3.4.2
Intellectual Property Rights
Owning a file is not owning the rights to it. This topic is about working out whether the thing you want to use is something you are actually allowed to use — and what happens to the project if you get it wrong.
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What you need to know
- Match copyright, patents and trademarks to what each one protects.
- Explain what a licence, a fee or a permission is doing.
- Recognise Creative Commons conditions and ownership symbols.
- Explain the consequences of using something without permission.
Learn the list
Three protections, three different jobs
Intellectual property means creations of the mind. One project can involve all three of these at once.
An idea on its own is not protected the way its expression is. A film plot you have discussed but never written down sits outside all three — write it as a script and copyright can apply to that script. In the meantime, teams keep sensitive ideas confidential and use confidentiality agreements. Never write that a story could be patented.
| Protection | What it covers | In a media project |
|---|---|---|
| Copyright | Eligible original creative work — writing, images, music, recordings. | The photographs and the original music in a promotional film. |
| Trademark | A sign identifying whose goods or services something is. | The name and logo that identify a game studio. |
| Patent | A new invention that meets the requirements for a patent. | A qualifying new piece of camera technology. |
Try it
Which protection applies?
Eight things, four answers. The fourth option exists because “none of these” is sometimes the right answer, and knowing when is the point.
How it works
Check the rights, not just the file
In the UK, copyright normally arises automatically when eligible original work is created. It can restrict copying, adapting, distributing and other uses. The rights holder can permit someone else to use it through a licence or a permission — and the rights holder is not necessarily whoever uploaded the file, or even the person who made it.
Buying a music track to listen to does not license it for an advert. Check the intended platform, the audience, the territory, how long you need it for, whether you can edit it, and the fee. Then put all of that in the asset log so the team can show what it is allowed to do. Attribution gives credit; it does not by itself give permission.
Learn the list
Creative Commons: read the letters
Creative Commons licences are rights holders granting permission in advance. The letters after CC are the conditions, and they matter.
CC BY lets you adapt and use commercially as long as you credit properly. CC BY-NC adds a restriction that rules it out for a commercial campaign entirely. Read the actual licence on the actual asset and record it — two images on the same website can carry completely different permissions.
| Condition | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| BY — Attribution | Credit the creator the way the licence requires. |
| NC — NonCommercial | This licence does not cover commercial use. |
| ND — NoDerivatives | Do not share an adapted version under this licence. |
| SA — ShareAlike | Share adaptations under the same or a compatible licence. |
How it works
Fair dealing is narrower than people think
Some limited uses of copyright work are permitted through legal exceptions, such as fair dealing for criticism, review or private study when the relevant conditions are met. Whether a use is fair depends on the purpose and the circumstances — including how much you used and what effect it has on the rights holder. Many exceptions also require acknowledgement.
What does not exist is a rule that some number of seconds of music is always safe, or that anything made for school can be published freely. In an exam, say that the producer must establish the use is covered by permission, a licence, or a relevant exception. Fair dealing is not a way around copyright.
Learn the list
What the symbols actually tell you
A watermark makes an unlicensed preview useless as finished artwork and shows where the image came from. It does not make copying impossible and it does not grant anyone permission. If a client picks a stock preview, buy the licence and get the clean asset — removing the mark is not obtaining the rights.
| Sign | What it communicates |
|---|---|
| © | A copyright notice. Its absence does not mean there is no copyright. |
| TM | A trademark claim. On its own it does not establish registration. |
| ® | A registered trademark. |
| CC | Creative Commons licensing — go and check which conditions. |
| Watermark | A visible mark identifying a source and discouraging unlicensed reuse. |
In the exam
Choosing an asset for a commercial campaign
Worked answer
4 marks
A café wants an illustrated social-media advert. The designer finds one image marked CC BY-NC and another offered under a paid commercial licence. Explain what the designer should do and why.
Tempting, but this does not score
Use the CC BY-NC image and credit the creator, because Creative Commons images are free to use as long as you say who made them.
The NC condition rules out commercial use, and crediting the creator does not remove it. This is the single most common error on this topic.
Worth writing
The NC condition means that licence does not cover commercial use, and an advert for a café is commercial — so crediting the creator would not make it permitted. The designer should either buy the commercial licence for the second image, ask the first image’s rights holder for separate permission covering this use, or find another suitable asset. If they use it anyway and it is challenged, the advert may have to come down, be replaced and re-published, which costs design time and delays the campaign.
Where the marks come from
- Identifies the specific condition — NC — and why it applies to this use.
- Rules out the tempting shortcut: attribution does not override NC.
- Gives real options rather than just saying no.
- Links the consequence to the project — replacement work and a delayed campaign.
The structure that scores
Name the right or condition → say what the producer must do → link the consequence to this project. Avoid claiming every copyright mistake produces the same fine.
Key takeaways
- Copyright normally arises automatically for eligible original work — no symbol needed.
- Trademarks protect brand identity. Patents protect qualifying inventions.
- You cannot patent a story. Copyright can protect the script you write of it.
- Creative Commons grants permission subject to conditions — read which ones.
- Crediting the creator is not a substitute for having a licence.
Glossary
- Intellectual property
- Creations of the mind that can be protected by appropriate rights.
- Copyright
- Rights controlling specified uses of eligible creative works.
- Licence
- Permission to use material under stated conditions.
- Trademark
- A sign identifying the commercial source of goods or services.
- Patent
- Protection granted for a qualifying invention.
- Attribution
- Giving the credit a licence requires.
- Fair dealing
- A limited exception permitting certain uses when conditions are met.
Test yourself
6 questions
Does a photograph need a © symbol to be protected?
No. Protection normally arises automatically for eligible original work.
Which right covers a qualifying new camera mechanism?
A patent. Copyright would cover the photographs it takes, not the mechanism.
Why is CC BY-NC no good for an ordinary commercial advert?
NC means the licence does not authorise commercial use. You would need separate permission or a different asset.
Does crediting the creator always make a use lawful?
No. Attribution may be required, but the use also has to be permitted by a licence, a permission or an exception.
Why keep licence details in the asset log?
So the team can check what each asset is cleared for, and show evidence of it.
Can you patent a film story?
No. Patents are for qualifying inventions. Write the story as a script and copyright can protect that script.
Common questions
Does “royalty-free” mean free and unrestricted?
No. It describes a licensing arrangement, not an absence of copyright. There may still be a fee and there are usually conditions.
If I downloaded it, do I own it?
You have a copy of a file. That does not transfer copyright or grant you every possible use of it.
How much legal detail does R093 want?
The purpose of each protection, the action a producer should take, and the effect on production. Specific Acts are outside this topic.