Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

What does Copyright mean? In legal practice, copyright protects how original creative works are used, licensed and monetised. It is a statutory intellectual property right that arises automatically on creation (no registration) and gives the owner exclusive rights to copy, issue copies to the public, perform, show or play, communicate to the public and adapt the work. Across England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, copyright is defined and governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. In Ireland, it is governed by the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000. Protected subject matter includes literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, films, sound recordings,...

UK copyright exceptions and litigation defences: fair dealing, permitted acts, linking, TDM/AI, and post‑Brexit assimilated law

Published by a LexisNexis IP expert

Practice notes

Defending a claim of copyright infringement

In most copyright infringement cases, a defendant will first challenge the claimant’s position on copyright itself, contending either that no copyright exists in the work identified, or that any subsisting copyright is not owned by the claimant (and sometimes both). The next step is often to assert that, even assuming copyright does subsist, there has been no infringement. This may include arguing that the original work and the accused material lack sufficient similarity, or adducing evidence that the disputed work was created independently, i.e. that no copying occurred.

Finally, there are specific statutory carve-outs to infringement, predominantly set out in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). These are referred to as permitted acts. The range of permitted acts applying to copyright is extensive, with several also relevant to database right. Where other legal claims arise, such as breach of confidence, the permitted acts defence will not cover those causes of action. Permitted acts can be invoked in relation to criminal charges as well as in civil litigation...

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Joshy Thomas

RPC

Joshy specialises in intellectual property and media law and has a wide range of experience of IP litigation in all areas of IP. Joshy trained at Eversheds, qualifying in September 2000, where she worked for a number of high-profile brands. After six years at Eversheds she worked at Thomas Eggar, where she acted on a diverse range of contentious IP matters before moving to LexisNexis in 2011. Joshy’s expertise at LexisNexis included writing (and updating) core and unique IP and media content and case analysis primarily in the areas of copyright, databases, social media and the internet, digital trade, music, publishing, and film and TV. As a podcast enthusiast she has written, directed and presented podcasts on IP issues. In 2022 she moved to RPC to work as an IP and Tech Knowledge Lawyer. ...

Ciara Cullen

RPC

Ciara is a Partner in RPC’s IP & Technology team, co-heads the firm's Food & Drink Group and leads the Retail & Consumer Pillar. Having originally qualified in the Republic of Ireland, Ciara has practiced in the UK since 2013 and has extensive experience in both jurisdictions. Ciara is an IP and technology litigation specialist, acting for a broad range of consumer and luxury brands and clients in the retail, technology, and media sectors. Ciara’s practice also has a significant international element and sees her advising clients on multi-jurisdictional disputes across the full range of IP rights including copyright, trade marks/passing off, patents, design rights, breach of confidence and licence disputes.Ciara is passionate about IP and regularly speaks on cases and related issues at client and external events. Ciara has been interviewed by Sky News on copyright exemptions and regularly lectures at the IP Law...

Sarah Mountain

RPC

Sarah is a Partner in the IP and Technology team. With a particular focus on contentious and advisory matters, in the past 12 months Sarah has acted for various of the firm's key clients on strategic litigation and consultations.Sarah's particular focus is on trade marks, copyright, passing off, designs and confidential information but she routinely supports clients on technology and commercial matters too. She has a wealth of litigation experience, having acted on large scale disputes with both a UK and international focus.Sarah regularly authors articles on intellectual property and has been published in the Entertainment Law Review, the Distillers and Brewers Journals and Luxury Law. Last year, she presented at the Informa Connect IP Winter Law School on 'Trade Marks in the digital age", with an emphasis on trends within the ecommerce space and is due to speak there again this summer....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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