1. Handout 2: Data Protection and Copyright
PowerPoint presentation
Understand employer organisations
Handout 2: Data Protection and Copyright

2. Information
Business organisations hold a lot of confidential information.
Disclosure of information to third parties may impact on
individuals
the organisation.

3. Anything that identifies a living individual, eg name, contact details
Personal data
Anything that identifies a living individual, eg name, contact details
Anything that can be related to a living individual, eg unique account number, showing the current salary of a job post when there is only one person carrying out that job.
for handling and storing personal details.

4. Disclosing personal information
May result in
ID or financial fraud
unsolicited contact
nuisance calls
loss of customer/client trust.
As well as infringing the Data Protection Act.

5. The Data Protection Act 1998
Protects any living, identifiable individual from misuse or unauthorised disclosure of personal data.
Also covers any expression of opinion about the individual.
The Act covers both paper and computer files.
Organisations holding personal data need to register with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioners.
Individuals have the right to access and read the data held on them for a fee.
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.
Organisations holding personal data require now to register with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioners and pay the current annual fee.
Under the Data Protection Act, data is classed as:
Information recorded or processed by a computer
Information recorded as part of a relevant filing system or with the intention of being part of a filing system or which forms part of an accessible record, eg health records
Failure to register is a criminal offence.
All organisations must comply with what are known as the eight Principles of the Data Protection Act. The Act states the amount of information that may be held, how long it can be held and what it may be used for.

6. Principles of the Data Protection Act
Must be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully.
Will be obtained and used for only one or more specified and lawful purpose.
Should be adequate, relevant and not excessive.
Should be accurate and up to date.
Should be kept no longer than the purpose(s) requires.
Data subjects (individuals) have the
right to access held about them
right to prevent processing that would cause damage or distress
right to prevent processing for direct marketing purposes
right to compensation if damage is suffered as a result of the Act not being followed.
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) requires
Data should be processed in accordance with the data subject’s (individual’s) rights, these being eg the right to access held about them; the right to prevent processing that 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
There are exemptions to the Act, eg if the exemption is required for the purpose of national security but generally organisations holding personal data must register with the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Act exists to protect you and ensure your personal data is not misused or passed on to others inappropriately.

7. General measures for the security and confidentiality of information
Paper-based information:
lockable filing cabinets
confidential documents clearly marked
with restricted circulation
shredding of unwanted copies
files not allowed off-site.
Computer-held information
adequate virus protection
firewall
access passwords
back-up systems.

8. Copyright and intellectual property
The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 limits what you can copy or distribute to others.
An author automatically owns the copyright to any material/book they write provided ‘they have expended more than negligible labour, skill and effort in the creation of the work’. (
You can only use extracts from the material or book under certain circumstances, eg if you acknowledge the source of the material, ie the author, the title, the date it was published and the publisher’s name.
Photocopying is also not permissible unless the document or book states otherwise.
Using newspaper or magazine cuttings also requires the permission of the publication they appeared in.
Copyright also covers music, films and TV broadcasts.

9. Types of intellectual property
The four main types of IP are:
patents for inventions – new and improved products and processes that are capable of industrial application
trade marks 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.
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.’
Whilst patents, registered designs and trade marks 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.