We don't get many non-US contributors here, so it may be a while till someone with UK experience sees the post. Keep checking back to see if someone more knowledgeable* turns up. (Copyright's never been my main area of IP and my limited experience in it is under U.S. law.) Meanwhile, however, I'll offer the following:
The UK government site would be a good place to check, if you haven't done so already.
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy.htm has links on UK copyright.
It states, "Copyright is an automatic right, which means you don't have to apply for it." Depending on whether or not it is a work done under contract for another, *probably* this would mean -- as it does in the US (we changed our laws to meet international treaty standards) -- that the copyright exists from the moment the writing is fixed in some medium.
It is no doubt also important in the UK, as it is here, to give notice of those rights to those who see the work when published. In the U.S. (and again I believe this meets an international standard) the practice is to place on the work the word "Copyright" -- or the "c in a circle" symbol -- followed by the year and the name of the copyright holder. My understanding is that in the EU and elsewhere, and for international use generally, it is also important to add the words "All rights reserved."
For information on notice directed to UK usage, you might consider the information at these (apparently commercial) sites:
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p03_copyright_notices and
http://www.ihaveawebsite-nowwhat.co.uk/copyright-facts-and-myths.htm-----------
*Just remember to double check any information you get through this forum, as you should with anything unofficial found on the internet including the commercial sites above, to see if other more authoritative sites agree with the information provided. You just have our own say-so that we know what we're talking about.
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Topic: Copyright question (Read 436 times)
