Copyright protects original works or materials of ‘authorship’ that you have created, including literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, music, songs, computer software and architecture.
In relation to your work in the NHS this will include any teaching materials, flyers, handouts, patient information leaflets, presentations, apps, computer systems and videos, amongst other things.
If you are unsure whether what you have produced is protected by copyright please get in touch.
No. Copyright protection is automatic in the UK, so you don’t need to register, fill in forms or pay any fees.
You don’t have to have a copyright statement on your material for it to be protected, but it is recommended. This should have the © symbol, the year and the rightful owner, ie the legal entity who owns the copyright, usually the Trust. You can state who authored the materials or what department it came from, but you also want to avoid the statement becoming too large and cluttering the works.
If you have any doubts over the statement please get in touch.
Contact us and we’ll help you with the wording of a letter to send to them and then deal with that on your behalf, taking specialist advice from solicitors if needed.