| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to restate the law of copyright, with amendments; to make fresh provision as to the rights of performers and others in performances; to confer a design right in original designs; to amend the Registered Designs Act 1949; to make provision with respect to patent agents and trade mark agents; to confer patents and designs jurisdiction on certain county courts; to amend the law of patents; to make provision with respect to devices designed to circumvent copy-protection of works in electronic form; to make fresh provision penalising the fraudulent reception of transmissions; to make the fraudulent application or use of a trade mark an offence; to make provision for the benefit of the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London; to enable financial assistance to be given to certain international bodies; and for connected purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1988 c. 48 |
| Territorial extent | Defined by s. 304[1] Part 1 extends (partially) to Bermuda by S.I. 2003/1517.[2] |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 15 November 1988 |
| Commencement | 15 November 1988 (partially) 15 January 1989 (partially) 9 June 1989 (partially) 28 July 1989 (partially) 1 August 1989 (partially) 10 July 1990 (partially) 13 August 1990 (partially) 7 January 1991 (remainder) |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by |
|
| Relates to | |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48), also known as the CDPA, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received royal assent on 15 November 1988. It reformulates almost completely the statutory basis of copyright law (including performing rights) in the United Kingdom, which had, until then, been governed by the Copyright Act 1956 (c. 74). It also creates an unregistered design right, and contains a number of modifications to the law of the United Kingdom on Registered Designs and patents.
Essentially, the 1988 Act and amendment establishes that copyright in most works lasts until 70 years after the death of the creator if known, otherwise 70 years after the work was created or published (50 years for computer-generated works).
In order for a creation to be protected by copyright it must fall within one of the following categories of work: literary work, dramatic work, musical work, artistic work, films, sound recordings, broadcasts, and typographical arrangement of published editions.[1]