Public domain definition: The public domain is generally defined as consisting of works that are eitherineligible for copyright protection or with expired copyrights. Public domain refers to the total absence of copyright protection for work The public domain is a range of abstract materials commonly referred to as intellectual property which are not owned or controlled by anyone. The term indicates that these materials are therefore "public property", and available for anyone to use for any purpose.

No permission whatsoever is needed to copy or use public domain works. Public domain material is available for anyone to use for any purpose, private and commercial. Public domain works can serve as the foundation for new creative works. Public domain works can also be copied and distributed without any permission or paying royalties

The UK copyright law fact sheet outlines the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the principal legislation covering intellectual property rights in the United Kingdom and the work to which it applies.

Introduction
Copyright law originated in the United Kingdom from a concept of common law; the Statute of Anne 1709. It became statutory with the passing of the Copyright Act 1911. The current act is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Rights covered
The law gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of published editions, rights to control the ways in which their material may be used.
The rights cover; broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing, renting and lending copies to the public.
In many cases, the creator will also have the right to be identified as the author and to object to distortions of his work.
International conventions give protection in most countries, subject to national laws.
Types of work protected
1. Literary
  song lyrics, manuscripts, manuals, computer programs, commercial documents, leaflets, newsletters & articles etc.
2. Dramatic
  plays, dance, etc.
3. Musical
  recordings and score.
4. Artistic
  photography, painting, sculptures, architecture, technical drawings/diagrams, maps, logos.
5. Typographical arrangement of published editions
  magazines, periodicals, etc.
6. Sound recording
  may be recordings of other copyright works, e.g. musical and literary.
7. Films
  broadcasts and cable programmes.
The Copyright (Computer Programs) Regulations 1992 extended the rules covering literary works to include computer programs.
When rights occur
Copyright is an automatic right and arises whenever an individual or company creates a work. To qualify, a work should be regarded as original, and exhibit a degree of labour, skill or judgement.
Interpretation is related to the independent creation rather than the idea behind the creation. For example, your idea for a book would not itself be protected, but the actual content of a book you write would be. In other words, someone else is still entitled to write their own book around the same idea, provided they do not directly copy or adapt yours to do so.
Names, titles, short phrases and colours are not generally considered unique or substantial enough to be covered, but a creation, such as a logo, that combines these elements may be.
In short, work that expresses an idea may be protected, but not the idea behind it.
Who owns a piece of work
Normally the individual or collective who authored the work will exclusively own the work and is referred to as the ‘first owner of copyright’ under the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act. However, if a work is produced as part of employment then the first owner will normally be the company that is the employer of the individual who created the work.
Freelance or commissioned work will usually belong to the author of the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary, (i.e. in a contract for service).
Just like any other asset, copyright may be transferred or sold by the copyright owner to another party.
Rights cannot be claimed for any part of a work which is a copy taken from a previous work. For example, in a piece of music featuring samples from a previous work, the copyright of the samples would still remain with the original author.
Only the owner, or his exclusive licensee can bring proceedings in the courts.
Duration of copyright
The 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act states the duration of copyright as;
1. For literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works
  70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last remaining author of the work dies.
  If the author is unknown, copyright will last for 70 years from end of the calendar year in which the work was created, although if it is made available to the public during that time, (by publication, authorised performance, broadcast, exhibition, etc.), then the duration will be 70 years from the end of the year that the work was first made available.
2. Sound Recordings and broadcasts
  50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was created, or,
  if the work is released within that time: 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was first released.
3. Films
  70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last principal director, author or composer dies.
  If the work is of unknown authorship: 70 years from end of the calendar year of creation, or if made available to the public in that time, 70 years from the end of the year the film was first made available.
4. Typographical arrangement of published editions
  25 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published.
5. Broadcasts and cable programmes
  50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the broadcast was made.
6. Crown Copyright
  Crown copyright will exist in works made by an officer of the Crown, this includes items such as legislation and documents and reports produced by government bodies.
  Crown Copyright will last for a period of 125 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.
  If the work was commercially published within 75 years of the end of the calendar year in which it was made, Crown copyright will last for 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it was published.
7. Parliamentary Copyright
  Parliamentary Copyright will apply to work that is made by or under the direction or control of the House of Commons or the House of Lords and will last until 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made.
Restricted acts
It is an offence to perform any of the following acts without the consent of the owner:
Copy the work.
Rent, lend or issue copies of the work to the public.
Perform, broadcast or show the work in public.
Adapt the work.
The author of a work, or a director of a film may also have certain moral rights:
The right to be identified as the author.
Right to object to derogatory treatment.
Acts that are allowed
Fair dealing is a term used to describe acts which are permitted to a certain degree without infringing the work, these acts are:
- Private and research study purposes.
- Performance, copies or lending for educational purposes.
- Criticism and news reporting.
- Incidental inclusion.
- Copies and lending by librarians.
- Acts for the purposes of royal commissions, statutory enquiries, judicial proceedings and parliamentary purposes.
- Recording of broadcasts for the purposes of listening to or viewing at a more convenient time, this is known as time shifting.
- Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program.
- Playing sound recording for a non profit making organisation, club or society.
  (Profit making organisations and individuals should obtain a license from PRS for Music.)

How long does copyright last?

Question: How Long Does Copyright Protection Last?

Answer: In the United States, the Library of Congress officialy registers copyrights which now last for the life of the author plus 70 years.

Copyright Protection for Works Originally Created on or after January 1, 1978

A work that is created on or after January 1, 1978, is automatically protected from the moment of its creation and is ordinarily given a term enduring for the author's life plus an additional 70 years after the author's death.

In the case of a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not do a work for hire, the term lasts for 70 years after the last surviving author's death.

For works for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the author's identity is revealed in Copyright Office records), the duration of copyright will be 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.

What is copyright?

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time. Generally, it is "the right to copy", but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other, related rights. It is an intellectual property form (like the patent, the trademark, and the trade secret) applicable to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete.^[1]

Copyright initially was conceived as a way for government to restrict printing; the contemporary intent of copyright is to promote the creation of new works by giving authors control of and profit from them. Copyrights have been internationally standardized, lasting between fifty to a hundred years from the creator's death, or a finite period for anonymous or corporate creations; some jurisdictions have required formalities to establishing copyright, most recognize copyright in any completed work, without formal registration. Generally, copyright is enforced as a civil matter, though some jurisdictions do apply criminal sanctions.

Most jurisdictions recognize copyright limitations, allowing "fair" exceptions to the creator's exclusivity of copyright, and giving users certain rights. The development of digital media and computer network technologies have prompted reinterpretation of these exceptions, introduced new difficulties in enforcing copyright, and inspired additional challenges to copyright law's philosophic basis. Simultaneously, businesses with great economic dependence upon copyright have advocated the extension and expansion of their copy rights, and sought additional legal and technological enforcement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright - website i got this infomation from

Christian Marclay’s artwork The Clock - Part of the British Art Show 7

These are some pictures from the film that me and a friend went to go and see, it is a 24 hour film that shows a series of clocks through out the film showing the time that it is in the day.

First I didn't quite understand what the relevance this was then I realised that the whole point is that none of the footage is his own work and he has put a piece of "his" work together using other peoples films and claiming it to be his own.

Can he call this his piece of work?

Fashion "knock offs"

The copying of fashion design originals - “knocking off” or “affordable interpretation,” depending on your point of view - is a practice that designers may have grudgingly accepted in the past, when less expensive copies took some time to reach stores and only those consumers who could afford the designer-label originals could be the first to follow a trend. This practice is costing designers greatly as more advanced technology makes it possible to see high-quality copies appear in stores before the original has even hit the market. While it has long been the practice of the American fashion industry to knock off European designs, American designers did not copy one another. They registered their original sketches with a trade group called the Fashion Originators Guild, an organization that urged retailers to prohibit styles known to be knockoffs.

Knock off Louis Vuitton handbag

Real Louis Vuitton handbag

A Video on Copyright within fashion in the USA

Copy right into fashion

As i am a fashion student i want to look more into the rights of copy right with in the fashion industry.

For example the theft of design ideas and copying of high end fashion trickling down into high street shops ect.

Textiles and Fabric - the surface decoration

The original drawing for a design or pattern to be applied to textiles and fabrics is protected by copyright because it is an artistic work. It would therefore be an infringement of copyright either to copy the design drawing itself or to produce a fabric or article with the same surface decoration. Copyright is a right which arises automatically without any need for registration (for more information on copyright (see Fact Sheet 1).

It may also be possible to obtain protection for the pattern as a registered design where the pattern is applied to a garment by an industrial process, where the pattern is “new” and where the finished article has “eye appeal”

Clothing - the design of the shape

The original drawings for an item of clothing are regarded as “design documents”, which are themselves protected under copyright from further reproduction. However, it is not an infringement of the copyright in a design document (provided it is not a design for a work of artistic craftsmanship or a sculpture) to make an article to that design, or to copy an article made to that design. Therefore if your design or drawing is for a garment which does not qualify as a work of artistic craftsmanship or a sculpture (if the design is one suitable for mass production it is unlikely that it will qualify) it could be used to make up the finished article without infringing any copyright.

The clothing may attract unregistered design right if the design is original and this will protect the shape and configuration of the garment. However, if copyright would also protect the copying of the design then that protection must be relied upon instead of any unregistered design right (for more information on unregistered design right (see our Fact Sheet 6).

It may also be possible to apply for a registered design if the shape and configuration of the garment is applied by industrial process and it is new and has eye appeal (see above). Note, though, that the dressmaking pattern itself is excluded from registered design protection. The inter-relation of the law in this area relating to copyright, registered design and unregistered design right is complex and if in doubt you should seek professional advice.

The content of this fact sheet is of benefit interest only and is not an exhaustive explanation of copyright protection and remedies for infringement. This fact sheet is not intended to apply to specific circumstances. The contents of this factsheet should not therefore be regarded as constituting legal or other advice and should not be relied upon as such. In relation to any particular problem that you may have, you are advised to seek specific and specialist advice.

http://www.dacs.org.uk/pdfs/factsheet_09.pdf - the website i found this infomation from

is-this-theft

Public Domain

Copyright Law Fact sheet