February 23, 2015

Victory in copyright fight

As a member of the Intellectual Property Lawyers’ Association, the firm had lobbied for the duration of copyright to be changed so that the rules covering artistic craftsmanship matched those applied to other copyrighted works.

Under the current laws, the copyright period is limited to 25 years, far less than the lifetime of the creator plus 70 years – which applies under full term copyright.

On February 18th, the Government bowed to pressure and announced that it would be repealing Section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The changes will take effect from April 6th 2020.

The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills thanked everyone who had taken part in the consultation process.

At Royds, our experts can provide comprehensive advice on all aspects of intellectual property law, including issues facing the jewellery, homeware and fashion industries. For more information please contact Stephen Welfare ([email protected]) or John North [email protected]).

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