Copyright Law

Copyright Law

1. Copyright law originated in the United Kingdom from a concept of common law; the Statute of Anne 1709. It became statutory with the passing of the Copyright Act 1911. The current act is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

2. The law gives creators of their work rights to control the ways in which their material may be used.

3. In many cases, the creator will also have the right to be identified as the author and to say no to changes of his work.

4. Copyright is an automatic right and arises whenever an individual or company creates a piece of work

5. When you buy software, for example, copyright law forbids you from: -Giving a copy to a friend -Making a copy and then selling it using the software on a network (unless the licence allows it) -Renting the software without the permission of the copyright holder