Copyright .. don't copy, right?

The main point about copyright for a journalist is that anything you write belongs to you; this means that no one can publish or edit your work without your permission. This right is protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998, which protects any literary, dramatic, artistic or musical work, sound recording, film broadcast, or typographical arrangement.

Intellectual property is a residual right which every citizen has, not to get their work stolen or exploited by others. However there is no copyright in facts, news, ideas, or information. It only exists in the form information is expressed.

Fair deal enables you to take and reuse facts within a story e.g. results of a football match. You are also allowed to use someone else’s work if it is for the purpose of comment, criticism, or review.  However it must be packaged as a review and it must be brief. It is also essential that you credit the source, and make the commercial availability of the work known.

There is one point which should get you through all of this though, keeping it short and sweet, simply don’t pinch anyone else’s work. Do it all for yourself, and it should be plain sailing from here on out.