Monday, November 19, 2007

Intellectual Property Rights a Guide for Artists and Designers

Intellectual Property Rights: A Guide for Artists and Designers is a readable, practical handbook that can save you time and money. Co-authored by the well-known art and design lawyer Henry Lydiate, with Lubna Azhar and Rob Grose, themselves both lawyers and creative practitioners, it provides an up-to-date and comprehensive guide to managing intellectual property (IP) rights in, primarily, visual art and design, explaining key concerns and legal principles relevant to the protection and exploitation of creative work.

The IP guide covers - for hard and digital media - copyright, moral rights, commissioning, confidentiality and contractual arrangements; the commercial exploitation of three-dimensional works and the use of design right; and also explains the law relating to trade marks, patents and passing off. Making clear throughout the distinction between unregistered rights (that come into existence automatically on creation of a work) and registered rights (requiring an investment of time and money, and formal application), it takes readers through the registration and application processes and the logic behind them.

Each chapter is structured around specific examples and images to illustrate and demystify the fundamental legal concepts. Detailed references to legal statutes and decided cases supplement the text. The book is written from the perspective of the law in England and Wales, with additional information on Scottish law, although international variations are clarified where appropriate.

By unravelling the complexities of IP law in plain English Intellectual Property Rights enables you to spot trouble before it goes too far, as well as identify creative opportunities. Aimed primarily at creative practitioners, designers and their clients, design and brand managers, it will also be of benefit to legal practitioners as an introduction to or update of the subject; to picture researchers and picture libraries; and to students and directors of higher education courses in visual communication, design and art and related professional practice studies.

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