Copyright law is at the centre of huge music and tech disputes – and its complexity forces students to become creative

We all enjoy reading books, watching films and listening to music. But in truth, we enjoy what copyright law allows us to.

And, as Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke and rapper TI found out in March, there are many blurred lines – and these can provide opportunities for lawyers.

Last year, Kim Kardashian allegedly tried to copyright her bum against notorious Instagrammer, Jen Selter. The story led to two interesting questions. Is someone’s bum protected by copyright? And to what extent is a selfie, a global phenomenon, protected by copyright?

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Copyright law is at the forefront of a changing technological world. It moves incredibly fast in unexpected capacities, which makes it a fascinating subject to study at university.

Anna-Maria Alexandrou, 22, graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2014, after studying intellectual property (IP) law for a year. “What I found most interesting about copyright law was the conflict between providing adequate protection for creators of original works and the extent to which these works should be available to the public,” she says.

Copyright law is based on the idea that someone can create something that he or she holds exclusive rights over, to prevent anyone from copying that work to the author’s detriment. Its foundations lie within both domestic law and European law, which means there are always tensions.

English law says something is copyright-protectable only when it falls within a set category of works, for example, musical, literary or artistic; while European law says anything that is “the author’s own intellectual creation” is copyright-protectable. This causes a lot of hypotheticals and unanswered questions.

Put in context, copyright deals with issues like that time when Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby hit the headlines for allegedly copying Queen and David Bowie’s Under Pressure. The pressure must’ve got too much for Mr Ice, as the case was settled before it went to trial. But underlying the claim are the foundations of copyright: why we have it, and whom it protects.

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Studying copyright law forces you to become creative. This form of law is relatively young, which means there are many grey areas you’ll have to make decisions on. In effect, you become the judge.

Studying copyright law can also help you to acquire skills many law firms and other businesses desire, such as an acute attention to detail.

It can be very difficult to apply the definition of infringement of copyright, so you need to take extra care when measuring a particular pattern of facts against what the law says. For example, how do you deal with the differences of new technology, such as smartphones, in the Apple v Samsung case?

Dr Eleonora Rosati, a lecturer in intellectual property law at the University of Southampton and contributor to specialist blog, TheIPKat, says: “IP law, particularly copyright, has boomed over the past few years. The most innovative companies are all heavily IP-focused, and in the creative and technological sectors in particular, the understanding and enforcement of copyright have become key to the growth of certain businesses.

“A student who wishes to acquire commercial awareness would find the study of copyright law extremely useful for his or her professional development.”

There are over 50 well-regarded law firms in London alonethat work in intellectual property. There are also opportunities to work in-house at businesses which need lawyers to deal with copyright matters as they arise.

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Lucy Harrold, a consultant solicitor at Keystone Law, and external tutor of IP law at the University of Cambridge, says: “Copyright permeates all aspects of modern business: from the central role it plays in the value of the most exciting new tech companies, to the more mundane day-to-day running of today’s businesses, via websites, databases and corporate documentation.

“It’s also central to educational and charitable institutions which often need to exploit their copyright to further their non-commercial aims. A graduate entering the world of work with an understanding of how to protect and enforce copyright is of significant value to the full spectrum of potential employers.”

In 2013, one in 12 jobs in the UK were part of the creative economy, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (pdf, page 10). Many of these will involve copyright law, highlighting the importance of understanding the field.

But the best thing about copyright law is how enjoyable it is and how applicable it is to everyday life, which is bizarre when you consider the intangible nature of its rights.



Rachel Metcalf, 22, who studied copyright law at Durham University, says: “My studies gave me an awareness of why the law should be appreciated by all, not just lawyers.”

Merely reading this article is interacting with copyright. So is watching back-to-back episodes of Breaking Bad on Netflix, or listening to your Friday night Spotify playlist. Why not begin to read between the lines?

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