- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (10/04/2016)
- Original (As enacted)
Point in time view as at 10/04/2016.
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Paragraph 12.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
12(1)The following provisions have effect with respect to the duration of copyright in existing works.U.K.
The question which provision applies to a work shall be determined by reference to the facts immediately before commencement; and expressions used in this paragraph which were defined for the purposes of the 1956 Act have the same meaning as in that Act.
(2)Copyright in the following descriptions of work continues to subsist until the date on which it would have expired under the 1956 Act—
(a)literary, dramatic or musical works in relation to which the period of 50 years mentioned in the proviso to section 2(3) of the 1956 Act (duration of copyright in works made available to the public after the death of the author) has begun to run;
(b)engravings in relation to which the period of 50 years mentioned in the proviso to section 3(4) of the 1956 Act (duration of copyright in works published after the death of the author) has begun to run;
(c)published photographs and photographs taken before 1st June 1957;
(d)published sound recordings and sound recordings made before 1st June 1957;
(e)published films and films falling within section 13(3)(a) of the 1956 Act (films registered under former enactments relating to registration of films).
(3)Copyright in anonymous or pseudonymous literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works (other than photographs) continues to subsist—
(a)if the work is published, until the date on which it would have expired in accordance with the 1956 Act, and
(b)if the work is unpublished, until the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the new copyright provisions come into force or, if during that period the work is first made available to the public within the meaning of [F1section 12(3)] (duration of copyright in works of unknown authorship), the date on which copyright expires in accordance with that provision;
unless, in any case, the identity of the author becomes known before that date, in which case [F2section 12(2)] applies (general rule: life of the author [F3plus 70]).
(4)Copyright in the following descriptions of work continues to subsist until the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the new copyright provisions come into force—
(a)literary, dramatic and musical works of which the author has died and in relation to which none of the acts mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (e) of the proviso to section 2(3) of the 1956 Act has been done;
(b)unpublished engravings of which the author has died;
(c)unpublished photographs taken on or after 1st June 1957.
(5)Copyright in the following descriptions of work continues to subsist until the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the new copyright provisions come into force—
(a)unpublished sound recordings made on or after 1st June 1957;
(b)films not falling within sub-paragraph (2)(e) above,
unless the recording or film is published before the end of that period in which case copyright in it shall continue until the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the recording or film is published.
(6)Copyright in any other description of existing work continues to subsist until the date on which copyright in that description of work expires in accordance with sections 12 to 15 of this Act.
(7)The above provisions do not apply to works subject to Crown or Parliamentary copyright (see paragraphs 41 to 43 below).
Textual Amendments
F1Words in Sch. 1 para. 12(3)(b) substituted (31.10.2003) by The Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2498), reg. 2(1), Sch. 1 para. 18(3)(a) (with regs. 31-40)
F2Words in Sch. 1para. 12(3) substituted (31.10.2003) by The Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (S.I.2003/2498), reg. 2(1), Sch. 1 para. 18(3)(b) (with regs. 31-40)
F3Words in Sch. 1 para. 12(3) substituted (31.10.2003) by The Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2498), reg. 2(1), Sch. 1 para. 18(3)(c) (with regs. 31-40)
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: