the crucial material that your business creates. This is generally in the form of a © with the year of creation and the name of the copyright owner. Even though this is not strictly needed for copyright protection to be obtained, it may possibly:

 

deter prospective copyright infringers and
may well mean that your own employees treat the material much more carefully, and
make it less complicated to take legal action in some overseas countries if a copyright notice is included.

Who owns copyright? Employers, employees and consultants

Copyright is normally owned by the creator of the relevant work. Probably the most important exception to this is where material is produced by an employee in the course of their employment. In that case, copyright will usually be owned by the employer. Nonetheless, it is prudent to contain a provision about copyright ownership in employment contracts of key employees.

 

Despite the fact that a organization will typically own copyright in material created by employees in the course of their employment, this is not the case if the material is produced by independent consultants, even if the company has paid for the material which is being produced.

 

So if the material is developed by independent consultants, then it is absolutely vital to obtain a formal assignment of copyright from the consultant to the organisation. Otherwise:

 

the best that an organisation has is a licence to use the material that is being produced and
it might be impossible for the organisation to quit the consultant from reusing the material or even from selling it to others.

It is far easier to deal with this matter at the time a consultant is engaged, than right after the engagement is completed and the consultant has been paid.

 

Does copyright infringement matter any more?

Even though digital material can be processed in an infinite variety of ways and can be reproduced rapidly, at small cost and without loss of quality, the truth that “everyone is copying things all the time” doesn’t alter the law.

 

It would be a serious mistake to think that widespread consumer abuse means that copyright infringement is by no means redressed. Virtually each day there are substantial damages awarded for copyright infringement. From a strategic perspective, a claim for copyright infringement can typically be an crucial addition to a claim for misuse of trade secrets, passing off or misleading and deceptive conduct.

 

Indeed, Cleardocs has successfully protected its copyright several times — and received substantial amounts of money in compensation.

 

Time for a copyright audit at your organisation?

It may be time for a copyright audit at your organisation. You should know:

 

What copyright material your organisation owns.
What copyright material it uses but does not own.

In this age of the “knowledge economy” or “data economy” your organisation’s intangible assets, such as copyright material, are assuming greater significance and greater value. It is vital that your company knows what copyright material it owns, how it could exploit it or commercialize it and what value it should have in the balance sheet.

 

Practical methods to protect you rights.

Some final hints:

 

Always feel about copyright “upfront”. The law allows agreement to be reached about copyright ownership before the copyright material is produced.
Maintain a paper trail of how material is created.
Use copyright notices on material you produce.
Strictly supervise use of copyright material by others (which includes employees).
Physical exercise care in permitting others to see, use or reproduce your copyright material.
Know what you own.
When you use licensed material owned by other people, guarantee compliance with the terms of the licence.

Copyright Assignment