ABSTRACT
Copyright is a statutory property right. It is conferred by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) and subsists in a work, thereby conferring exclusive rights on the copyright owner for a sustained period. The period varies according to the type of work. This allows a copyright owner to exploit ideas once they have been embodied in a work, and provides the means for allocating the risks of doing so. Works are created by authors, but copyright will only subsist if the work qualifies for protection by a factor connecting it with the UK. The exploitation of copyright in a work may be divided up by act, place or time, and may be separately assigned or licensed.
