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 and related rights: practical overview of subsistence, duration, assignments and licences, enforcement, exceptions, databases, designs and associated rights for commercial lawyers

Published by a LexisNexis IP expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note

This Practice Note is aimed at commercial lawyers who are not specialists in intellectual property (IP). It introduces Copyright and related rights in the UK, outlining what copyright is, how it comes to exist, and how to protect, transact, manage and exploit it. If you are a specialist IP lawyer, refer instead to the Copyright & associated rights—overview and Copyright Disputes—overview, together with the documents they reference.

Using this Practice Note

This Practice Note is broadly arranged into five principal sections covering:

Subsistence of copyright (copyright is not a registered right): eligibility of works, qualifying categories and qualification generally
Maintaining copyright: the term of protection, copyright notices and policies
Dealing with copyright in agreements: assignments, licences and collective licensing
Asserting copyright: disputes, exceptions (Permitted acts), defences and remedies for infringement
Rights associated with copyright: moral rights and performance rights

What is copyright?

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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