The Government is to amend UK copyright law so that certain industrially-manufactured artistic works benefit from the same copyright protection as other artistic works. They are seeking feedback on how and when the change should take place.
What does this mean for creators?
Currently, certain industrially-manufactured artistic works – the legal term for artistic works produced in multiple copies of 50 or more - are protected by copyright for 25 years in the UK.
This is shorter than the standard length of
copyright-protection for artistic works such as paintings or photographs, which lasts the lifetime of the artist plus a further 70 years following their death.
The UK is one of few EU countries which currently exercises this limit, leading to instances where online traders have been able to legally import and sell items in the UK which replicate designs usually protected by copyright in the rest of the EU. Some businesses have reported a loss of income as a result.
The Government is therefore updating the law by repealing legislation which currently limits the length of copyright for these types of works.
Read more about how the law will change.
Who will benefit?
The creators most likely to be affected by this change in copyright law are designer-makers and visual artists working in the applied or decorative arts, who produce artistic works in bulk.
Examples of works that might benefit from this longer protection include furniture, lighting design, ceramics, textiles and even wallpaper - so long as they qualify for copyright-protection under the law as artistic works. For more information about what the law treats as an ‘artistic work’,
visit our Knowledge Base.
There is concern about how the change will also affect photographers who have taken images of previously out-of-copyright artistic works now due to come back into copyright.
Help make the transition easier
Those affected by the changes - including designers, photographers and users of images - can contribute their feedback to the
Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to help them decide what provisions are necessary for a smooth transition and when the change should take place.
You can find further information on how to send your feedback by visiting
the IPO’s website. Responses must be received by 27 November 2013.
As the UK’s largest representative for visual artists’ rights, DACS will also be responding on behalf of the visual artists and estates we represent.
Image: 'Last Stool' in polished copper, for Discipline, Italy, by Max Lamb © Max Lamb. Photo courtesy of the artist. Max Lamb is represented by DACS for the Artist’s Resale Right.