Copyright Laws: Britain Vs. Usa

The copyright laws of Great Britain and the United States have a shared lineage in the British Statute of Anne of 1710, which established the modern concept of copyright. This Act was influential in shaping the first US federal copyright law, the Copyright Act of 1790. While both countries' laws have evolved independently since then, they continue to share some key similarities. For example, both jurisdictions recognise copyright as a form of intellectual property right that protects original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. Additionally, in both the US and Great Britain, copyright protection arises automatically when a work is created and does not require registration.

However, there are also important differences between the two countries' copyright laws. For instance, the duration of copyright protection differs, with US copyright generally lasting for 70 years after the author's death or 95 years after publication, while in Great Britain, it lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. Another difference lies in the specific types of works protected by copyright. While both countries protect literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, the US also includes choreographic works and pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works in its copyright protection.

In conclusion, while the copyright laws of Great Britain and the United States share some foundational similarities, there are also notable differences between the two jurisdictions' approaches to copyright protection. These differences can have significant implications for individuals and organisations seeking to protect their intellectual property rights in each country.

The UK's Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received royal assent on 15 November 1988. It reformulates the statutory basis of copyright law (including performing rights) in the United Kingdom, which was previously governed by the Copyright Act 1956. It also creates an unregistered design right and modifies the UK's law on Registered Designs and patents.

Territorial Application

The Act extends to the whole of the United Kingdom and has been extended by Order in Council to Bermuda and Gibraltar. Works originating in the Isle of Man or the following former dependent territories also qualify for copyright under the Act: Antigua, Dominica, Gambia, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kiribati, Lesotho, St. Christopher-Nevis, St. Lucia, Swaziland and Tuvalu.

Works Subject to Copyright

The Act simplifies the different categories of work protected by copyright, eliminating the specific treatment of engravings and photographs. These include:

• Literary, dramatic and musical works
• Artistic works
• Sound recordings and films
• Broadcasts
• Typographical arrangements of published editions

Rights in Performances

Part II of the Act creates a series of performers' rights in application of the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations of 1961. These rights are retrospective in respect of performances before commencement on 1 August 1989.

Duration of Copyright

The provisions on duration have been largely modified by the Duration of Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 1995. The Act as it received royal assent states that copyright in most works lasts until 70 years after the death of the creator if known, otherwise 70 years after the work was created or published (50 years for computer-generated works).

Fair Dealing Defences and Permitted Acts

Chapter III of Part I of the Act provides for situations where copying or using a work will not be deemed to infringe the copyright. The existing common law defences to copyright infringement, notably fair dealing and the public interest defence, are not affected.

Crown and Parliamentary Copyrights

The Act simplifies the regime of Crown copyright and abolishes the perpetual Crown copyright in unpublished works of the Crown. It also creates the separate concept of parliamentary copyright for the works of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Scottish Parliament, and applies similar rules to the copyrights of certain international organisations.

Enforcement of Copyright

Infringement of copyright is actionable by the copyright owner as the infringement of a property right. Damages will not be awarded against an "innocent" defendant, but other remedies continue to be available. Orders are available for the delivery up and disposal of infringing copies: copyright owners may also seize such copies. The making, dealing in or use of infringing copies is a criminal offence.

Copyright Infringement Criminal Offences

The penalties for copyright infringement offences may include:

• Before a magistrates' Court, a maximum fine of £5,000 and/or six months imprisonment
• On indictment (in the Crown Court) some offences may attract an unlimited fine and up to 10 years imprisonment.

US copyright law's origins in the British Statute of Anne

The US copyright law has its origins in the British Statute of Anne, also known as the Copyright Act of 1709 or 1710. This act, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, was the first in the world to provide for copyright regulated by the government and courts, rather than private parties.

Prior to the Statute of Anne, copying restrictions in Britain were authorised by the Licensing of the Press Act of 1662, which gave a guild of printers, the Stationers' Company, exclusive power to print and censor literary works. This monopoly was unpopular with authors, who had no role in the development or use of licences, and the public, who protested against the censorship. As a result, in 1694, Parliament refused to renew the Licensing Act, ending the Stationers' monopoly and press restrictions.

Over the next decade, the Stationers repeatedly advocated for bills to re-authorise the old licensing system, but Parliament declined. In response, the Stationers shifted their focus to emphasise the benefits of licensing to authors, and successfully lobbied Parliament to consider a new Bill. This Bill, which after substantial amendments was granted royal assent on 5 April 1710, became known as the Statute of Anne.

The Statute of Anne prescribed a copyright term of 14 years, with a provision for renewal for a similar term, during which only the author and the printers they licensed could publish their creations. Following this, the work's copyright would expire, and the material would enter the public domain. The statute also included provisions for the public interest, such as a legal deposit scheme.

The Statute of Anne was considered a "watershed event" in copyright history, transforming what had been private law copyright into a public law grant. It was influential not only in Britain but also in several other nations, including the United States. The US copyright law, enacted in 1790, was modelled after the Statute of Anne, protecting books, maps, and charts for 14 years with a renewal period of another 14 years.

US copyright registration

US copyright laws are governed by the US Copyright Office, which operates under the Library of Congress. While registration with the US Copyright Office is no longer mandatory for international citizens to receive protection in the US, it is still recommended for US citizens, particularly if they wish to file an infringement suit in a US court.

The US Copyright Office offers a voluntary registration scheme, and registering can be done via the Electronic Copyright Office (eCO) Registration System. The average processing time for all claims is 3.4 months, with an average of 1.6 months for claims that do not require any correspondence.

The US Copyright Office allows for the registration of up to 10 unpublished works on the same application, but this requires selecting the new application for a "Group of Unpublished Works." The "Standard Application" cannot be used to register a "collection" of unpublished works.

The US Copyright Office also provides group registration options for published updates to news websites, works published on the same music album, short online literary works, and unpublished works.

US copyright duration

The duration of a copyright in the US depends on several factors, including whether the work has been published and, if so, its date of first publication.

For works created after 1 January 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. For anonymous, pseudonymous, or hired works, the copyright lasts for 95 years from the year of first publication or 120 years from the year of creation, whichever comes first.

Works published before 1978 have varying terms of copyright protection. Works published before 1 January 1929 are in the public domain. Works published or registered before 1978 have a maximum copyright duration of 95 years from the date of publication if the copyright was renewed during the 28th year following publication. Renewal has been automatic since the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992.

For works created before 1978 but not published or registered before that date, the standard copyright duration of 70 years from the author's death also applies. These works, if published before 2003, would not have their protection expire before 2048. All copyrightable works published in the US before 1929 are in the public domain; works created but not published or copyrighted before 1 January 1978 may be protected until 2047.

The first sound recordings to enter the public domain were those fixed before 1923, which entered the public domain on 1 January 2022. Recordings fixed between 1923 and 14 February 1972 will be phased into the public domain in the following decades.

In the US, copyright law grants monopoly protection for "original works of authorship". The stated purpose of copyright law is to promote art and culture by assigning a set of exclusive rights to authors, including the right to make and sell copies of their works, to create derivative works, and to perform or display their works publicly. These exclusive rights are subject to a time limit and generally expire 70 years after the author's death or 95 years after publication, whichever comes first.

UK copyright duration

Copyright protection in the UK starts as soon as a work is created and typically lasts for 70 years after the author's death. This is known as the 'copyright term' and refers to how long protection lasts for a given work. The duration of copyright depends on factors including who authored the work and when it was created or published.

• Literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works: 70 years after the author's death.
• Sound and music recordings: 70 years from when it's first published, or 50 years from when it's first broadcast.
• Layout of published editions of written, dramatic, or musical works: 25 years from when it's first published.
• Films: 70 years after the death of the last surviving author, director, writer, or composer. If their identities are unknown, the term is 70 years from creation, or if released to the public, 70 years from being made available.
• Sound recordings: 50 years from the year in which the recording was made. If, during that period, the sound recording is published or made available to the public, copyright lasts for 70 years from that year.
• Broadcasts: 50 years from the year in which the broadcast was made.
• Typographical arrangements: 25 years from the year of first publication.
• Performers' rights: 50 years from the year of the performance. 50 years from the year of the release of a recording (other than a sound recording), provided the recording took place during the 50 years after the performance. 70 years from the year of the release of a sound recording of the performance, provided the recording took place during the period of 50 years after the performance.

It's important to note that there are exceptions to these general rules, and other rules may apply in certain cases. For example, the '2039 rule' states that some works are protected in the UK until 31st December 2039, even if the author died long ago. This includes literary, dramatic, and musical works, but not artistic works other than photographs and engravings.

Frequently asked questions