Copyright Guidance

Authors or creators of work get copyright protection automatically when they create works. This protection stops others from using the work without the copyright holder's permission. Creation of any of the items listed below is automatically given copyright protection:

• original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work, including illustration and photography
• original non-literary written work, such as software, web content and databases
• sound and music recordings
• film and television recordings
• broadcasts
• the layout of published editions of written, dramatic and musical works.

NB the term "original literary work" does not require the work to be a great work of literature. Any written work is included in this.

Copyright prevents people from doing the following without the owner's permission:

• copying the work
• distributing copies of it, whether free of charge or for sale
• renting or lending copies of the work
• performing, showing or playing the work in public
• making an adaptation of the work
• putting it on the internet

NB Throughout this Copyright guide we link to the www.gov.uk/copyright website, which contains the UK Government's guidance on copyright.

When someone has a copyrighted work, they have a "right" over all "copies" made of that work. However, it is possible to make copies of works without infringing the copyright in the following instances:

• with the permission to do so from the copyright holder. This can be requested directly from the copyright holder (NB it is not always obvious who the copyright holder is), or sometimes works are created under a licence that grants permission without needing to request it. For example, works created under a Creative Commons licence or a UK Open Govenment licence.
• when using one of several legally-jusified exceptions to copyright.
• when relying on a licence, such as the CLA licence.
• when the copyright on a work has expired.

Very often the person who created a work is the copyright holder. However, this is not always the case. For example, authors (particularly of journal articles) often agree to pass their copyright to the publishers of their works.

In addition, if an employee creates a work in the course of their normal employment, then their employer will likely own the copyright.