Q&As

How do I protect my copyright?

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Published by a ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû IP expert
Published on: 04 December 2013
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Understand Copyright subsistence

Copyright recognises the skill and labour expended by an author in creating a work. It is not so much about ideas as about the way they are expressed. In the UK, copyright is not a registered right: it arises automatically: the first step in protecting it, is to identify if it subsists in the relevant work. The subject matter must also be a work and the author of a work must qualify for protection.

See Practice Note: Copyright—subsistence and qualification.

For the kinds of works protected, see Practice Note: Copyright―protectable works.

Use copyright notices

Mark your work with a simple notice including the copyright symbol, eg © Copyright Lexis®Nexis 2013. For more detailed notices, see Precedent: Intellectual property notices and Do I need to use Trade mark and copyright notices?.

Do I actually

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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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