Page 89 - Law and the Media

Law and the Media
owned by the person who makes the broadcast. Copyright in individual pre-recorded
programmes that are broadcast may be owned by the programme maker. The copyright in
cable programmes belongs to the person providing the cable service.

3.3.4 Employees

Where someone in the course of his employment produces a work, the normal rule is that the
employer owns the copyright. However, there must be a contract of employment or contract
of service. This is different from a contract for services or a freelance contract.

Copyright will belong to the employer only it if is part of the employee’s duties to produce
the work. For example, the employer of a computer programmer will own copyright in all
computer programs produced at work, but not in a best-selling novel written by the
programmer.

The contract of employment can agree that the copyright position should not follow the
general rule.

Anyone who works for himself owns the copyright in any work he produces unless he
assigns it to someone else. It is important for anyone working as a freelancer to look carefully
at any freelance contract, which may assign copyright.

Newspaper employees
Newspaper reporters are in the same position as all other employees. The proprietor of the
newspaper owns the whole copyright.

The right to authorize later use of work and the right to sue for infringement depends on
ownership. In Beloff v Pressdram Ltd (1973) political journalist Nora Beloff sued the
magazine Private Eye for breach of copyright when it published a memorandum written by
her in the course of her employment with the Observer. The original owner of copyright in
the memorandum was the Observer. An attempt by the editor to assign copyright to Beloff
failed because he had no authority to assign copyright belonging to the Observer. Beloff had
no right to sue. Her claim failed.

3.3.5 Transfer of ownership

Copyright can be transferred from one person to another like any other item of property.
Copyright can pass as part of an estate on death or be assigned during the lifetime of the
owner. The rules about ownership can be altered by agreement. Any assignment of copyright
must be in writing.
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