Copyrights
Copyright law grants compulsory licensing
and royalty payments
Whether the subject is a literary content creation or cutting-edge multimedia content, clients look to us as trusted partner to protect and enforce their copyrights in an increasingly complex marketplace. Copyright is known as a specific legal protection for content creators (as well as their licensees and assignees) whether in the literary, music & arts, software, or applications. It aims to encourage individuals to create, distribute, develop, perform, and spread their works of learnings, information, or entertainment by giving them financial or other moral benefits (such as recognition). Copyright law grants compulsory licensing and payments. It’s important to point out that there is no analogous concept in trademark law. Copyrights protect the method of expression rather than the subject matter of a piece of work.
If your business owns the copyright to a work, such as painting, song lyrics, music compositions, or a photography, you have full control on how it can be commercialized, and you can use it as a source of income. An international copyright symbol © followed by your name and the year of creation identifies you as owner of the right. Although it does not always prevent infringement but can be a way for others to contact you with requests for authorization of use.
Unintentional copyright breaches
The sharing of information is key to growth, especially in the technology and pharmaceutical sectors. Employees of multinational organizations exchange information regularly with customers, collaborators, and their internal colleagues who may work and purchase goods in many different jurisdictions around the world.
Fulfilling medical information requests, excerpting articles for presentations, and sharing the latest research discoveries from a journal with others, all increase the potential of exposing a company to accidental copyright infringement risks, as well as harm to their reputation and brand.
Software misuse or mobile apps is another common form of copyright infringement and can include making illegal copies of software or breaching the terms of the license. A deliberate infringement of copyright on a commercial scale, also known as piracy, may be a criminal act. It is like trademark counterfeiting, and the two terms sometimes overlap.
If you suspect that your copyright is being infringed or that it is at risk in your market or in a different country, contact our IP experts for legal advice. Failing to act could cause major and irreversible damage to your business.
International copyright law is complex
Each country has different approaches governing how copyright laws are applied, making international copyright law tricky to navigate. Now that it is easier than ever to access, copy, reuse, and share content, the potential for infringement has skyrocketed. The struggle to obtain copyright agreements on a case-by-case basis can be inefficient and costly, especially where there is a high volume of consent needed on a consistent basis.
Our legal experts can help you make sense of it all.
We offer longstanding experience in copyright matters in both the digital and analogue worlds. We regularly counsel and assist clients with all aspects of copyright law including complicated digital media and internet issues that extend beyond our core copyright services and beyond the countries where we are physically present. We are confident that our expert team of associates can enforce your rights in any country in the world as they have the cultural knowledge, experience, and the language abilities to obtain the best result for your company.
Our Copyrights Services
- Copyright filing application for registration.
- Copyright acquisition, and copyright enforcement and litigation.
- Counsel and audit due diligence and providing title opinions.
- Negotiating and drafting copyright license, commercial agreements and assignments i.e. on behalf of technology, medical and educational institutions. We are well versed in assisting computer software, architectural blueprints mainly in issues faced in the development, licensing and contracts related to their copyrights.
- Providing copyright counselling opinions, including in relation to subsistence of copyright, infringement, and user rights.
Get in touch
Write to us if you are concerned that your copyright has been breached or would you like to learn more on how to protect your copyrights for published or unpublished work.
