- within Intellectual Property topic(s)
- with Finance and Tax Executives and Inhouse Counsel
- in India
- with readers working within the Law Firm industries
Understanding intellectual property
The term intellectual property refers to the property rights of a physical or legal person over creations of the human mind, for example, an invention, a design, a symbol or artistic works. Such rights are many times protected by local and European laws, regulations, directives, as well as by bilateral agreements.
The protection of intellectual property offers to the owner of the rights the exclusive benefit of utilising their creation and the advantage of taking legal steps in case of unauthorised use of their creation by third parties.
There are four main types of intellectual property, those being patents, trademarks, intellectual designs and copyrights. On this article we will focus on the latter and lay an overview of what is a copyright and how it can be protected.
Terminology
A copyright protects, among others, original works of ownership, such as scientific works, literary works (e.g. novels, stories, poems, scenarios, articles, essays etc.), computer programs and artistic works (e.g. paintings, typographies, woodcuts, sculptures, architectural works in the form of buildings or models etc.).
Nobody, except of the creator, has the right to make the work public or reproduce it. In the Republic of Cyprus and in the European Union Countries, a copyright protects the creator's work for life and until 70 years after their death or in case of a joint work, until 70 years after the death of the last surviving co-creator.
Outside the European Union, in countries which signed the Berne Convention, the duration of a copyright lasts another 50 years from the creator's death.
However, ideas, procedures, principles elements and other similar things that are not expressed in any way cannot be protected.
Obtainment
A copyright begins to exist and is fortified automatically when the creation takes a material form, for example, as soon as it is written, recorded and/or produced in any other way. Consequently, securing a copyright in the Republic of Cyprus does not require its registration nor the renewal of its protection.
The requirements for the protection of a creation in the Republic of Cyprus, are the following:
- The creation shall be original.
- The creation shall first be created and/or issued in the Republic of Cyprus and/or constructed in the Republic of Cyprus and/or incorporated in a building that is located in the Republic of Cyprus.
- The beneficiary or any of the beneficiaries shall be a natural person and citizen of the European Union or a legal person incorporated in the European Union.
Extralayers of protection
A creator can ensure the protection of their work, by adding the symbol © and the "all rights reserved" text on their work, together with their full name and other details, such as their address, telephone number, legal representation and the time of creation of the work.
It would also be good practice to keep a record of the of use of their copyright, the identity of the people who contributed to the work and all documents, in electronic or other form, indicating when the work was created.
There are a few atypical ways to prove that a work is original, however, these are not provided by any law. For example, in cases of literacy works, the creator may place their work in an envelope and send it back to themselves via registered post, leaving the envelop sealed up until the point that their ownership over the work is challenged and thus, they need to prove its existence at a certain point in time. Furthermore, the creator may file their work at the National Library of the Republic of Cyprus, which in return, will provide them with a unique identification number which can be included in an affidavit made by the creator before the registrar, declaring the details of such specific work and affirming its originality. In some countries, creators also register their works via a dedicated service provider.
All of the above atypical ways are useful in terms of proving the existence of a creator's work at a certain point in time, so as to verify its originality.
Right of licensing and other exclusivity rights
The creator, as the licensor, may grant a licence to authorise a third party, as the licensee, to use their copyright-protected work, under terms and conditions that the creator lays out in a license agreement. For example, the creator of a photograph can authorise only the right of reproduction of the photograph, in which case the licensee is only authorised to make copies of the work. Moreover, a licence agreement can include a range of rules that match the creator's desires, like the right to modify or communicate the photograph to the public, the right to reproduce the photograph in a printed or digital work, the timeframe of such reproduction and of course the price of such licence etc.
However, under European Union copyright law, there are some examples where a license is not needed to use copyright-protected work. These include, among others, using copyright-protected work for personal use, reporting and criticism (e.g. report on current events, make parodies or caricatures etc.) and access to knowledge (e.g. teaching platforms).
Conclusive thoughts
The creator can enjoy many benefits by claiming copyright over their work, they may be applauded and remembered for their work or even generate income out of it. Even though, a copyright begins to exist automatically, in many instances and as time passes, it may be difficult to prove infringement of copyright-protected work. Therefore, keeping good records, proof of the work's development and circulation and informing third parties and the public that such work is copyright-protected, may help establish ownership and protect the creator's rights from an infringement attack.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
