Every business owns a large amount of copyright material, whether they realise it or not.
Copyright protects original artistic, musical, dramatic and literary works, including computer programs, sound recordings, films, broadcasts and typographical arrangements of published works. As copyright arises automatically without the need for registration, businesses are often unaware of the full extent and value of their copyright material. Anything from a set of slides for a pitch given to a potential customer, to a complex algorithm, to a set of instructions for use of an industrial machine, may be protected by copyright so long as they are original.
As copyright is the intellectual property right which most often applies to software, its importance to businesses in the digital world cannot be underestimated. Ownership of copyright in software and other materials developed for a business can be complex and should be addressed at an early stage.
Our team has extensive experience in copyright disputes and litigation, commercial arrangements and transactions involving copyright and advising on strategies to safeguard copyright works and enforce rights where necessary.
