Dealing with future copyright works

Published by a LexisNexis IP expert
Practice notes

Dealing with future copyright works

Published by a LexisNexis IP expert

Practice notes
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In brief

Although subject to certain qualifications (discussed in more detail in Practice Note: Copyright—subsistence and qualification), copyright automatically arises once the protected work is recorded, or ‘fixed’, in a permanent form such as in writing, on film or in a sound recording. Up until that point the work remains a ‘future work’ and is not protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988).

Where a work has not yet been recorded, but it is expected or anticipated, a prospective owner may deal with it as though it were already in existence. For example, they may assign or licence the future copyright in the future work, even though at the point of agreeing to do so the work in question does not exist.

This Practice Note covers a number of considerations when dealing with future copyright works, and for more information on other aspects of copyright more generally, see Practice Notes:

  1. Copyright―protectable works

  2. Copyright—subsistence and qualification

  3. Licensing intellectual property rights

  4. Assigning intellectual property rights

Prospective ownership and future copyright

The

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Key definition:
Ownership definition
What does Ownership mean?

The term ownership denotes a wide array of rights over property.

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