Copyright Law

What is Copyright?

Copyright is the automatic and exclusive right of an artist to determine how, when and where their original artistic creation can be used. This falls under the terms “moral rights” and “economic rights”. This includes painting, photography, digital art, sculpture, drawings, diagrams and logos among others.
The copyright symbol © does not have to be displayed for copyright to exist.
There is no copyright on ideas, titles or names, with a few exceptions.
Copyright remains with the original artist even if the piece is sold or commissioned by another unless a written contract of transfer is made, or the work forms part of the artist’s employment (eg a photographer employed by a newspaper).
Copyright can only be transferred to another by written contract/agreement.
Copyright lasts for the original artist’s lifetime plus 70 years from the end of the year of their death, unless it has been transferred to another.
Work that contains parts copied from another artist’s work cannot be copyrighted.

Infringement

Copyright infringement occurs when someone uses the whole or substantial part of an artist’s work without their express permission and none of the exceptions apply.
Where infringement is deemed to have occurred, it is up to the original artist to prove they own the copyright and to decide how they wish to deal with the matter. This is usually resolved via mediation between the two parties in a “cease and desist” request and/or a claim for recommence if the work has been used for commercial gain.
Infringement is a civil offence, not a criminal one. Where disputes cannot be settled, the copyright holder may take the matter to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court to resolve, usually by issue of a fine.
Deliberate infringement of copyright on a commercial scale is a criminal offence.