Copyright law.

... Copyright is the "exclusive right given by law for term of years to author, designer etc., or his assignee to print, publish or sell copies of his original work" (http://www.surrey.ac.uk/library/copyright.shtml (OED 1989), 07/10/2003) Copyright is a law that protects published and unpublished work that you can see, hear and touch, from being reproduced without prior consent from the creator of the work. Copyright law and copyright originated in the United Kingdom from a concept of common law, the statute of Anne 1709. It became statutory with the passing of the copyright act 1911. The current act is the copyright, designs and patents act 1988. (http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/law (01).htm ,17/10/2003) Until 1996, under UK law copyright ended fifty years after the creator of the work died or, if it was published after their death, fifty years after the work was first lawfully published. However, UK law was superseded by a Directive

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