Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Artistic works definition

What does Artistic works mean? Artistic works describes the types of creative output commonly encountered in copyright clearance, licensing, and infringement disputes. The term is defined in legislation: in the UK by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) and in Ireland by the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 (CRRA 2000). It covers graphic works (for example, paintings, drawings, diagrams, maps, charts and plans), photographs, sculptures and collages; a work of architecture (a building or a model for a building); and a work of artistic craftsmanship. For the first group, protection applies irrespective of artistic quality. Copyright subsists where the work...

Hong Kong copyright: subsistence tests, protected work categories, and duration under the Copyright Ordinance (Cap 528)

Published by a LexisNexis IP expert

Practice notes

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. It was originally prepared for LexisAdvance® Practical Guidance Hong Kong.

Existence. Under section 2 of the Copyright Ordinance (Cap 528) (CO), copyright subsists in:

original literary, dramatic, musical and Artistic works
sound recordings, films, broadcasts or cable programmes, and
typographical arrangements of published editions

Multiple copyrights may arise in the same work, for example in a book, and in a play or film derived from the book.

once fixed, in writing or otherwise
if they meet the subsistence tests, and
if they are original

Writing includes any notation or code, such as material stored on computer drives or discs. Copyright protects the work as a whole, not its separate parts, though copying substantial parts may still infringe.

Literary works

Literary works, other than musical or Dramatic works, are those expressed in writing, spoken or sung (CO, s 4(1)). They include:

tables and compilations in any form
computer programmes, and
preparatory design material for a computer programme

Literary works must be expressed in print, in writing,...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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