Joint authorship meaning

More staff and freelancers are now working from home on a regular basis. Consequently, more material is produced at home and uploaded or circulated online—for instance, teachers sharing with their pupils via video platforms. Where content is made in this setting, consider who owns the IP, any use of third‑party works, and potential breaches of third‑party rights. For more detail on matters raised by this Checklist, consult the following Practice Notes: Copyright—protectable works Copyright—authorship and ownership Copyright & associated rights—overview Copyright infringement Copyright—secondary infringement Intellectual property—remedies Copyright—permitted acts and defences Joint ownership of intellectual property rights Use the third column to note observations or remarks while progressing through the Checklist. Checklist | Further information | Notes (if any) Copyright origination ☐ Pinpoint the copyright work. Copyright is unregistered and arises automatically once a qualifying work is created...

Martin and another v Kogan and others [2021] EWHC 24 (Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The judgment represents the latest chapter in the parties’ protracted litigation. At the retrial, Mr Justice Meade applied the Court of Appeal’s formulation of joint authorship in Kogan v Martin and others [2019] EWCA Civ 1645. He likewise examined the legal framework for evaluating witness testimony, including the overall approach to the dependability of witnesses’ recollections and the comparative weight to be placed on memory as opposed to contemporaneous records. In that context, he addressed the effect of Gestmin SGPS SA v Credit Suisse (UK) Ltd [2013] EWHC 3560 (Comm), [2013] All ER (D) 191 (Nov). He further considered how the balance of the remaining evidence should be assessed where a portion of a witness’s account is rejected as untrue. In addition, Meade J reviewed the authorities on allocating the respective shares of each party’s contribution and the method for apportioning those inputs. What was the background? ...

Boghossian v IOP Publishing Ltd [2025] EWHC 3317 (IPEC) What are the practical implications of this case? This case underlines the importance of keeping clear records of who contributed what, so that copyright in collaborative works can be established. The joint authorship principles explored here are not confined to scholarly articles and may extend across other sectors. Take software development: code is frequently produced collectively, both through live co-working in ‘pair programming’ (with a ‘driver’ writing code while a ‘navigator’ simultaneously reviews and advises) and through deferred collaboration using source control structures (where colleagues examine or amend proposed changes before they are accepted into the codebase). Either route can trigger questions about joint authorship. In the creative sphere, it is common for two writers to craft a screenplay together (for instance, Florence Foster Jenkins considered in Kogan v Martin [2019] EWCA Civ 1645), and books are often brought to market by teams of contributors. We likewise encounter groups working jointly to generate social media material. Each mode may therefore...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. It was originally prepared for LexisAdvance® Practical Guidance Singapore. Ownership of copyright Copyright is a personal right that arises where a qualified person has materially contributed to the particular expression of a work. See Asia Pacific Publishing Pte v Pioneers & Leaders (Publishers) Pte [2011] 4 SLR 381 (not reported by LexisNexis®). This is distinct from ownership of the physical item embodying the work, which may rest with someone other than the copyright owner. Under section 30(2) of the Copyright Act (Cap 63), the creator is regarded as the author and, once the work is fixed in material form, will be the first owner. There are, however, express statutory exceptions to this default position within the Copyright Act, including: Copyright Act, s 30(4)—works created by employees in the course of employment belong to the employer where there is an employment contract in place Copyright Act, s 30(5)—the creation of a painted portrait, photograph...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is no longer current and is not being updated. It was originally prepared for LexisAdvance® Practical Guidance Hong Kong. Rights and assertion Beyond copyright, other rights may subsist in a work, including: moral rights technological measures applied to computer programmes and other copyright works publication rights rights in performances artist’s resale right To be enforceable, moral rights must be asserted. Assertion can be made generally or for specified acts, and may accompany an assignment or a licence of copyright, or be effected by a signed instrument. Section 90 of the Copyright Ordinance (Cap 528) (CO) identifies who is treated as bound by such assertion. For works of joint authorship, each contributor must assert their own right. Comparable rules apply to films. Although a film is regarded as a joint work, only the director benefits from moral rights (CO, ss 12, 89, 99, 272C and 272J). Moral rights The entitlement to be...

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) states that the author of a work is the individual who brings it into being. The creator is not invariably the proprietor of a work, though, as a rule, they hold the initial copyright unless the work is produced in the course of employment (see below), when the employer takes it. Knowing who the author is matters across much of copyright law. For instance, the duration of protection typically runs by reference to the author’s lifetime; authors may assert moral rights; and protection might not subsist at all unless the author holds the requisite qualifying status. Identifying the owner of the copyright is also crucial; as a matter of prudence, title and ownership ought to be confirmed before acquiring or taking a licence of a work. Ownership is equally central in infringement disputes, because only the copyright proprietor (or an exclusive licensee) may bring proceedings against alleged infringers. Authorship Authorship in primary and secondary works For works created...