How do I copyright protect my work?
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.
Moral rights allow the author to be identified as the creator of the work and have 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 and determine how viewers can re-use 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/their 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.
Please read the University of Derby IP Rights - Student Regulations
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.
