Intellectual Property Law

This article discusses the basics of Intellectual Property Law, including its enforcement, protection, ownership, infringement, and limitations in the UK. It covers topics such as copyright protection, duration of protection, aspects of copyright laws, ownership, infringement, and limitations of copyright law.

Running head: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
Intellectual Property Law
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction
Copyright Law is defined as a domestic law and the evolution of it can be
traced from the legal regime in the individual countries. The present copyright
legislation in the UK is considered a part of the frame of laws that are constantly
being adapted to the guidelines of the European Union. As per the Copyright Law,
the economic rights of the author are limited so that an individual can reproduce the
work for private use without the consent of the author. However, private use does not
involve using a service or an enterprise. The Copyright Act therefore, consists of a
non-exclusive list of works, which includes artisanship, music, dramatic,
choreographic, films and architectural works. Copyright protection is must for
protecting the originality of an individual’s work.
 Enforcement of copyright law – United Kingdom has one of the strongest
and creative sectors in the world. It can be observed that for the precautionary
and provisional measures, evidence should be preserved in case of
infringement of the copyright rights. Therefore, these measures for the
infringement were committed on a commercial level. In case of infringement,
the infringer must do payment or compensation to the right holder1. According
to the law, the amount of minimum damages should not be less than twice the
amount of fees. Therefore, if the original ideas of any literary work is used
again then it will be treated as infringement and hence that individual will be
imprisoned or an amount will be charged as a fine2. Thus, an intellectual
1 Cornish, Graham P. Copyright: interpreting the law for libraries, archives and information services. Facet
Publishing, 2015.
2 Fiesler, Casey, Jessica L. Feuston, and Amy S. Bruckman. "Understanding copyright law in online creative
communities." Proceedings of the 18th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Social
Computing. ACM, 2015.

2INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
property right has played an essential role as a protection of the considerable
interests of the nations and the literary works. Along with this, there are plenty
of requirements that should be fulfilled for obtaining copyright.
 Protection of Copyright Laws – Copyright protection is applicable only when
there is any kind of record of the product or the material that has been created
without any official form of registration. The originators can therefore take
necessary steps for proving that they were the original creators. It includes
submitting a copy with an advocate or in a bank. Protecting an individual’s
own work or having the control of their own work will help them in protecting
the work. Therefore, for protecting one’s own work, registration of that
particular work must be done as per the rules of the Copyright Act. If the work
is not registered then, any other individual using the idea or the work for
creating another work will not be held liable for infringement. In the given
scenario, Archie will not be able to use those same games or ideas for
advertising another new venture or game. There are a set of work that are
considered to be eligible for copyright protection in the jurisdiction of United
Kingdom.
As per the law, a work that is eligible for copyright protection is an
original intellectual, artistic, literary and scientific. The work must be created in
any of these forms. The features of the work must have a minimal degree of
creativity. Protection of copyright is therefore necessary as it saves the
individuals and their work that they have created. As mentioned above, the
work is granted with protection despite its artistic value or its protection. The
Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988 is considered to have a longer
period of protection than the previous historic legislation. Hence, for protecting

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the designs of the games created by him should be registered under the
Copyright Act. The reason for this is that no infringement should occur3.
Therefore, the same design cannot be used or utilized again. Hence, Archie
will not be successful in using the same protected designs that is already
registered under the Copyright Act. Along with the protection of registered
artistic works, there are special provisions for the protection of non-artistic
works. The non-artistic works consist of databases and software. Cultural
expressions and traditional information or any kind of data related to it cannot
be protected. Therefore, the original work of Archie is software of video
games that is protected under the law with the help of special provisions.
Therefore, copyright protection arises when naturally the moment the Archie
had created the work. It is different from a trademark or a patent.
 Duration of protection of Copyright Laws - As discussed above the
protection of copyright depends on the kind of work. The protection of the
copyright thereafter lasts for the entire life of the author. It will continue even
after the death4. After the death period, the state can execute the rights that
are related to the acknowledgement of the author’s right of paternity and for
protecting the integrity of the work along with the moral rights5. Hence, after
the death of Archie, the copyright ownership of his designs will remain the
same.
 Aspects of Copyright Laws – While dealing with the aspects and theories of
the Copyright laws, there must be establishment, deposit and registration of
the rights of the owner. According to Copyright Law of United Kingdom, it is
3 Cantatore, Francina, and Jane Johnston. "Moral rights: Exploring the myths, meanings and misunderstandings
in Australian copyright law." Deakin L. Rev. 21 (2016): 71.
4 Drahos, Peter. A philosophy of intellectual property. Routledge, 2016.
5 Gilbarg, David, and Neil S. Trudinger. Elliptic partial differential equations of second order. springer, 2015.

4INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
stated that no specific system for copyright registration exists presently.
Therefore, the law defines the situation where it has been observed that the
rights are usually vested in the individual who has created the work without
facing any kind of formalities6. Hence, after the work is established under the
necessary act, it can be recognized or identified. The work created by Archie
was therefore produced and established under the above-mentioned act.
Once the work is established, it comes under the notice of every individual.
Thereafter, the process of registration and deposit comes in the scenario. It
can be said that there are no specific procedure for the registration of
copyright.
For evidential purposes, the material is filed with a notary public. The
purpose of the registration is that it is dictated by a few specific legislative acts
that are not linked to the ownership of copyright but to safeguard the cultural
heritage7. While dealing with the situation of Archie, if the aspects of copyright
are applied then he will not be able to use his old creations for designing and
advertising the new business. The ownership of the games and the
promotional material is vested with Archie as he was the employee of X-
games and had formed a contract for a year. In the United Kingdom, an
individual cannot make use of copyrighted material without explicit permission
to do so. However, United Kingdom copyright laws states that upon the
creation, the work is automatically copyrighted 8.
6 El-Nasr, Magy Seif, Anders Drachen, and Alessandro Canossa. Game analytics. Springer London Limited,
2016.
7 Stokes, Simon. Digital copyright: law and practice. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.
8. Sekaran, Uma, and Roger Bougie. Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley &
Sons, 2016.

5INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
 Ownership – According to law, not every individual are eligible for owning
copyright in a work. Therefore, if a natural individual creates a work, it can
own copyright. In case of legal entities, they can become the owners of
copyright directly9. If any individual makes the work available lawfully to the
public then it will be considered that the third parties will treated to be the
basic copyright owner10. However, a few specific rules and regulations govern
the collective kind of ownership of a copyright work as it has been laid down in
the case of SAS Institute v World Programming [2013] EWHC 69 (Ch). In
such situations, when an employee creates a work during the course of
employment contract, then the copyright will be vested in the employee who is
the author of the work. Thus, Archie cannot use the same design that he had
already created being a computer games designer.
 Infringement of Copyright Laws – As per Copyright law of United Kingdom,
the infringement of copyright refers to a situation that breaks the law. When
any act associates or involves the subject matter that is alike to that of a
copyright to the extent that they should be protected by law11. Hence, when
one person creates the same identical creation of the work that already exists,
then it will result in a situation of infringement. When the economic rights are
exploited from the work consisting of the right to communication, adaptation
and reproduction by violating the moral rights or without the permission of the
author then it will be treated as an infringement. Archie will therefore be held
for infringing his own work. The United Kingdom copyright law identifies the
9 Gilbarg, David, and Neil S. Trudinger. Elliptic partial differential equations of second order. springer, 2015.
10 Schwabach, Aaron. Fan fiction and copyright: outsider works and intellectual property protection. Routledge,
2016.
11 Suzor, Nicolas, Rachel Choi, and Suzannah Wood. "Reality bites: when copyright law and reality cooking
meet, only the lawyers win." The Conversation (2015).

6INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
contributory infringement12. IP rights can be infringed when law of IP protects
an invention or a creation.
Criminal penalties can be stipulated. It therefore has a list of offences
and penalties where infringement can occur. Firstly, when copyright is violated
as well as the related database rights. Secondly, when unauthorized software
programs are used13. Lastly, when the technical measures are circumvented.
In such situations when the owner of the infringed rights are bound to declare
the civil with the help of the criminal proceedings then a complaint can be
filed. Archie will therefore be held liable for copyright as it have been observed
in the case of Rogers v Koons. There must be awareness of the elements
involved and their will to commit the offence14. The criminal liability therefore
exists only when the perpetrator foresees the probability of the act that is
causing the infringement. Fines can also be imposed when there has been
any kind of unlawful reproduction or distribution with the intent of a computer
program.
In case of copyright infringement actions, it can be brought before the
Courts by the author along with their special successors. It can be said that
infringement can be filed 115 days from the date on which an infringement
action is filed for submitting briefs that act as an evidence15. However, the
time frame can therefore be extended by 30 days if the defendant is residing
outside the country. The decision is usually declared between 14 to 20
months. The remedies of the infringed copyrights include the identification and
12 Prime, Terence. European intellectual property law. Routledge, 2017.
13 Cornish, Graham P. Copyright: interpreting the law for libraries, archives and information services. Facet
Publishing, 2015.
14 Patterson, Lyman Ray. The nature of copyright: a law of users' rights. University of Georgia Press, 2017.
15 Joyce, Craig, et al. Copyright law. Carolina Academic Press, 2016

7INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
creation of copyrights and the abstention from infringement in the future. The
right holders are entitled to claim compensation and the moral damages
caused16. An individual can defend himself in such a scenario since it lays
down the exceptions that are related to the exploitation powers of the right
holders. It can therefore be invoked against a claim of infringement. It clearly
states that it has limitations, which can be applicable only in specific cases17.
This has been proved in Public Relations Consultants Association v
Newspaper Licensing Agency and others. Archie being the first creator of the
colorful and large creature games, cannot recreate another one or advertise a
new one with the same design, concept and name. The cartoon game that he
created was therefore a huge success and recognized by every individual
residing in the country.
 Limitations of Copyright Law – There are plenty of limitations and
exceptions of copyright that can be observed. The license of the agreement of
the exploitation of pecuniary rights can be mad possible and must be taken in
a written form18. If it is not done in a written manner, it will be considered to be
invalid. The rights are therefore, transferred over the author’s future work. The
moral rights should be transferred but the authors can only inherit it. They can
execute activities as per will of the author.
Archie being a computer games designer, was asked to create and
design a computer game for children. It was his own creation. The game was
made for children who are aged between 5-7 years. Thus, the game was a
huge success among the children and it was a known recognized game.
16 Leaffer, Marshall A. Understanding copyright law. LexisNexis, 2017.
17 Karapapa, Stavroula. "Copyright protection of street art and graffiti in Greece: intellectual property and
personal property in conflict?." (2018).
18 Giddens, Thomas. "Introduction." Graphic Justice. Routledge, 2015. 15-21.

8INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
Protection of ownership of the designs is already given to the first video
games that Archie had created. Therefore, it will not be possible for Archie as
per the relevant legislation of United Kingdom. Hence, the necessary
legislation for infringement must be applied in this scenario. If he wishes to
use his same creations for promoting the material, he is designing to advertise
his new business will be treated as an act of copyright19. Hence, as per the
law, it can be stated that an individual cannot use his own established design
again even if it is his own creation. This will lead to infringement if the same
ideas or designs are used. This is also because the previous game was
already registered under the Copyright Law20.
Conclusion
In the conclusion, it can be stated that the aspects of copyright define the
situation where an individual cannot use the same design or idea for the second
time. This will result in infringement since it was used again. However, in this
case Archie will be committing infringement of copyright if he uses his design and
idea that has already been used in the new project or venture. As it has been
discussed above, it will not be lawful for Archie to use the same ideas again for
the second time. It can be finally concluded that by applying the relevant rules of
Copyright law of United Kingdom, Archie will not be successful in using the same
ideas and designs. Thus, emphasis can be laid on the concepts of Copyright Law
and its theories.
References:
19 Von Lewinski, Silke. International copyright law and policy. Vol. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.
20 Vaver, David. Copyright law. Irwin Law, 2016.

9INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
Cantatore, Francina, and Jane Johnston. "Moral rights: Exploring the myths,
meanings and misunderstandings in Australian copyright law." Deakin L. Rev. 21
(2016): 71.
Cornish, Graham P. Copyright: interpreting the law for libraries, archives and
information services. Facet Publishing, 2015.
Cornish, Graham P. Copyright: interpreting the law for libraries, archives and
information services. Facet Publishing, 2015.
Drahos, Peter. A philosophy of intellectual property. Routledge, 2016.
El-Nasr, Magy Seif, Anders Drachen, and Alessandro Canossa. Game analytics.
Springer London Limited, 2016.
Fiesler, Casey, Jessica L. Feuston, and Amy S. Bruckman. "Understanding copyright
law in online creative communities." Proceedings of the 18th ACM Conference on
Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing. ACM, 2015.
Giddens, Thomas. "Introduction." Graphic Justice. Routledge, 2015. 15-21.
Gilbarg, David, and Neil S. Trudinger. Elliptic partial differential equations of second
order. springer, 2015.
Joyce, Craig, et al. Copyright law. Carolina Academic Press, 2016.
Joyce, Craig, et al. Copyright law. Carolina Academic Press, 2016.
Karapapa, Stavroula. "Copyright protection of street art and graffiti in Greece:
intellectual property and personal property in conflict?." (2018).
Leaffer, Marshall A. Understanding copyright law. LexisNexis, 2017.

10INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
Patterson, Lyman Ray. The nature of copyright: a law of users' rights. University of
Georgia Press, 2017.
Prime, Terence. European intellectual property law. Routledge, 2017.
Schwabach, Aaron. Fan fiction and copyright: outsider works and intellectual
property protection. Routledge, 2016.
Sekaran, Uma, and Roger Bougie. Research methods for business: A skill building
approach. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.
Stokes, Simon. Digital copyright: law and practice. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.
Suzor, Nicolas, Rachel Choi, and Suzannah Wood. "Reality bites: when copyright
law and reality cooking meet, only the lawyers win." The Conversation (2015).
Vaver, David. Copyright law. Irwin Law, 2016.
Von Lewinski, Silke. International copyright law and policy. Vol. 1. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2018.