Copyright—protectable works

Produced in partnership with Joshy Thomas of RPC , Ciara Cullen of RPC and Sarah Mountain of RPC

Practice notes

Copyright—protectable works

Produced in partnership with Joshy Thomas of RPC , Ciara Cullen of RPC and Sarah Mountain of RPC

Practice notes

Categorisation

Copyright provides the owner with the exclusive right to do, and authorise others to do, certain acts in relation to eligible works. Copyright works have been formally categorised in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) providing clarity about the various categories, but since then, the lines separating the categories have become blurred, in part due to the digital revolution and the greater complexity of creative output. This has led to a level ambiguity if the categories of work listed in CDPA 1988 are an exhaustive list, outside of which copyright protection is unavailable, or if copyright can subsist in a work that is not listed in CDPA 1988. The categories of work are set out in CDPA 1988, s 1(1):

•
original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works
•
sound recordings, films or broadcasts, and
•
typographical arrangements of published editions

Previous UK case law found that a piece created that does not fit into the categories above would not be eligible for copyright protection—in

Joshy Thomas

Solicitor, RPC

Joshy specialises in intellectual property and media law and has a wide range of experience of IP litigation in all areas of IP. Joshy trained at Eversheds, qualifying in September 2000, where she worked for a number of high-profile brands. After six years at Eversheds she worked at Thomas Eggar, where she acted on a diverse range of contentious IP matters before moving to UU��ֱ�� in 2011. Joshy’s expertise at UU��ֱ�� included writing (and updating) core and unique IP and media content and case analysis primarily in the areas of copyright, databases, social media and the internet, digital trade, music, publishing, and film and TV. As a podcast enthusiast she has written, directed and presented podcasts on IP issues. In 2022 she moved to RPC to work as an IP and Tech Knowledge Lawyer.

Ciara Cullen

Partner, RPC

Ciara is a Partner in RPC’s IP & Technology team, co-heads the firm's Food & Drink Group and leads the Retail & Consumer Pillar. Having originally qualified in the Republic of Ireland, Ciara has practiced in the UK since 2013 and has extensive experience in both jurisdictions. Ciara is an IP and technology litigation specialist, acting for a broad range of consumer and luxury brands and clients in the retail, technology, and media sectors. Ciara’s practice also has a significant international element and sees her advising clients on multi-jurisdictional disputes across the full range of IP rights including copyright, trade marks/passing off, patents, design rights, breach of confidence and licence disputes.

Ciara is passionate about IP and regularly speaks on cases and related issues at client and external events. Ciara has been interviewed by Sky News on copyright exemptions and regularly lectures at the IP Law Summer School at Cambridge University. She was co-editor of the TerraLex Copyright Cross-Border Guide for several years and has been recognised as a "Star Lawyer” in the independent Acritas Survey for every year since 2019. Ciara is also recognised as a Next Generation Partner in The Legal 500 UK 2022 (for Retail and Consumer and Intellectual Property: Trade Marks, Copyright and Design) and as an IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property: IPSTARS 2019-2022.

Ciara is recommended in the leading directories as "technically excellent and a fantastic lawyer", "gives consistently good advice, both legally and commercially" and "stands out for being a true business partner and an expert in her field."

Sarah Mountain

Partner, RPC

Sarah is a Partner in the IP and Technology team. With a particular focus on contentious and advisory matters, in the past 12 months Sarah has acted for various of the firm's key clients on strategic litigation and consultations.

Sarah's particular focus is on trade marks, copyright, passing off, designs and confidential information but she routinely supports clients on technology and commercial matters too. She has a wealth of litigation experience, having acted on large scale disputes with both a UK and international focus.

Sarah regularly authors articles on intellectual property and has been published in the Entertainment Law Review, the Distillers and Brewers Journals and Luxury Law. Last year, she presented at the Informa Connect IP Winter Law School on 'Trade Marks in the digital age", with an emphasis on trends within the ecommerce space and is due to speak there again this summer.

Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Copyright definition

What does Copyright mean?

Any property right over certain creative works, which grants exclusive right to the owner.

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