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Avoiding Copyright Disputes - What Companies Need To Know

03 November 2008

If a company can’t produce evidence that it owns its intellectual property rights it’s like squatting in a house you don‘t own, warns Kent lawyer Charlotte Reid.

Charlotte, who specialises in intellectual property law at leading regional law firm Furley Page (recommended by Chambers and the Legal 500), explains: “It is absolutely vital for a company to ensure that it owns the copyright of work produced by its staff. Where a work is created by an employee in the course of his or her employment, the initial copyright is owned by the employer subject to a contrary agreement.

“However, in the case of work being commissioned by a contractor or other third party, the contractor owns the copyright even though the commissioner has paid for the work.”

Copyright issues should be clarified at the outset in order to avoid potential disputes later on, advises Charlotte. Ideally, copyright ownership should be established by taking an assignment of all intellectual property rights and a waiver of moral rights (this includes other rights of the creator of copyrighted work such as the right of attribution) or a licence of the intellectual property rights on the terms required by the company. Future copyright can also be assigned so work not yet created can be included in a contract.
Charlotte cites the recent case of US giant MGA Entertainment, maker of the popular Bratz dolls, which was sued by toymaker Mattel (maker of the best-selling Barbie dolls). Mattel claimed that Bratz creator Carter Bryant produced the first conceptual drawings of the dolls while he was working under contract for Mattel. The case was settled privately with Mattel, estimated to have received multi-million dollar damages.

Under UK law, no specific formalities need to be observed - such as registering work – for a work to receive copyright protection. As long as it’s original, protection arises automatically.

 “The moment Carter Bryant sketched the drawings of the Bratz dolls he created copyright in that work, “says Charlotte. “The fact that the dolls became a new market leader in the industry eclipsing Mattel’s Barbie dolls was probably what prompted Mattel to investigate ownership further. Had Bratz not been so successful, ownership of the sketches wouldn’t have been an issue.”

Further information on copyright issues from Charlotte Reid.
 

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