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This lesson covers the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) as required by OCR J277 Section 1.6. This act protects the intellectual property of creators and is particularly relevant to the software industry.
Copyright is a legal right that gives the creator of an original work exclusive control over how it is used, distributed, and reproduced. Copyright applies automatically when an original work is created — the creator does not need to register it or apply for it.
| Type of Work | Examples |
|---|---|
| Literary works | Books, articles, blog posts, computer programs (source code) |
| Dramatic works | Plays, screenplays, choreography |
| Musical works | Songs, compositions, musical scores |
| Artistic works | Paintings, photographs, sculptures, graphics |
| Sound recordings | Music tracks, podcasts, audio books |
| Films | Movies, documentaries, video content |
| Broadcasts | TV and radio programmes |
| Typographical arrangements | The layout of published editions |
OCR Exam Tip: Software (source code) is protected as a literary work under copyright law. This means copying, distributing, or modifying someone else's software without permission is illegal.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 provides the following protections:
The copyright holder has the exclusive right to:
No one else may do any of these things without the copyright holder's permission (a licence).
| Type of Work | Duration |
|---|---|
| Written, dramatic, musical, artistic works | Life of the creator + 70 years |
| Sound recordings | 70 years from publication |
| Films | 70 years after the death of the last surviving principal director, author, or composer |
| Broadcasts | 50 years from first broadcast |
| Typographical arrangements | 25 years from first publication |
Software is one of the most commonly copied types of work. The CDPA 1988 protects software in several ways:
| Action | Legal? |
|---|---|
| Buying software and using it as licensed | Yes |
| Making a backup copy for personal use (if licence permits) | Usually yes |
| Copying software and giving it to a friend | No — copyright infringement |
| Downloading pirated software from the internet | No — copyright infringement |
| Modifying or reverse-engineering proprietary software | No (without permission) |
| Distributing cracked or patched versions of software | No — copyright infringement |
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