Copyright
Intellectual Property Rights

Copyright is one of the central branches of the law of intellectual property. The law of copyright gives an owner the exclusive right to prevent reproduction of certain works by others, thus provides owners with some element of control over the exploitation of their works. Protection applies automatically from the moment the work comes into existence and usually subsists for at least 50 years.

Copyright does not extend to ideas, or schemes, or systems or methods; it is confined to their expression - that is the form in which they appear either on a page or the form in which they are otherwise recorded.  This is known as the 'idea/expression dichotomy' to lawyers, and is a principal question in determining whether or not copyright has been infringed, as it defines the scope and extent of what copyright protects.

Copyright law protects original work of an author that is the result of skill and labour. Originality in this sense means the skill and labour utilised to create the work - it does not relate to the quality of the work or any qualitative assessment of artistic merit.

The essential questions to subsistence of this intellectual property right and protection are:

1. Is the work in a 'material' or otherwise recorded? 
2. Is the work original in the copyright sense, or is it a copy of another work?
3. Who made the work, when was it made, where did they make it and what is their nationality?
4. How was the work made?

This area of law provides the primary form of protection for written works (including computer software, books, newspapers, magazines and the like), photographs, graphic works, sound recordings, computer generated materials created automatically, film, and soundtracks.

Ownership of Copyright

Usually the author is the first owner of copyright except when the work is made by an employee in the course of their employment. In that case, the employer will be the first owner of any copyright in the work. Accordingly, consultants and freelancers are the first owners of copyright in the works that they create. These default rules may be altered by contract.