What is the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988?
The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which garnered Royal Assent on November 15th of 1988. The Copyright Designs and Patens Act reformulate the statutory basis of copyright law, including all performing rights, present in the United Kingdom. Before the issuance of the Copyright Designs and Patent Act, the United Kingdom’s patent and copyright law was governed by the Copyright Act 1956.
The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 creates and unregistered design right and includes various modifications to the law of the nation of Registered Designs and patents. In essence, the Copyright Designs and Patents Act establishes that copyrights, in the majority of works, will last 70 years following the death of the creator (if known) or 70 years after the work was originally created or published. The laws attached to computer-generated works, according to the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, will place a formal copyright that is valid for fifty years.
Part 1 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988:
Part 1 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act restates and amends the statutory basis for the nation’s copyright law. Part 1 of the Act extends to the entire United Kingdom and simplifies the different categories of creation or work which are protected by copyright. In essence, this portion of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act eliminates the specific treatment of various art-forms by creating the following classification system:
Literary, dramatic and musical works: these works must be record in writing or otherwise to be granted copyright. The copyright will subsist from the date at which recording takes place.
All artistic works, including photographs, buildings, works of artistic craftsmanship and engravings.
Broadcasts: this form of art work is defined as a transmission by wireless telegraphy which is intended to be heard by members of the public
Cable Programs: refers to a part of service which transmits images, sounds or other forms of information to two or different places or to members of the public by any means other than wireless forms of telegraphy.
Published Editions: refers to published works of the whole or part of one or literary, dramatic or musical works.
The following forms of art are exempted from copyright by the transitional provisions of Schedule 1:
All artistic works created before June 1, 1957 which constituted a design which could be registered under the Registered Designs Act 1949 or were used as a model for reproduction for an industrial process
All films created before June 1 1957 and broadcasts made before this date.
Other Features of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act:
Part II of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act created a series of performers’ right in application of the various patents laws established in previous forms of legislation. Furthermore, this aspect of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act elucidates upon the duration of the copyright for each form of art form or work. The duration for each copyright is administered in a streamlined and easy-to-understood fashion as a result of the organizational model that the Copyright Designs and Patents Act utilize.
