Copyright is an intellectual property right. It refers to the bundle of rights enjoyed by the creator of a “protected work”. Protected works include:
- Literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works (the “classical” copyrights);
- Sound recordings; film; broadcasts, and the typographical arrangement of published editions (“related rights”, or “entrepreneurial copyrights”);
- Performances;
- Computer software;
- Databases.
There is possibly no other area of law governing so broad a spectrum of human activity. Nor, in the wake of the digital explosion, has copyright ever been so relevant or so inter-connected with other areas of law, including information technology laws, privacy and data protection laws, the law of confidence, and communications laws.
Linda Scales offers professional advice on all aspects of copyright – from establishing ownership, to licensing and litigating infringements. She also advises on related areas of law, including registration of trade marks and industrial designs, data protection issues, domain name disputes, IT contracts, confidentiality agreements, and so forth. She advises many start-ups and small enterprises on all of their IP concerns.
For corporate and institutional clients, Linda conducts intellectual property audits, helping the organisation to identify its IP assets, to ensure that they are adequately protected, and to educate staff in relation to the use of protected material. For certain organisations, it is an IP strategy or policy that is required, and Linda will help to guide the development of this. IP audits, strategies and policies can be surprisingly beneficial tools for firms and institutions.