COPYRIGHT, DESIGNS & PATENTS ACT (1988) By Hassan Hanif & Dharamdeep Janjua

COPYRIGHT  Copyright is one of the main types of intellectual property - others include designs, patents and trademarks. Intellectual property allows a person to own things they create in the same way as something physical can be owned. It is the right to prevent others copying or reproducing someone's work.  The main legislation dealing with copyright in the United Kingdom is the Copyright, Design and Patents Act,  The law came into use on 15 November  The most recent amendment to the policy was in 2006.

REASONS FOR THIS LAW  A copyright gives an artist protection for his/her work. If you are the creator of an original work and you have the work copyrighted - it protects from people being able to steal your work and making money that would otherwise be yours

HOW IT AFFECTS BUSINESSES  It depends on the nature of the business. A publisher might rely on his own rights to make money, a retailer might rely on the scarcity of protected materials, and other businesses might need to license materials from rightholders.  Copyright in the business context helps your organisation to look after and recognise the value of the copyright it has, and to make sure it does not infringe the copyright of others.