INTRODUCTION
A great deal of time, skill, and effort are invested in the writing of books, scripts, lyrics, compositions and other creative works. Whether created in minutes, or over a period of years these works are all a result of a creator's original thought.

These efforts are rewarded, hopefully, by financial receipts and, in some cases, the fame or notoriety of being known as the writer, producer or creator of the work in question. But what happens if someone attempts to copy the work, pass it off as their own, and reap the rewards, financial or otherwise, without having put in that effort? This is where the creator or author needs to look at their legal rights to stop others from taking the benefit of their work.

A book on copyright can run into thousands of pages. This article explains only the basic concepts of copyright and gives some ideas and recommendations on how to ensure copyright protection. The article also looks briefly at how to exploit your copyright and license/or assign your rights.

1. What is Copyright?
Copyright is a property right which stops others from copying works without permission. A de minimis principle operates so that a mere name or a small part of a sentence is insufficient. Unlike the European right which has as its basis the "right of an author", the English concept is economic - it is the right to prevent copying without permission. The difference from the European model is also reflected in the concept of initial ownership of copyright. Although copyright has existed in English law since manuscripts were first created and plays first performed, one particular statute, The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA), sets out in great detail the law on copyright. It is here that an author or owner of copyright must look in detail to determine whether their work qualifies for protection and how they can protect or exploit it.

2. Which works "attract" Copyright?
As a starting point, S 1(1) of the CDPA provides that copyright may exist in three different categories of works:

(a) original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works;

(b) sound recordings, films, broadcasts or cable programmes;

(c) typographical arrangement of published edition (i.e. the page layout of a novel or telephone directory).

The first two categories (a) and (b) are most relevant to those in the film and television industry. The length of copyright protection differs according to the nature of the work. These different categories show how wide the scope of copyright protection can be. It is important to note three particular requirements:

* the work must be original. What is original is not the idea but the form of the work. More than one individual may have identical storylines but, it is only the way that story is told that is protected not the idea itself. To be original, a certain degree of effort on the part of the author is required. This is called the "sweat of the brow" test. As long as effort has been put into the creation of the work, then that is sufficient to create copyright.

* there is no aesthetic requirement - a work is considered literary whether trash novel or Trollope and artistic whether by "Lucy age 6" or Lucian Freud.

* the work must be permanent, mere transitory marks, irrespective of whether they are used again and again are not enough.

3. Who gets the Copyright?...
4. When does the Copyright start and finish?...
TYPE OF WORK EXAMPLE LENGTH OF PROTECTION...
5. How is the copyright protected?...
6. Why are there allowable acts?...
IMPACT OF COPYRIGHT...
PROTECT YOUR POSITION...
DIFFERENT COPYRIGHTS...
REMEDIES...
ASSIGNMENTS AND LICENCES...
CONCLUSIONS...