R093 · TA3 Pre-production planning · Lesson 8 of 16
Copyright and intellectual property: R093 revision
Revision notes for OCR Creative iMedia R093, spec point 3.4.2: what you need to know, the key terms, the mistakes that cost marks, and 5 free exam-style questions with their mark schemes.
What is intellectual property?
Intellectual property (IP) is something original a person has created with their mind, such as a photo, a song, a film, a logo or an invention. The law lets the owner control how it is used. For R093 you need copyright, trademarks, patents and the protection of ideas, and the legal ways to use other people's work: permissions, licences, Creative Commons and fair dealing.
The types of protection
- Copyright protects original creative work: writing, music, photographs, artwork, film, recordings and software. In the UK it applies automatically the moment the work is made; there is nothing to register. For most creative works it lasts for the creator's lifetime plus 70 years. The © symbol is a reminder, not a requirement: work without it is still protected.
- Trademarks protect the things that identify a brand: its name, logo, slogan or even a jingle. A trademark can be registered, which gives the strongest protection and allows the ® symbol; ™ shows a mark is being claimed. Using another company's trademark could confuse customers, which is why brands defend them.
- Patents protect new inventions and processes, such as a new kind of camera stabiliser. A patent has to be applied for and granted, and lasts up to 20 years.
- Ideas on their own are not protected; only their expression is. An idea for a game is not protected, but the written design document, the artwork and the code are. Producers protect ideas by recording them in dated documents and by asking people to sign non-disclosure agreements before a pitch.
Why intellectual property law exists
Creating something original takes time, skill and money. IP law lets creators control and earn from what they make, which rewards the effort and encourages people and companies to invest in new work. Without it, anyone could copy a film, a song or a logo and profit from it without paying the person who made it.
Using other people's work legally
- Permissions, fees and licences: ask the owner, agree a fee if there is one, and get a licence that sets out exactly how the work can be used: where, for how long, in which products, and whether commercial use is allowed. Stock image and music libraries sell licences. 'Royalty-free' means you pay once (or nothing) and owe no further payments each time it is used; it still comes with a licence.
- Creative Commons licences: the creator lets anyone use the work free of charge on stated conditions. Attribution (BY) means credit the creator; NonCommercial (NC) means no commercial use; NoDerivatives (ND) means no changes; ShareAlike (SA) means share anything you make with it under the same licence. CC0 gives the work to the public domain.
- Fair dealing: limited use of copyrighted material without permission for specific purposes, such as private study, research, criticism, review, quotation and reporting current events. The use must be fair, usually only a small part, with the source acknowledged. It does not cover putting someone's song in your advert.
- Watermarks and symbols: a watermark is a faint logo or name over an image that identifies the owner and discourages copying, usually across the middle so it cannot simply be cropped off. The ©, ® and ™ symbols tell people the work or brand is protected.
What producers must do, and what happens if they don't
Producers should create their own assets where they can, check the licence of anything they did not make (especially whether it allows commercial use), keep written permission, credit creators where the licence requires it, and record every asset's source and licence in an asset log.
Using copyrighted material without permission is infringement. The product can be taken down or have its audio muted by the platform, the owner can sue for damages and costs, the producer may have to pay licence fees after the event, the release can be delayed while assets are replaced, and the producer's and client's reputations suffer.
In a scenario answer, be specific. If a client wants a chart song in its advert, say that the song is protected by copyright, that a licence from the rights holders would be needed for commercial use, and offer a legal alternative such as commissioning original music or licensing a royalty-free track, then explain which suits the budget and deadline.
How it comes up in the exam
Intellectual property on its own was worth between 0 and 2 marks on each of the four papers we analysed, and the legal and safety topics together (3.4) between 3 and 10. Questions ask what a licence or Creative Commons condition allows, what fair dealing is, how a producer can use an asset legally, or what the consequences of using it without permission would be.
For how the long answers and pre-production documents are marked, see how R093 is marked.
Key terms
- Intellectual property
- Original creations of the mind that the law lets their owner control.
- Copyright
- Automatic protection for original creative work such as images, music, film and writing.
- Trademark
- Protection for a brand's identifiers, such as its name, logo and slogan.
- Patent
- Protection for a new invention or process, granted on application.
- Licence
- Permission from the owner, setting out how a work may be used.
- Royalty-free
- Licensed for a one-off fee (or free) with no payment each time it is used.
- Creative Commons
- Free licences that let others use a work on stated conditions, such as attribution.
- Fair dealing
- Limited use of copyrighted work without permission for purposes such as study, research, review and news.
- Watermark
- A faint mark over an image that identifies the owner and discourages copying.
- Infringement
- Using protected work without permission.
Common mistakes
- Thinking anything online is free to use. Copyright applies automatically, with or without a © symbol.
- Thinking royalty-free means free of any licence. It means no ongoing payments; the licence terms still apply.
- Thinking a credit makes any use legal. Attribution is a condition of some licences, not a substitute for permission.
- Mixing up copyright (creative works) and trademarks (brand identifiers).
R093 copyright and ip exam questions with answers
These are questions from SubjectHub's R093 bank, written in the style of the real paper. Try each one, then open the mark scheme. On SubjectHub they are marked automatically, written answers included.
- Question 1 · Matching[3 marks]
Match each intellectual property protection to what it covers.
- 1Copyright
- 2Trademark
- 3Patent
- ABrand names and logos
- BNew inventions and processes
- CCreative works like images, music and video
Show the mark scheme
Copyright → Creative works like images, music and video
Trademark → Brand names and logos
Patent → New inventions and processes
One mark for each correct match.
- Question 2 · True or false[1 mark]
True or false: a photographer must register their photo before it is protected by copyright in the UK.
Show the mark scheme
False: a photographer must register their photo before it is protected by copyright in the UK.
False — copyright applies automatically as soon as the work is created.
- Question 3 · Short answer[1 mark]
What is the term used to describe the limited use of copyrighted material for purposes such as research, private study or review?
Show the mark scheme
Model answer: Fair dealing.
How the marks are given: 1 mark for fair dealing (accept fair use).
- Question 4 · Short answer[2 marks]
A Creative Commons image requires 'attribution'. Explain what the user of the image must do.
Show the mark scheme
Model answer: Credit the original creator (1), typically naming them and the licence wherever the image is used (1).
How the marks are given: 1 mark for crediting the creator; 1 mark for how/where.
- Question 5 · Short answer[3 marks]
A student wants to use a famous chart song in a school promotional video that will be posted online. Explain why this is a problem and identify one legal alternative.
Show the mark scheme
Model answer: The song is protected by copyright (1), so publishing it online without a licence would be infringement and the video could be taken down (1). Alternative: use royalty-free/Creative Commons music or compose original music (1).
How the marks are given: 1 mark for copyright issue; 1 mark for the consequence; 1 mark for a legal alternative.
Ready for a longer go? The free R093 mini-mock has a Section A and a Section B scenario in the shape of the real paper.