Glossary

Copyright

Published June 21 2024 | Revised June 19 2024

Copyright

Copyright, like patents and trade marks, is a form of intangible property (“intellectual property”) in certain kinds of original work. It is different from the property which may exist in the physical forms or media in which the work happens to be embodied (of which there may be a very large number), and the two kinds of right will not necessarily, or even very often, be vested in the same person. So an author may own literary copyright in the words, while a publisher may own typographical copyright in a published edition, and others may own separate software (or other) rights in any online services or websites used, all of which are different from the physical ownership of a printed book purchased in a bookshop (The British Academy & The Publishers Association, 2008).

The following toolkit article(s) mention(s) this glossary term:

Choosing a licence

Contracting and copyright

How will researchers use, re-use and build upon my research?