A brief guide to copyright and intellectual property
What is protected in the works listed on this site, and what typically amounts to infringement.
What copyright protects
Copyright protects original creative works from the moment they are fixed in a permanent form — filmed, recorded, or written down. For a screen production such as the titles listed under our clients, that protection typically covers the screenplay, the filmed footage and edit, the musical score, and the recorded performances, as separate but overlapping rights. In most countries, copyright arises automatically and does not need to be registered or marked with a © symbol to be enforceable.
Who owns it
Ownership usually sits with the production company that financed and produced the work, subject to any agreements with contributors, composers, or licensors of underlying material such as characters or settings owned by a third party. The client pages on this site set out, for each production, which company holds these rights.
What typically counts as infringement
- Re-uploading or re-hosting a work, or a substantial part of it, without permission — including on video platforms, file-sharing services, or social media.
- Streaming or broadcasting a work without a licence, including through unauthorised IPTV services or livestreams.
- Selling or distributing copies of a work, whether physical discs or digital files, without authorisation.
- Selling unlicensed merchandise that reproduces footage, artwork, or other protected material from a work.
- Monetising infringing uploads, for example through advertising revenue, even where the uploader did not create the original work.
What is usually not infringement
Many countries recognise limited exceptions — such as fair use or fair dealing — that can permit short excerpts for purposes like criticism, review, commentary, or news reporting, provided the use is proportionate and properly attributed. Whether a specific use qualifies depends on the facts and the relevant law, and is assessed case by case; this site does not make that determination.
If you are not sure
If you have found content that may infringe one of the works listed on this site and are unsure whether it qualifies as an exception, you can still report it; the rights holder will consider the specifics before any notice is issued.