Section 6 of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2000 is where copyright becomes property.
Section 6(1) — the exclusive rights
(a) the reproduction of the work;
(b) the translation of the work;
(c) the adaptation, arrangement or other transformation of the work;
(d) the distribution to the public by sale, rental, public lending or otherwise of the original or a copy of the work that has not already been subject to a distribution authorized by the owner of the copyright;
(e) the rental or public lending of the original or a copy of an audiovisual work, a work embodied in a sound recording, a computer program, a database or a musical work in the form of notation — irrespective of the ownership of the original or copy concerned;
(f) the importation of copies of the work;
(g) the public display of the original or a copy;
(h) the public performance of the work;
(i) the broadcasting of the work;
(j) other communication of the work to the public.
Both limbs matter. Doing the act without permission infringes; so does authorising someone else to do it. A person who licenses a work they do not own, or who supplies the means and permission for others to copy, is exposed as directly as the copier.
Note what these rights do not require: registration, notice, a © symbol, or any formality. They arise with the work, under section 4(2).
Paragraphs (a) to (c) — copying and transforming
Almost every free use in the Act is expressed as an exception to section 6(1)(a): private reproduction (s 8), temporary reproductions (s 9), quotations (s 10), teaching (s 11), public institutions (s 12), news (s 13) and computer programs (s 14).
Paragraphs (b) and (c) mean that a translation, adaptation, arrangement or other transformation requires the owner’s authorisation — even though the result is itself a protected derivative work under section 4(1)(b), and section 4(3) preserves the original author’s rights in it.
Paragraph (d) — distribution, and exhaustion
Distribution to the public by sale, rental, public lending or otherwise of the original or a copy that has not already been subject to a distribution authorized by the owner of the copyright.
Once the owner has authorised a distribution of a particular copy, the distribution right in that copy is spent. The buyer of an authorised copy of a book may resell it, give it away or leave it in a will without asking anyone.
Two things survive exhaustion. The rental and lending right in paragraph (e) applies irrespective of the ownership of the copy. And the importation right in paragraph (f) is separate — subject to section 15, which permits importation of a copy for a person’s own personal purposes.
Paragraph (e) — the rental and lending right
An audiovisual work; a work embodied in a sound recording; a computer program; a database; and a musical work in the form of notation.
Section 6(2): the rights of rental and lending do not apply where the program itself is not the essential object of the rental or lending.
The categories are closed. Renting out ordinary books or paintings is not within paragraph (e). The five listed categories are those where a single rented copy can substitute for a sale because the renter can easily make their own copy.
Section 6(2) is the car and the washing machine exception. Renting a vehicle or an appliance containing embedded software is not renting a computer program, because the program is not the essential object of the transaction.
Recall the definitions in section 2: rental is transfer of possession for a limited period for profit-making purposes; public lending is the same for non-profit purposes by a public institution in the normal course of its services. Both are within paragraph (e).
Paragraphs (g) to (j) — the public rights
| Right | What it covers (s 2 definitions) | Main exception |
|---|---|---|
| (g) Public display | Showing the original or a copy directly, by film, slide, television image or otherwise on screen, or by any other device — and for an audiovisual work, showing images non-sequentially — where people outside the family circle are or can be present | Section 16 — display not on screen, of a published or transferred copy |
| (h) Public performance | Reciting, playing, dancing, acting or otherwise performing — and for an audiovisual work, showing images in sequence with the sound audible — before people outside the family circle | Section 25 for neighbouring rights; ss 11 and 13 for works |
| (i) Broadcasting | Communication to the public by wireless transmission, including by satellite | Section 13 — informatory purposes |
| (j) Other communication to the public | Transmission by wire or without wire so images or sounds can be perceived by persons outside the family circle at a distance — including at different places or times individually chosen by them | Section 13; section 9 for the incidental copies |
The definition of communication to the public in section 2 expressly covers transmission to people at different places or times individually chosen by them. Putting a work on a website, or streaming it on demand, is a communication to the public within paragraph (j) — a right the owner controls whether or not anyone downloads a copy.
The same drafting appears in the neighbouring rights: section 21(1)(f) and section 22(1)(e) both give a making-available right in those terms.
Who holds these rights
Under section 18, the original owner is normally the author — but the employer for a work made in the course of employment, the producer for an audiovisual work, and the person at whose initiative and under whose direction it was made for a collective work, in each case unless a written agreement says otherwise.
The economic rights are assignable in whole or in part under section 20, in writing signed by both parties. The moral rights in section 7 are different in kind and survive a transfer of the economic rights.
Doing any of the ten acts without authorisation is an infringement — defined in section 2 as any act that violates a right protected under this Act — giving rise to the civil remedies in section 27 and, where done wilfully or by gross negligence and for profit-making purposes, the offence in section 28.
Sources
- Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2000 — ss 2, 4, 6–18, 20–25, 27, 28
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2000 and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.