Business Administration Level 2
Data Protection, Copyright and Intellectual Property
Data protection and copyright
The following legislation is particularly related to the security of personal information:
The Data Protection Act 1998 has been written to protect any living, identifiable individual from the misuse or unauthorised disclosure of personal data. The term personal data also covers any expression of opinion about the individual. The Act covers both paper and computer files, and states the amount of information that may be held, how long it can be held and what it may be used for.
Organisations holding personal data need to register with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioners and pay the current annual fee. Failure to do this is a criminal offence. Individuals however also have the right to access and read the data held on them for a fee. All organisations must comply with what are known as the eight Principles of the Data Protection Act, which are:
•All data must be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully ie that the individual has given consent and has not been misled
•Personal data will be obtained and used for only one or more specified and lawful purpose, and should not be processed for any other purpose
•Personal data should be adequate, relevant and not excessive
•Personal data should be accurate and where necessary kept up to date
•Personal data should be kept no longer than the purpose(s) required
•Data should be processed in accordance with the data subject’s (individual’s) rights, these being e.g. the right to access data held about them; the right to prevent processing, which would cause damage or distress; the right to prevent processing for direct marketing purposes; the right to compensation if damage is suffered as a result of the Act not being followed.
Exceptions
There are exemptions to the Act e.g. if the exemption is required for the purpose of national security, but generally organisations holding personal data must register with the Office of Data Protection. The Act exists to protect you and ensure your personal data is not misused or passed on to others inappropriately.
The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988
The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 limit what you can copy or distribute to others. An author owns the copyright to any material/book they write. You can only use extracts from the material or book if you acknowledge the source of the material ie the author, the title, the date it was published and the publisher’s name. Photocopying also is not permissible unless the document or book states otherwise. Using newspaper or magazine cuttings also requires that you obtain the permission of the newspaper or magazine the article appeared in. Copyright also covers music, films and TV broadcasts.
Intellectual Property
The Government’s intellectual property web site states that:
‘Intellectual property, often known as IP, allows people to own their creativity and innovation in the same way that they can own physical property. The owner of IP can control and be rewarded for its use, and this encourages further innovation and creativity to the benefit of us all.’
The four main types of IP are:
•Patents for inventions – new and improved products and processes that are capable of industrial application
•Trademarks for brand identity – of goods and services allowing distinctions to be made between different traders
•Designs for product appearance – of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture or materials of the product itself or its ornamentation
•Copyright for material – literary and artistic material, music, films, sound recordings and broadcasts, including software and multimedia.
Patents, registered designs and trademarks need to be applied for, and you will only get protection if what you have is something that can be protected by these types of IP. The UK Patent Office accepts applications and grants rights in each of these areas.’