In a digital world, the creative options open to smaller companies are temptingly wide. At the touch of button, you can download countless images, music tracks and software packages. But the penalty for using such copyrighted material without a licence can be severe.
If you have been playing background music to your customers, for instance, you could well find yourself forking out thousands and thousands of pounds in damages. Ignorance is no defence. You are guilty whether or not you knew the material was in copyright.
Such cases of product piracy are widespread. It is estimated that 27% of the software used in British business is on an illegal basis.
Like speeding on the motorway, you might consider it a risk worth taking. But for many smaller companies, it is coming as a nasty shock to find themselves being asked for punitive damages for photos used on their websites without permission.
In more blatant cases of copying for commercial gain, criminal charges can be brought. Fines are uncapped and directors could find themselves in jail.
The trouble for those seeking to protect themselves is that while the principle of copyright is clear, its operation is not. Since it was introduced to protect the printed word 300 years ago, its scope has expanded with each new development in communications technology. Methods vary for controlling the use of content developed for radio, TV, hi-fi and now the Internet. As a result, you have different licenses and different fees administered by a large number of collecting societies.
But broadly you will be operating on one of three legal bases. For background music, for instance, you take out a blanket licence, which covers you for a whole body of work. You have the right to copy anything you like, usually without any reporting. The collecting agency then decides how any revenue should be distributed.
But if you want to include a particular piece of music in a promotional video or you want to use a particular photo, then you have to gain specific permission from the owner and agree a fee.
For products like software, you will find a licence shrink-wrapped into the package setting out its term of use. It can be easy to forget that you do not own what you have just purchased. You only have the right to use it.
So to make sure that you do stay on the right side of the law, it is worth spelling out to employees and suppliers what they can and cannot download on your behalf.