Fight for Your Right to Copyright

One of the questions that I field occasionally from aspiring writers is how to register copyright works.

The (very short) answer is: you can’t. There is no such thing as a “Copyright Registry” and, even if there were, it may create as many problems as it solves.

Copyright protection is very easy to obtain. Indeed, it is automatically obtained for any original literary work and applies as soon as it is written. There is nothing further you need do and no-one you need to inform in order to claim copyright: you just need to write down the words (as long as they are original).

Acquiring copyright protection is one thing, but enforcing it can be quite another, especially in cases where two or more parties claim that they were the original authors of the work. While there is no “official registry” where you can file your original work once you have completed it, there are some practical steps that you can take as an author to establish evidence of originality.

A service that can be provided to writers by solicitors is to time-stamp their work. This is easy to do. Simply give your solicitor a printed copy of the work and ask them to officially stamp and date each individual page. For extra security, give them two copies and ask them to time-stamp both, return one to you and keep another in your file.

This time-stamping method is useful because it provides third-party verification of the existence of the work in its format at a certain date. This can be very useful and compelling evidence in the event that someone else comes along claiming the work is their original work for they would need to adduce evidence that their work pre-dates yours.

Of course, time-stamping is not conclusive in itself, nor does it verify or prove that the work is an original work. It merely evidences that the work in a certain format was in existence at the date of the time-stamping.

As for the cost, well, that is something that you have to negotiate with your professional adviser. If your original work consists of a 800-page ‘magnum opus’, then the cost could mount up. Even so, this outlay has to be judged against the potential costs of not taking any steps to protect your original work. That could cost you a great deal more.

David Carr

Carr & Kaye Solicitors

HighStreetLawyer Hampstead

Immigration Update: The Right of Appeal for Family Visits to End

Between July and October 2011, the Home Office carried out a consultation on whether applicants who had been refused a family visit visa should have a full right of appeal. Now, a clause in the Crime and Courts Bill published on 10^th May 2012, will remove the full right of appeal for those applying to enter the UK as a family visitor. Subject to Parliamentary approval, this change is expected to come into force by 2014.  Refused applicants will still be able to appeal on the limited grounds of human rights or race discrimination.

Putting an end to the right of appeal for visitors could save the UK Border Agency (UKBA), between £8-12 million per year and the justice ministry up to £24 million in the cost of immigration judges and tribunals. However there is widespread disapproval of the Home Office’s plans, particularly from within British Asian communities, who form the majority of applications for visit visas.

Home Office statistics show that 420,000 visa applications were made for short-term visits by close relatives of British families in 2010, at a cost of more than £70 each. Out of the decisions made, 350,000 family visit visas were allowed and 88,000 were turned down. 36 per cent of the 63,000 appeals made against the refusal were successful.

In June 2012 the UKBA will also introduce secondary legislation which will tighten the family and sponsor definitions in family visit visa appeals. Subject to Parliamentary approval, these changes are expected to come into force in July 2012. Those applying to visit a cousin, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew will no longer have access to a full right of appeal, and to use that appeal right, the family member being visited in the UK must have settled, refugee or humanitarian protection status.

The impact of the legislation

The removal of appeal rights is a very controversial area and does not come without legal risk, although the blow of eliminating the appeal procedure is softened by the fact that there may be a right of appeal under Human Rights laws. The new laws will prevent many thousands of people visiting their families in the UK for weddings, funerals and other important occasions. It is understandable that many feel aggrieved at legislation removing the right to appeal. The government’s own statistics show that the initial decision-making on family visit visas is somewhat flawed, with 36 per cent of appeals against refusal being granted at the appeal stage.

The only way a UK sponsor can minimise the effects of this decision is to think very carefully about obtaining legal advice from an experienced immigration lawyer to ensure that they have the best possible chance of obtaining a visit visa for their relative.

   

By Manoj Athi

HighStreetLawyer Sheffield/West Bromwich