Current legislation is basically the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. There are later Statutory Instruments and possibly amendments. New legislation is expected to be introduced in 2003 to implement the European Commission's Copyright Directive.
History
The modern concept of copyright originated in Britain in 1710 with the Statute of Anne.
External links
Text of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988 (http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1988/Ukpga_19880048_en_1.htm)
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump