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Welcome

union jack flag What is copyright?

This unit covers how copyright applies in higher education. We start off with some basic facts about copyright, then look at some of the licensing schemes in use. We also list some of the exceptions to copyright law.

You can't copyright an idea, but you can copyright the expression of that idea. In the UK, the minute an idea becomes fixed, then the creator owns it. Basically, copyright is a way of protecting the creator's rights. The main law in the UK is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 with amendments to update it for the digital age, these apply from June 2014.

How does it apply? There are three criteria:

  • It must be original
  • It must be fixed
  • The author of the work must be a qualified national of a country that recognises copyright law or if published, the country of first publication must recognise copyright law