Legal and Ethical Issues

Legal Issues
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
The law gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings,
broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of published editions, rights to control the
ways in which their material may be used.

The rights cover: broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing, renting and
lending copies to the public.

This is a CIVIL law not a CRIMINAL law.

This means it is not a criminal offence to break the law, which could result in a fine or jail
sentence.

Instead, the person who owns the copyright has to sue the person they believe has broken
the law. The case is then heard in a civil court and if the person is found guilty of breaking
copyright law then they will have to pay damages to the owner of the copyright. The
amount of damages is set by the court.

Types of work protected

Literary  
Song lyrics, manuscripts, manuals, computer programs, commercial documents, leaflets,
newsletters and articles etc.
Dramatic  
Plays, dance etc.
Musical  
Recordings and score.
Artistic  
Photography, painting, sculptures, architecture, technical drawings/diagrams, maps, logos.
Typographical arrangement of published editions
Magazines, periodicals, etc.
Sound recording
May be recordings of other copyright works, e.g. musical and literary.
Film  
Video footage, films, broadcasts and cable programmes.
The Copyright (Computer Programs) Regulations 1992 extended the rules covering literary
works to include computer programs.

Duration of copyright

For literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works: 70 years from the end of the calendar year
in which the last remaining author of the work dies.
If the author is unknown, copyright will last for 70 years from end of the calendar year in
which the work was created, although if it is made available to the public during that time,
by publication, authorised performance, broadcast, exhibition etc, then the duration will be
70 years from the end of the year that the work was first made available.
Sound Recordings: 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was
created or, if the work is released within that time, 70 years from the end of the calendar
year in which the work was first released.
Films: 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last principal director, author
or composer dies.
If the work is of unknown authorship: 70 years from end of the calendar year of creation, or
if made available to the public in that time, 70 years from the end of the year the film was
first made available.
Typographical arrangement of published editions: 25 years from the end of the calendar
year in which the work was first published.
Broadcasts and cable programmes: 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the
broadcast was made.

APPLICATION:
I will not copy anyonelse’s short film, I will create my own ideas and also come up with
multiple ideas beforehand. If someone’s film is similar i will see if i could change anything
about my film so it doesn’t come across as i have copied that specific film.

Equality Act 2010

This law legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.
It is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of:
⮚ Age

⮚ Being or becoming a transsexual person

⮚ Being married or in a civil partnership

⮚ Being pregnant or on maternity leave

⮚ Disability

⮚ Race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin

⮚ Religion/belief or lack of religion/belief

⮚ Sex

⮚ Sexual orientation

This is a CRIMINAL law.

Therefore anyone who is considered to be breaking the law could be arrested. It would
result in a criminal trial which if found guilty could result in a fine or jail sentence.

APPLICATION:
 In my short film I will not break this law because my film is appropriate for any race, gender
or age. My short film will not intentionally discriminate people from different backgrounds.
Intellectual property
What intellectual property is
Having the right type of intellectual property protection helps you to stop people stealing or
copying:
⮚ the names of your products or brands

⮚ your inventions

⮚ the design or look of your products

⮚ things you write, make or produce

Copyright, patents, designs and trademarks are all types of intellectual property protection.
You get some types of protection automatically, others you have to apply for.

You own intellectual property if you:

⮚ created it (and it meets the requirements for copyright, a patent or a design

⮚ bought intellectual property rights from the creator or a previous owner

⮚ have a brand that could be a trade mark e.g. a well known product name

If you believe anyone has stolen or copied your property you would sue them in civil court.

Types of protection
The type of protection you can get depends on what you’ve created. You get some types of
protection automatically, others you have to apply for.

Automatic protection

Protection you have to apply for

Type of protection Examples of intellectual property Time to allow for application
Trade marks Product names, logos, jingles 4 months
Appearance of a product including,
Registered designs shape, packaging, patterns, colours, 1 month
decoration
Inventions and products, eg machines
Patents Around 5 years
and machine parts, tools, medicines

APPLICATION:
I will not break this law because the short film is created by me and I will not use anyone
else’s content.

Obscene Publications Act 1959

For the purposes of this Act an article shall be deemed to be obscene if its effect or (where
the article comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items is, if taken
as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to
all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.

In this Act ‘article’ means any description of an article containing or embodying matter to be
read or looked at or both, any sound record and any film or other record of a picture or
pictures.

This is a criminal law.

APPLICATION:
I will make sure my short film is suitable for my age rating which is PG, so when it comes to
producing the film the content will be suitable and stay the same.

Trespass
This is a civil law.
Trespass to land consists of any unjustifiable intrusion by a person upon the land in
possession of another.
Civil trespass is actionable in the courts.

APPLICATION:
I won’t be breaking this law because the location I am filming in is in college, which is where
me and the person I am working with go too, so we won’t need permission to use the
grounds. If I did need to use somewhere else I would ask for permission beforehand so if I
wasn't able to film there I would take it out of my plan.
Privacy
The introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated into English law the European
Convention on Human Rights.

Article 8.1 of the ECHR provides an explicit right to respect for a private life:
Article 8 protects your right to respect for your private life, your family life, your home and
your correspondence (letters, telephone calls and emails, for example).
 
Privacy Law is a law which deals with the use of people’s personal information and making
sure they aren't intruded upon. These laws make sure people can't have their information
wrongly used without permission.

APPLICATION:
This law doesn’t apply to my film as we don’t use any names and hardly speak throughout.
The only names in the short film are at the end where the credits are so viewers know who
created the film.
Defamation Act 2013
This Act reformed defamation law on issues of the right to freedom of expression and the
protection of reputation. It also comprised a response to perceptions that the law as it stood
was giving rise to libel tourism and other inappropriate claims.

The Act changed existing criteria for a successful claim, by requiring claimants to show actual
or probable serious harm (which, in the case of for-profit bodies, is restricted to serious
financial loss), before suing for defamation in England or Wales.

It also enhanced existing defences, by introducing a defence for website operators hosting
user-generated content (provided they comply with a procedure to enable the complainant
to resolve disputes directly with the author of the material concerned or otherwise remove
it), and introducing new statutory defences of truth, honest opinion, and "publication on a
matter of public interest“.

LIBEL
A written, published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation.

SLANDER
Making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.

Defamation is a civil law and so you would need to sue someone who you believe has
damaged your reputation.

APPLICATION:
My film is using fictional characters so this will not affect my reputation as the people used
are fictional. I am also not using any false statements about someone to damage their
reputation.