New UK Image Copyright Law Legalises Nicking Photos Off the Internet. The UK's Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act has been passed, putting controversial new copyright laws regarding what's known as "orphan works" into place for photos put online. The changes mean that if there's no clear identifying meta data in images, anyone can use and sub-license them and the owners have little recourse to complain. Of course, the internet being what it is and working how it works, copyright watchers are claiming this new law is tantamount to legalising corporate image theft, as it's extremely easy to nick a photo off a social network or image search, then claim it had no identifying data and was therefore considered free to use.
Given that meta data is routinely stripped when uploading shots to many social networks, the changes to the law seem designed to make nicking everyone's Instagram photos entirely legal. [The Register] Creative Commons. Home: NEN Gallery. Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society. Copyright. Copyright protects written, theatrical, musical and artistic works as well as film, book layouts, sound recordings, and broadcasts. Copyright is an automatic right, which means you don't have to apply for it. About copyright Here you'll find information on the benefits of copyright protection and what an owner's exclusive economic rights are. Copyright applies to... Copyright applies to all sorts of written and recorded materials from software and the internet to drawings and photography. Ownership of copyright works Ownership of copyright works may depend on the circumstances under which the work was created as this section explains.
Other people's copyright works You will normally need permission to use someone else's copyright work but in certain very specific situations you may not. Copyright works are protected across most mediums - so if they're protected in one, they're probably protected in others. Fast Facts Copyright doesn't protect ideas.
Take the Copyright quiz! Pyright and the curriculum | CLA SchoolsCLA Schools. Copyright & Schools: photocopy, scan, screen or broadcast copyright resources in classrooms - simple advice for teachers.