law south east 27
Protecting your intellectual property
Businesses which use third parties, such as marketing agencies, designers and web developers to create material or software for them, are being advised to check that ownership in that material has been assigned to them - or risk potentially costly disputes in the future
One area often overlooked by businesses is checking they own all the rights to the content they commission, such as the copyright in the business website and its contents, all logos, software, the business name and advertising materials.
Under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, the creator of a piece of work will own the first copyright. This means that unless a formal agreement is put in place, businesses may not legally own the rights to works they have commissioned.
“It is often the case that a logo or artwork is commissioned, and though the client will pay for this to be done on their behalf, if there is no agreement transferring the copyright then it will remain the property of the original artist. Companies without the right protections in place could face paying thousands to get the rights to material they have already paid for, or to take the matter to court.”
The consequences of failing to put an agreement in place to transfer the rights are expansive. The person who created the work could resell, reuse or otherwise compete using the same materials created for the business. The business could be limited in how it uses the materials created. If a business is sold it may not own the intellectual property in important assets.
Sarah Crookall added: “Many businesses wrongly believe that if they have paid for the work, it will automatically give them ownership of the associated copyright. But that is not the case.
According to Sarah Crookall (pictured), senior solicitor at Moore Blatch, these types of dispute are becoming more and more common. She explains: “At Moore Blatch our team regularly advises businesses on a range of intellectual property disputes and one of the most common is copyright.
“If you are a business then make sure you have a written agreement in place with any third parties, such as advertisers, designers, web designers and programmers, before they begin working on a project for the business. The agreement must identify the project and assign all intellectual property rights in any work created by the contractor to the business.”
Details: Sarah Crookall
sarah.crookall@
mooreblatch.com 023-8071-8044
www.mooreblatch.com
Managing a successful company
requires clear thinking and decisive action. You don't want legal issues getting in the way. Our team has the expertise to take care of everything, so you can get on with running your business.
Sarah Crookall Senior Solicitor, Commercial
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THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MARCH 2014
T. 023 8071 8000
www.mooreblatch.com www.businessmag.co.uk
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