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The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988) is a wide-ranging piece of legislation applicable in the UK.

Web development needs to consider the copyright status of the following elements of a webpage:

• text
• graphics
• video
• audio

It is common for developers to include a statement that specifies the various content on the website and the copyright terms that exist for that content.

As text is often specific to the context of the website, developers will often include a statement detailing what can and cannot be copied without permission.

Audio, images or video files used on a website may not be owned by the web developer. In these cases:

• credit for use of multimedia must be given
• the relevant permission to use the multimedia needs to be secured in advance of its use

Sometimes this may involve paying a fee to the copyright owner.

Failure to comply with the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988) can result in fines and prosecution. This applies to:

• end-users who illegally download media without the permission of the copyright holder
• businesses who include copyrighted material on their site without permission