What Engineers Need To Know About Copyright

Copyright is not just for artists.  While it can apply to products of craftsmanship or the performing arts, it can also apply to works created in an engineering context, like computer programs and engineering drawings.  In other words, if you are an engineer it is important that you know some things about copyright, like the following:

1. Generally, copyright subsists in tangible things that are the product of someone's skill or labour.  In legalese, this "tangible thing" is called a "copyrighted work". You will probably deal mostly with artistic works (e.g. engineering drawings, photographs, flow diagrams, concept sketches, etc.); literary works (e.g. the text of user manuals) and computer programs (e.g. machine, object and source code – in fact, any instructions used to direct the operation of a machine, like the code for CNC machines used in the manufacture of components).