<i>&gt;I have a question on copyright transmission in the UK.</i>
&lt;story about non-payment and client altering copyright notice deleted&gt;
UK copyright law is fairly much the same as Aust. copyright law (we based our
earlier legislation on yours etc).
The question of who owns copyright in these situations depends entirely
upon the contractual arrangement between the parties. In the absence
of a written contract, certain presumptions are used.
If your principle (the Cafe/Vinyard) said to you: go out and design
some web pages using the following concepts (a), (b), (c) &amp; (d),
and use our logo and say this etc., then as a general rule the copyright
is said to be theirs, as you were acting under their direction, more
akin to an employee rather than an independent consultant. Also,
there was less independent "design" work involved.
However, if they simply said: "we want you to go and design a Web
site for our vineyard", and left content etc. entirely up to
you, then chances are you are the copyright holder, unless there
is any evidence your assigned your rights.
<i>&gt;The pages showed clearly that the copyright to the pages belonged to myself.</i>
A copyright statement is unnecessary for the purpose of copyright. Your rights
are created at the time of creating your new work. Equally, simply by
changing the notice they cannot alter or affect your rights.
<i>&gt;Question, who do I hassle?</i>
I'd send a letter to the Client pointing out that payment is overdue. I
would also
express your concern about their apparent denial of your rights to the
work (ie. changing copyright notice and altering graphics etc).
Give them a time frame within which to reply (14 days is standard), failing
which
indicate that you intend to take steps to enforce payment and restrain them from
using your work.
Perhaps your solicitor friend can help you word this. Don't be abrasive or
abusive in the letter (you may need it in evidence later). Write the letter,
then leave it a day or two, then go back and revise it. Send it certified
mail so you can prove it was sent.
Regards,
Mark
___
Mark Neely - accessnt@ozemail.com.au
Lawyer, Professional Cynic
Author: Australian Beginner's Guide to the Internet
Work-in-Progress: Australian Business Guide to the Internet
WWW: <a href="<a href="http://www.ozemail.com.au/~accessnt">http://www.ozemail.com.au/~accessnt</a>">http://www.ozemail.com.au/~accessnt</a>
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