Student Copyright Guide

Copyright is a system of law designed to give creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of published editions, the right to control the ways in which their work is used. This includes broadcasting, public performance, copying, adapting, renting, lending to the public. It also includes what are known as 'moral rights', i.e. the right to be known as the author of the work and to object to distortions of the work in question.

Only a copyright holder has the right to:

• Copy the work
• Rent, lend or issue copies to members of the public
• Perform, broadcast or show the work in public
• Adapt or make derivatives of the work

Copyright is an automatic right that arises whenever an idea is given a fixed expression, i.e. written down, painted, filmed, photographed etc. It is important to note that copyright only protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. However, there are certain aspects that a work must have to be eligible for copyright: it must be original and exhibit a certain degree or labour or skill.

Usually the individual who created the work in question will be the copyright holder.

In some cases individuals may assign their rights to a third-party: for example, publishers usually require the copyright to any articles published in academic journals, rather than it remaining with the author. Some universities require that students assign copyright on any work they create as part of their degree to the university; however, the University of Derby does not require this.

Any work commissioned by a third party would belong to the individual or organisation who commissioned the work, not the creator.

Anything created as part of your job role, whether in your official work hours or not, would belong to your employer, unless otherwise specified in your contract of employment.

Copyright can be bought and sold, just as any other asset. It can also be bequeathed upon death to heirs or others until the duration of the copyright term has expired.

Copyright protection is automatic when you have created a work, no registration is required. Only the copyright holder can copy, sell, issue copies, rent or lend the work to the public, perform, show, or play the work in public, communicate the work to the public, make an adaptation of the work or do any of the acts above with the adaptation. Anyone else doing so would be in breach of copyright unless the copyright has been bequeathed, sold, or assigned to another person.

An author of a work has a moral right to be identified as the creator of the work and has the right to object to derogatory use. Economic rights give the author exclusive rights to control and exploit their work whilst retaining ownership.

As copyright is an automatic right, you are not required to register ownership but you should assert this right to ensure protection of moral rights.

There are a number of ways that you can protect your work for example: -

• Use the copyright symbol "© your name and the year of creation" somewhere on your work. It doesn’t prove that you own the copyright, but it might deter others from using your work and help if you need to bring action against an infringement case.
• Assert your Right of Attribution by including a provision in a document such as a licence contract i.e.
  • (the artist) herby asserts her/his right to be identified as the creator of (name of artwork).
  • For an exhibition assert your right of attribution by ensuring that your name is on the original/copy, or on a frame or mount near the artwork. 
• Keep records and evidence of the artworks you have created. Photographs usually contain metadata such as dates.
• Provide a copyright notice which sets out that the works are protected by copyright law and states what you will and will not allow. This shows that you have an understanding of copyright law and take copyright infringement of your work seriously. For instance: –
  • "© (artists name/website All Rights Reserved"
  • Or a statement which explains what you will allow: "Permission is granted to reproduce for personal and education use only, no commercial copying is allowed".
• Watermark your work – semi-transparent text overlaid over the images.
• Use scaled down images that would not be suitable to copy and will deter potential infringers. Fine balance between a good but not too good image file.
• Look at the range of Creative Commons licences – six licences to choose from the least prohibitive such as Attribution only (CC BY) to Attribution, Non-commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY ND). See the Creative Commons tab for more detailed information to make your choice.
  • • CC BY
    • CC BY NC
    • CC BY SA
    • CC BY ND
    • CC BY NC SA
    • CC BY NC ND
  • Look at the CC Licence chooser to help with your options. https://chooser-beta.creativecommons.org/

Please read the University of Derby Student Intellectual Property Policy

If you are interested in commercially developing your IP, you need to protect it before you make any disclosures. Contact the University Research & Knowledge Exchange Office for further help and support. 

The duration of the term of copyright depends on the format of the work in question; it varies depending on whether it is a literary work, a painting or photograph, a piece of music or a sculpture.

The following table gives an idea of how long copyright can last for. It is a fixed period of time usually dating from the end of the calendar year in which either the creator/author died or in which the material was first made available to the public, either by publication or broadcast.

Unpublished works are often treated somewhat differently, so it is important to bear this in mind.