Answered By: Library Help
Last Updated: Aug 17, 2023     Views: 197

Copyright protects the following types of work from being used without the copyright owner's permission:

  • original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work, including illustration and photography

  • original non-literary written work, such as software, web content and databases

  • sound and music recordings

  • film and television recordings

  • broadcasts

  • the layout of published editions of written, dramatic and musical works

Copyright prevents people from doing the following without the owner's permission:

  • copying a work

  • distributing copies of it, whether free of charge or for sale

  • renting or lending copies of a work

  • performing, showing or playing a work in public

  • making an adaptation of a work

  • putting it on the internet

Copyright protection is automatic upon creation. The copyright owner does not have to apply or pay a fee, nor does a piece of work have to be accompanied by the copyright symbol (©) to be protected. There isn’t a register of copyright works in the UK.

You can find out more about copyright on the Library and Learning Services Copyright pages;