ABSTRACT
The importance of intellectual property (IP) was first recognised internationally in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. This chapter discusses the main principles of IP legislation and explains the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. It describes the way legislation treats the creation of works as separate elements, such as artistic, musical, literary and dramatic works. Copyright forms part of a bundle of IP rights. Copyright law has two basic functions, a property function and an authenticity function, both seeking to establish who is the author of a work. Copyright protection is automatic once something has been created and usually lasts for the lifetime of the author plus a further 70 years. Many copyright infringements go undetected and are now part of enormous organised crime, including copying and counterfeiting goods, being one of the most widespread offences, particularly with auction sales on the internet.
