Copyright disputes

This subtopic outlines and provides guidance on the steps to take where there may be a claim for copyright infringement.

UK copyright law is mainly set out in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988).

Copyright infringement

CDPA 1988 gives the copyright owner exclusive rights in the UK to carry out various acts in relation to the copyright work. Activities set out in CDPA 1988, carried out by those other than the copyright owner, without permission, will infringe the owner’s exclusive rights unless certain exceptions or defences apply. For an introduction to the law of copyright, see Practice Note: IP—new starter copyright guide and Precedent: Protecting copyright—training materials.

Before issuing proceedings, a claimant should establish that copyright subsists in the relevant work, that they own it and that the copyright has been infringed. Infringement can be primary or secondary. Broadly, there will be primary infringement if a substantial part of the work is reproduced as a result of copying. There will be secondary infringement where an infringing copy is knowingly imported, possessed, sold or distributed. Copyright infringement is of particular importance in creative

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