Understanding Copyright Protection

As a basic form of a legal shield, copyright protection safeguards your original creations from unauthorised exploitation. This right is automatic in the UK; you don’t need to register or pay to secure copyright protection.

Once you create the following types of work, you receive copyright protection:

– Unique literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic materials encompass images and photographs.
– Non-literary original written content such as software, digital content, and databases.
– Sound and music recordings, film and TV show recordings.
– Broadcasts and the formatting of published renditions of written, theatrical, and musical materials.

You can signify your work is protected by copyright using the copyright symbol (©), along with your name and the creation year. However, this step isn’t obligatory and doesn’t impact the degree of protection you enjoy under copyright law.

This form of copyright protection prohibits others from:

– Duplicating your work.
– Circulating copies of it, whether they distribute it for free or for sale.
= Renting or lending copies of your work.
– Publicly performing, exhibiting or playing your work.
– Modifying your work or uploading it to the internet.

Understanding copyright protection is vital to preserving the integrity of your creations and preventing unauthorised use.