Brexit And Copyright: 6 Key Things To Know

On 31 December 2020, the Brexit transition period comes to an end, and significant changes to the law in the UK will take effect.

For copyright and neighbouring areas of the law, there are some important soundbites for businesses to be aware of – some of which you may already have heard about, while others may be news outside the UK (even for experienced copyright lawyers):

1. Copyright and related rights are governed in the UK by national legislation, which has been framed so as to give effect to the terms of international treaties, for example the Berne Convention of 1886. Aspects of copyright have been harmonised by EU directives, such as copyright protection for databases, computer programs, photographs and sound recordings. These effect, for example, the tests for subsistence. Such harmonisation has, in theory, been implemented in our national law and will continue to be applied by our national Court. However, from 1 January 2021, our national interpretation