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Copyright  the Basics gives an overview of how copyright works within the publishing industry. The focus is on UK law, with a brief review of how it operates on a European and international level. 

This half-day course covers ownership of print and digital copyright – what rights copyright provides, how rights may be licensed, what you can do with other people’s copyright-protected work, and current issues. There will be time for discussion and questions during the course. Course content is regularly updated to keep pace with changing laws and uses real-life cases and examples.

The course is ideal for anyone who works with copyright in their role, or is interested in the topic. It will increase your understanding of, and confidence in discussing, copyright issues. With legal fees often costing £300 per hour or more, it represents excellent value for money.

Who is it for?

    Anyone who is involved in the creation and publication of copyright material and use of services and content online. This includes:

    • editorial assistants or editors
    • marketing assistants, executives or managers
    • publicity assistants, executives or managers
    • rights assistants, executives or managers
    • social-media assistants, executives or managers
    • website assistants, editors, executives or managers

    What will you achieve?

    On completing this course you’ll be able to:

    • understand how rights in content are created and owned
    • understand how ownership of work can be protected
    • secure the rights needed for particular exploitation
    • understand the relevance and importance of certain contractual clauses
    • understand when permission is needed for use of material
    • understand when consent is needed for use of personal data.

    Programme

    • What copyright protects – regulations, economic and moral rights, originality
    • Ownership of copyright – law, length
    • Copyright licences – Crown copyright, Creative Commons, contractual
    • Infringements – and how to remedy them
    • Non-infringements – exceptions, fair dealing, fair use
    • Current situation – personal data, online, social media, Brexit

      Next session

      1 October 2025

      Price

      £235 + VAT

      A number of discounts are available

      Course format

      • Virtual classroom
      • 9.00am to 12.30pm
      • 2 x 1½-hour sessions plus break 

      Date information for future sessions

      October 2025

      • Date: 1 October 2025
      • Times: 9.00am to 12.30pm

      December 2025

      • Date: 3 December 2025
      • Times: 9.00am to 12.30pm

      April 2026

      • Date: 29 April 2026
      • Times: 9.00am to 12.30pm

      October 2026

      • Date: 1 October 2026
      • Times: 9.00am to 12.30pm

      What you will need

      To join the course, you will need access to a computer, tablet or laptop with a camera and microphone. You will need to activate a free Zoom account to join the course. This takes 2 minutes and does not require any payment. It is purely for administrative purposes.

      For more information about any of these courses, please email  or sign up to receive our newsletter for updates on these and our other offerings. 

      Please read our Terms & Conditions