Under the Act, the creator of an original work is given first ownership of the copyright in the work and the right to control the ways in which it can be used. Types of work within the scope of the Act include literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, sound recordings, films and published editions.

As well as granting the owner of copyright in a work the right to control how it can be used, the Act grants creators moral rights, entitling them to be credited as the creator of the work and to object to any derogatory treatments of the work. It also amends existing legislation relating to the registration of designs and the rights that registration provides. Additionally, it makes provisions for the registration of trade mark and patent agents.

This factsheet explains what type of work can be copyrighted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, who owns the copyright in a work, how long the copyright lasts, what actions constitute infringement of the copyright holder’s rights and how they can enforce their rights.