Such works have copyright protection from the moment of their creation. And only the creator of a work may make it accessible to the general public. This means that no one else may copy, disseminate, show or present the work without the creator’s permission – with a few exceptions. For example, others may quote passages from the work or copy it for personal use.
Copyrights also extend to the digital sphere. You can easily be seduced into believing that all that is made available online is free for everybody to use. But copyright law also applies online, and it therefore constitutes an infringement of your rights if someone takes a piece of text or an image which you have created and posts is on their website without your permission. A good example is images from advertisements which infringers copy – either because they sell counterfeits or because they freeload on a good image. Infringements of this type are quite frequent, but we can help you.
What constitutes a work?
Copyrighted works must be the product of the creator’s individual creative efforts. Accordingly, there is a requirement for the work to have a certain measure of originality. The Danish Copyrights Act covers works such as books, articles, architectural drawings, images and text on the internet, pieces of music, cinema films, paintings, photographs, advertisements, decorative art products and buildings. Software programs are also protected under copyright law.
For how long does the copyright protection last?
The general rule in Denmark is that a work has copyright protection for the duration of the author’s life and for a period of seventy years after the author’s death. The same rule applies in most other countries, but some countries may have more lenient rules. Moreover, special types of work may be subject to special rules, but most works fall within the scope of the general rule.
How can we help you?
If your copyrights are infringed, we can help you stop the infringement and, where relevant, claim damages or compensation.
All of our attorneys-at-law, assistant attorneys and lawyers work exclusively with issues related to intellectual property rights as their core competency. In addition, they specialise in one or both of the following fields: marketing law and GDPR.
We work with enforcement in all types of disputes related to intellectual property law and the Danish Marketing Practices Act. If you’re looking for a single service provider to cover all your IP needs, look no further.
