Your questions answered

What is meant by a substantial part of a copyright work?

Copyright is infringed where either the whole or a "substantial part" of a work is used without permission, unless the copying falls within the scope of one of the copyright exceptions. A substantial part is not defined in copyright law but has been interpreted by the courts to mean a 'qualitatively significant part of a work' even where this is not a large part of the work. Therefore, it is quite likely that even a small portion of the whole work will still be a substantial part.

In certain circumstances, some works may be used if that use is considered to be 'fair dealing'. There is no strict definition of what this means but it has been interpreted by the courts on a number of occasions by looking at the economic impact on the copyright owner of the use. Where the economic impact is not significant, the use may count as fair dealing.

So, it may be within the scope of 'fair dealing' to make single photocopies of short extracts of a copyright work for non-commercial research or private study, criticism or review, or reporting current events.

The exceptions in copyright law which allow limited use of copyright works without the permission of the copyright owner can be found in the copyright sections of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (1.53Mb).

How long will my trade mark last?

To keep your trade mark in force, you must renew it on the 10th anniversary of the filing date and every 10 years after that. There is no limit to how long you can keep your mark registered. You may choose not to renew it, or voluntarily surrender it at any time.

You can renew your registration up to 6 months before the renewal date. We will write to remind you 3 months before renewal is due, if you have not already renewed your mark.

To renew your mark you must complete form TM11 and form FS2 and send it to us together with the appropriate fee. We will send you a Renewal Certificate confirming that we have renewed your mark for the next 10 year period.

If you do not pay your renewal fee by the renewal date, your mark becomes expired. However, you are allowed an extra 6 months from the renewal date in which to renew your registration, but you will have to pay an extra fee for late renewal as well as the main renewal fee.