Copyright and Licensing - New material

Copyright

Copyright is the exclusive right to copy, issue copies of the work to the public or rent or lend the work to the public. Copyright in a work is infringed by a person who without a licence from the copyright owner does, or authorises another to do, any of the acts restricted by copyright. Copyright is an intellectual property right attaching to the recordings. It is not the same as ownership of the physical medium upon which the recording is held – for example, the physical CD.

Moral rights

With respect to the copyright itself, the authors may have certain moral rights associated with their recordings. These include:

  • The right to be acknowledged as the author
  • The right not to have the recording altered
  • The right not to have the recording used in such a way as to bring the copyright holder/author into disrepute, for example by describing the contents of the recording inaccurately

Who becomes the copyright holder?

  • The copyright of all images, video and other recordings is owned by someone
  • Copyright is automatic and does not have to be registered
  • The patient who gives their permission (consent) for you to make and use a recording of them does not own the copyright of that recording

The copyright holder may be:

  • The person who creates the recording, or
  • If made in the course of employment, the employer, or the person who creates the recording

Licensing

  • When the copyright holder of a recording (such as an NHS trust) grants their permission to another person (such as yourself) to use their material, they usually do this in the form of written permission or a licence outlining the specific ways that their material can be used
  • In the absence of a licence or an enforceable fair dealings exception, copyright will be infringed
  • Permissions to copy and use the recordings can only be given by the owner of the copyright, or the author (if they are not the actual owners of the copyright) and cannot be given by the patient
  • The holder of the copyright cannot give permission for any use for which the patient has not first given their patient consent
  • The licence may be granted to an individual or an institution