Copyright applies to
such things as logos, graphic designs, drawings, photographs
or anything of a pictorial nature. It also applies to literature,
manuals, documents or any written work. It does not apply
to individual words or names. It can even apply to simple
business forms.
Other items covered by copyright include website design,
computer programs, video, audio and multi-media material,
as well as music, advertising jingles, cartoons, and tv commercials.
The item must be an original work. Databases can be covered
both by copyright and by a separate "database right".
If an external agency or designer produces material, the
contract should make clear who will own the copyright and
what licence if any is being given. This should be agreed
before an order is placed, and any transfer of copyright ownership
must be made in writing - even if the words "including
copyright" are only included in the invoice for the work.
Otherwise, copyright will rest with the agency or designer
by default as the first owner of the copyright in law. Licences,
too, should be agreed in writing.
Members of the Association of Photographers work to a standard
negotiating framework under which the copyright in a commissioned
photograph is normally retained by the photographer with an
exclusive licence being granted for specific media, territory
and time.
Copyright arises automatically in the UK, and no registration
is required, but proof of origination and ownership is needed.
This means retaining original materials such as artwork, notes,
proofs and written drafts, along with evidence of the dates
when they were created.
All new or redesigned printed material, such as brochures,
manuals and price lists, should however give notice of copyright.
This notice should consist of the word "copyright"
or the symbol © or 
(for phonograms), the year of first publication and the legal
name of the copyright owner, for example:
© 2003 Bloggo Limited
Copyright is the right to control copying; a marked degree
of similarity is not an infringement without copying (for
example if two people take a photograph of the same outdoor
view), but a substantial resemblance may establish an onus
to show that copying has not taken place.
If you copy someone else's photograph, or a diagram or table
or its layout, you may create a risk of legal action against
you for copyright infringement.
The normal term of copyright protection is now 70 years from
the death of the author.
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