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,...

Orphan Works in the UK: UK IPO Licensing Scheme, Diligent Search, Fees, Moral Rights, Appeals, and Post-Brexit Repeal of the EU Permitted Uses Exception

Published by a LexisNexis IP expert

Practice notes

The orphan works problem

Orphan works are Copyright works where the rights holder is unknown or cannot be found. Examples include:

books
films
music
photographs

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) grants the copyright owner exclusive rights in the UK to perform various acts in relation to a copyright work. Acts set out in CDPA 1988—such as Copying and communicating to the public—carried out by anyone other than the owner, without permission, may infringe those exclusive rights.

As a result, orphan works cannot be copied or published without the rights holder’s consent without risking copyright infringement. This limits their use in, for example:

books
TV programmes
exhibitions
websites

For further context on where orphan works sit within copyright and associated rights, see: Copyright & associated rights—overview. The orphan works problem has led to large volumes of copyright works remaining unused, whether for cultural or commercial purposes...

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Jake Palmer

Bristows

Jake joined Bristows as a trainee solicitor in 2017 and is now an associate in the brands, designs and copyright team. Much of Jake’s experience is in brand enforcement, copyright advice and IP disputes. He has been involved with devising a strategy for promptly enforcing rights in the context of social media removals in the fast fashion industry. Recent litigation experience includes a passing off trial in the High Court. Jake has experience drafting advice notes on copyright subsistence and infringement in various contexts, from the film industry to online data use. He also works on trade mark prosecution matters. He has assisted in advising clients on advertising matters and contributed to the latest edition of International Advertising Law....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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