Copyright

What is copyright?

Copyright is one of a group of rights, granted by law, known collectively as intellectual property rights. Copyright is said to subsist in a work as it cannot exist independently of a work but just like other forms of property, copyright has a value, and it may be sold, leased, inherited, assigned or given away. Copyright exists as the expression of ideas and facts not in the ideas and facts themselves. It arises automatically once a work is fixed in some form -print, in 3D format or digitally - so both published and unpublished works are copyright works. How long a work is in copyright depends on what type of work it is.

All members of the University are bound to abide by the law of the land and copyright is no exception. It is a quite a complex area of law and it applies to the vast majority of materials used and created by members of the University, staff and students alike. The aims of the these pages are to be an introduction to the areas of copyright that have most impact on the University and to help you avoid copyright infringement. However, they should not be taken as legal advice.

For enquiries and specialist advice contact your Liaison Librarian.