What is the object of copyright How should the law define the 'work' Essay

What is the object of copyright How should the law define the 'work' in the context of literary property - Essay Example The copyright’s interpretation and protection is mainly related to the indigenous creation of the work. It does not apply to the idea that underlies its creation. As such, copyright protects the presentation of the idea. For instance, an idea behind a book is not protected but the presentation of the idea in the form of a book through the content is protected. This means that other individuals can also utilize the same idea and write a book based on that idea; however, they cannot claim copyright if the content of the book is copied or if it is an adaptation of another writer’s presentation of that idea (The UK Copyright Service, 2004). Names, titles, phrases and specific colours are ineligible to be granted a copyright, because they are not considered to be unique or distinct. They are also not sufficiently tangible to be protected by copyright law. However, a logo which contains all these components can be protected by copyright. Therefore, the form in which an idea or a creative work is presented can be protected by copyright law. Nevertheless, just the idea behind such a presentation cannot be protected (The UK Copyright Service, 2004). The Institute for Public Policy Research or the IPPR claims that millions of consumers infringe the copyright law by illegally copying the content of CD’s and DVD’s. The usual practice is to store the content of CD’s and DVD’s on computer hard disk drives or on optical discs. This practice makes it look as though there is some kind of private right to duplicate copyrighted content. According to Ian Kearns, Deputy Director of IPPR, the existing English law with regard to copyrights cannot counter the unlawful practices adopted by consumers, due to the sophistication of the technology employed (HOME NEWS, October 30, 2006; Pg. 15 ). The existing law provides a legalised private right to copy, to the people. Under this private right, consumers are freely copying the contents of CD’s or DVD’s onto their