This document is based on Crown Copyright © 2007
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The general rule is that the author is the first owner of copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work. In the case of films, the principal director and the film producer are joint authors and first owners of copyright. The main exception is where a work or film is made in the course of employment, in which case the employer owns the copyright. The copyright in sound recordings, broadcasts and published editions generally belongs to the record producer, broadcaster or publisher.
No. Copyright protection in the UK & US is automatic and there is no registration system - so there are no forms to fill in and no fees to pay.
Yes. Copyright is a form of intellectual property and, like physical property, can be bought and sold, inherited or otherwise transferred. A transfer of ownership may cover all or only some of the rights to which a copyright owner is entitled. First or subsequent copyright owners can choose to license others to use their works whilst retaining ownership themselves.
No. Copyright exists independently of the medium on which a work is recorded. So if, say, you have bought or inherited a painting, you only own any copyright in it if that also has been transferred to you.
Copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (including a photograph) lasts until 70 years after the death of the author. The duration of copyright in a film is 70 years after the death of the last to survive of the principal director, the authors of the screenplay and dialogue, and the composer of any music specially created for the film. Sound recordings are generally protected for 50 years from the year of publication. Broadcasts are protected for 50 years and published editions are protected for 25 years.
For copyright works created outside the UK or another country of the European Economic Area, the term of protection may be shorter. There may also be differences for works created before 1 January 1996.
If a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or film for which the copyright has expired has never been made available to the public, it may be protected by publication right. This is granted automatically to the first person to make a relevant work or film available to the public within the European Economic Area, lasts for 25 years from the time of making available, and gives rights broadly similar to those given by copyright.