Copyright Act 1956

49 Supplementary provisions as to interpretation

(1) Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Act to the doing of an act in relation to a work or other subject-matter shall be taken to include a reference to the doing of that act in relation to a substantial part thereof, and any reference to a reproduction, adaptation or copy of a work, or a record embodying a sound recording, shall be taken to include a reference to a reproduction, adaptation or copy of a substantial part of the work, or a record embodying a substantial part of the sound recording, as the case may be:

Provided that, for the purposes of the following provisions of this Act, namely subsections (1) and (2) of section two, subsections (2) and (3) of section three, subsections (2) and (3) of section thirty-three, section thirty-eight, and subsections (2) to (4) of section thirty-nine, this subsection shall not affect the construction of any reference to the publication, or absence of publication, of a work.

(2) With regard to publication, the provisions of this subsection shall have effect for the purposes of this Act, that is to say—

(a) the performance, or the issue of records, of a literary, dramatic or musical work, the exhibition of an artistic work, the construction of a work of architecture, and the issue of photographs or engravings of a work of architecture or of a sculpture, do not constitute publication of the work;

(b) except in so far as it may constitute an infringement of copyright, or a contravention of any restriction imposed by section forty-three of this Act, a publication which is merely colourable, and not intended to satisfy the reasonable requirements of the public, shall be disregarded;

(c) subject to the preceding paragraphs, a literary, dramatic or musical work, or an edition of such a work, or an artistic work, shall be taken to have been published if, but only if, reproductions of the work or edition have been issued to the public;

(d) a publication in the United Kingdom, or in any other country, shall not be treated as being other than the first publication by reason only of an earlier publication elsewhere, if the two publications took place within a period of not more than thirty days ;

and in determining, for the purposes of paragraph (c) of this subsection, whether reproductions of a work or edition have been issued to the public, the preceding subsection shall not apply.

(3) In determining for the purposes of any provision of this Act—

(a) whether a work or other subject-matter has been published, or

(b) whether a publication of a work or other subject-matter was the first publication thereof, or

(c) whether a work or other subject-matter was published or otherwise dealt with in the lifetime of a person,

no account shall be taken of any unauthorised publication or of the doing of any other unauthorised act; and (subject to subsection (7) of section seven of this Act) a publication or other act shall for the purposes of this subsection be taken to have been unauthorised—

(i) if copyright subsisted in the work or other subject-matter and the act in question was done otherwise than by, or with the licence of, the owner of the copyright, or

(ii) if copyright did not subsist in the work or other subject matter, and the act in question was done otherwise than by, or with the licence of, the author (or, in the case of a sound recording or a cinematograph film, or an edition of a literary, dramatic or musical work, the maker or publisher, as the case may be) or persons lawfully claiming under him:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall affect any provisions of this Act as to the acts restricted by any copyright or as to acts constituting infringements of copyrights, or any provisions of section forty-three of this Act.

(4) References in this Act to the time at which, or the period during which, a literary, dramatic or musical work was made are references to the time or period at or during which it was first reduced to writing or some other material form.

(5) In the case of any copyright to which (whether in consequence of a partial assignment or otherwise) different persons are entitled in respect of the application of the copyright—

(a) to the doing of different acts or classes of acts, or

(b) to the doing of one or more acts or classes of acts in different countries or at different times,

the owner of the copyright, for any purpose of this Act, shall be taken to be the person who is entitled to the copyright in respect of its application to the doing of the particular act or class of acts, or, as the case may be, to the doing thereof in the particular country or at the particular time, which is relevant to the purpose in question; and, in relation to any future copyright to which different persons are prospectively entitled, references in this Act to the prospective owner of the copyright shall be construed accordingly.

(6) Without prejudice to the generality of the last preceding subsection, where under any provision of this Act a question arises whether an article of any description has been imported or sold, or otherwise dealt with, without the licence of the owner of any copyright, the owner of the copyright, for the purpose of determining that question, shall be taken to be the person entitled to the copyright in respect of its application to the making of articles of that description in the country into which the article was imported, or, as the case may be, in which it was sold or otherwise dealt with.

(7) Where the doing of anything is authorised by the grantee of a licence, or a person deriving title from the grantee, and it is within the terms (including any implied terms) of the licence for him to authorise it, it shall for the purposes of this Act be taken to be done with the licence of the grantor and of every other person (if any) upon whom the licence is binding.

(8) References in this Act to deriving title are references to deriving title either directly or indirectly.

(9) Where, in the case of copyright of any description,—

(a) provisions contained in this Act specify certain acts as being restricted by the copyright, or as constituting infringements thereof, and

(b) other provisions of this Act specify certain acts as not constituting infringements of the copyright,

the omission or exclusion of any matter from the latter provisions shall not be taken to extend the operation of the former provisions.

(10) Any reference in this Act to countries to which a provision of this Act extends includes a country to which that provision extends subject to exceptions, modifications or additions.