Fixation meaning

Categorisation Copyright grants the proprietor the exclusive ability to carry out, and to authorise others to carry out, particular acts in respect of qualifying works. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) formally sets out categories of protected works, bringing certainty about the types recognised. However, the boundaries between these groupings have since become less distinct, partly because of the digital revolution and the growing intricacy of creative production. This has created uncertainty as to whether the CDPA 1988 categories are exhaustive—so that anything outside them is not protected—or whether copyright may subsist in creations not expressly listed in the statute. Debate therefore persists about the scope of protection available to works that defy neat classification under the statutory scheme. CDPA 1988, s 1(1) identifies the categories: original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works sound recordings, films or broadcasts, and typographical arrangements of published editions These headings delineate what the legislation regards as eligible subject matter. Earlier UK...

UK databases—scope, Brexit and assimilated law Over the two decades leading up to Brexit, EU legislative initiatives heavily shaped the UK’s database protection regime. After the UK’s departure, any EU laws created or brought into effect after 31 December 2020 (IP completion day) no longer bind the UK. Earlier EU measures were carried over into a new category of domestic law—retained EU law—under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EU(W)A 2018), and UK courts continued to apply pre‑2021 case law on that body of law. The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 amended the EU(W)A 2018 and established an implementation period commencing on 31 December 2020. During that interval, the legal position was held in place unless the UK Parliament expressly altered it. From that point, UK courts could take into account, but were not obliged to follow, principles or judgments of the EU courts issued after the cut‑off. For further detail, see Practice Notes: Brexit—key legislation explained and Introduction to retained EU law. The Retained EU Law (Revocation...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. It was originally prepared for LexisAdvance® Practical Guidance Hong Kong. Nature Intellectual property (IP) rights are acknowledged as private entitlements that engage elements of public interest as well. Copyright protection operates by forbidding unauthorised exploitation of copyright works without the owner’s permission; accordingly, copyright is an IP right that subsists in creative works, as set out in section 2 of the Copyrights Ordinance (Cap 528) (CO), including the following: original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works sound recordings, films, broadcasts or cable programmes, and the typographical arrangement of published editions Distinct incarnations of a work can attract separate copyrights, for example the book and the theatrical versions of a play. The period of protection and the acts restricted by copyright may differ according to the particular type of work. Copyright exists under the CO, which commenced on 27 June 1997. The copyright regime that applied in Hong Kong before the...