OPINION: Robert Stoker on the importance of getting copyright right

RECENT suggestions of a disagreement between the Culture Company and Japanese artist Taro Chiezo over the Superlambanana high-light pitfalls which may arise when dealing with works protected by copyright.

The law of copyright pro-tects art, drawings, books, plays, music, dance, photo-graphs, films, TV and radio broadcasts and computer software. Any original works in these categories are automatically protected in the UK, without the require-ment to register copyright or pay any fee.

Although it is often said that possession is nine- tenths of the law, this is not the case with copyright law. The ownership of the final physical product and the copyright in that product are treated as two separate rights. You may own something physically but not own the copyright in it and vice-versa. Copyright lies with the creator of the work, regardless of whether it has been commissioned by a third party. No particular formal-ities are required to transfer ownership of the actual work, but the copyright will not be transferred unless this is evidenced in writing and signed by the copyright owner.

This is important for a number of rea- sons. For example, it is the retained own- ership of the copyright in computer software which enables companies like Microsoft to build an em- pire and prevent the unlawful copying and distribution of software. Those principles apply when downloading music or copying CDs.

In the same way, savvy artists can gain consider-able financial benefits from merchandising by keeping control of copy-right and this same right enables photographers to maximise their income from wedding photos as they are the lawful source of copies of the original photographs.

In today's world of cash and commerce, with fast transactions and mass production, people might think it seems illogical to have such stringent copyright laws. But it is important to remember copyright exists to protect and reward creativity and innovation.

ROBERT STOKER, legal director at DLA Piper, in Liverpool.