Your Quick Guide to Copyright
What is Copyright?
Copyright is the legal right that protects your work and stops others from using it without your permission. In the UK, you get copyright protection automatically - you don’t need to apply or pay a fee for copyright protection.
According to the Gov.UK website, you automatically get copyright protection when you create:
“original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work, including illustration and photography
original non-literary written work, such as software, web content and databases
sound and music recordings
film and television recordings
broadcasts
the layout of published editions of written, dramatic and musical works
You can mark your work with the copyright symbol (©), your name and the year of creation. Whether you mark the work or not does not affect the level of protection you have.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/copyright
How Copyright Protects Your Work
It prevents people from:
copying your work
distributing copies of it, whether free of charge or for sale
renting or lending copies of your work
performing, showing or playing your work in public
making an adaptation of your work
putting it on the internet
Source: https://www.gov.uk/copyright
How to Stay on the Right Side of Copyright
Types of Copyright Licenses
If you didn’t create it, you probably don’t have permission to use it. To stay compliant, the safest approach is to operate on a permission-first basis. Always verify if a work is in the public domain or covered by an open license, such as Creative Commons or the Open Government Licence. If it isn't, you must obtain a formal license or written permission.
Look out for these specific licensing terms as they determine who owns a piece of work and how or if you’re allowed to use it:
Copyright (The "All Rights Reserved"). This is the default legal status in the UK; you get copyright protection automatically. You can mark your work with the copyright symbol (©), your name and the year of creation. Whether you mark the work or not has no effect on the level of protection you have.
Public Domain ("Free for All") Means it is no longer protected by copyright, and it now belongs to the public; anyone can use, adapt, or monetise it without permission. This typically happens somewhere between 50 and 70 years after the creator’s death. https://creativecommons.org/public-domain/
Creative Commons ("Some Rights Reserved") allows creators to retain their copyright while granting the public permission to use their work under specific conditions. It is important to follow the requirements and conditions of each license.
CC License Conditions include:
Attribution (by) – lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation.
ShareAlike (sa) – lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms.
NonCommercial (nc) – lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.
NoDerivatives (nd) - lets others reuse the work for any purpose, including commercially; however, it cannot be shared with others in adapted form, and credit must be provided to you. https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/use-remix/cc-licenses/
Using Copyrighted Material Under “Fair Dealings”
There are a few exceptions that only apply if the use of the work is a ‘fair dealing’, which includes:
For your own learning: copying short portions for your personal, non-commercial research/private study.
Criticism, review, or quotation: using a short snippet to discuss the work; however, they must be considered “fair” and require attribution to the source/original works.
Parody: the use of work to make a joke or creative tribute, such as caricatures, parody and pastiche (pastiche: an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period.)
Using material to report on current events/news; however, this doesn’t include the use of photography and/or videos, which typically require an additional license/permission for news.
“‘Fair dealing’ is a legal term used to establish whether a use of copyright material is lawful or whether it infringes copyright. There is no statutory definition of fair dealing - it will always be a matter of fact, degree and impression in each case.”
Source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright
The UK Legal AI Copyright Framework
The UK has historically been one of the few nations to protect "computer-generated works". This protection, which has been in place since 1988, Section 9(3) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA), which specifically grants a 50-year copyright term to "computer-generated works" that lack a human author, awarding ownership to the individual who "undertook the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work.
However, the swift growth of AI tools and software in recent years has led to a widespread ambiguity in the laws and guidelines surrounding AI and copyright globally, as older statutory frameworks clash with modern software capabilities. In March 2026, the UK Government published a policy paper titled 'Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence', published under mandates from the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. This report strongly indicates a desire across the creative industries for copyright to fundamentally incentivise human creativity rather than mechanical processes. Advocating for a clearer separation between "wholly AI-generated" and "AI-assisted" content to clarify legal protections, with the goal of eventually removing Section 9(3) protection altogether for “wholly AI-generated materials.
Beware: Watch Out for This Common Copyright Scam
We’ve seen a recent rise in copyright phishing scams. These scammers send aggressive and intimidating professional-sounding emails/demand letters to website owners, often claiming to be a part of a “copyright enforcement company” working on behalf of the asset’s original creator or the “exclusive copyright holders”.
The scam involves automated bots that crawl the web for assets, including photos and videos, often sourced from Stock platforms like Adobe Stock or Shutterstock. They then send emails accusing website owners of theft, threatening legal action, and demanding immediate payment of a hefty invoice to avoid further legal action.
The emails can include suspicious links or attachments containing “proof” of the supposed violation. These files may contain malware (malicious software) designed to gain unauthorised access to your device or network.
This can include:
Spyware / Keyloggers that silently record what you type, such as passwords and banking details, and share them with scammers.
Ransomware that locks your files and demands money to get them back.
Or links to Phishing portals, these are fake websites created to look like legitimate login pages, or official services, that trick you into giving your information over willingly and you type your login details or banking details directly into a scammer’s database.
What To Do If You Receive This Type of Email
If you receive a suspicious copyright claim, it’s important to remain calm and avoid clicking any links or downloading attachments. The next step would be to identify the asset in question and cross-reference it with the stock platform you used to download it, to locate its license ID and information. If you find the proof that you have licensed the asset and are using it as the license intended, then you can safely ignore, report and block the sender.
However, if you are unable to find proof or the claim appears to be from an official verified source, it’s best to consult with a copyright lawyer who will be able to assist you with this matter.
How to Avoid Copyright Trouble When Finding Assets
Just because you find an image on Pinterest or Google Images doesn’t mean it’s in the public domain and anyone can use it however they wish; these are not free-to-use content libraries. When looking for assets for your business, make sure you download only from reputable stock sites that have the proper permissions and copyright licenses. These sites will have full guidelines outlining what the licenses entail and the different types you will need, depending on how you plan to use the content. You must double-check the license type and attributes required for every asset you download.
Some of our favourite stock websites include:
Paid Stock Sites:
Free Stock Sites:
Did you know that you can also legally download and use thousands of high-resolution masterpieces for free? Some of the world's leading museums and art galleries provide free, open-access digital files of artworks whose copyright is in the public domain. These works are free of charge for any use, whether commercial or non-commercial.
Smithsonian: https://www.si.edu/openaccess
National Gallery of Art: https://www.nga.gov/artworks/free-images-and-open-access
The Met: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search?showOnly=openAccess
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Disclaimer: The content of this post is for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as such. Legal issues are often complex and depend on specific circumstances; therefore, you should always seek formal advice from a qualified solicitor before taking any action.
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