Michael Soutar

In this subject we were learning about the industry that we would be entering and the different aspects of it that would affect us. We started off by learning about Copyright and Intellectual property, or IP, and the legal system that protects, it such as the Copyright deigns and patents act of 1988. The way we protect our work from copyright claims is to have a hard copy of our work with some kind of time stamp on it, usually sent in the mail and then unopened as a sealed document which is not tampered with. 

We learned about various businesses and our government, such as creative Scotland, PPL and PRS, knowledge of which could assist, and benefit, us on our path in the industry. We learned about what they do, and how it will benefit us in the future, like for funding, collecting royalties and ensuring that we abide by their rules and regulations.

I was taught about the different kinds of business formations such as sole traders Partnerships and Limited companies, and their pros and cons.

• Sole Traders are businesses that are only owned by a single person. Despite this though, the business can have more than one worker. With this kind of business the owner has soul control and it is cheap and easy to start up. However, the owner has total liability for anything that may go wrong within the business.

• Partnerships are businesses that are owned by two people; potentially more, and each member has their own duties and work they must do day to day. They all take care of their own share of tax and insurance, but they are easy to start up and the liability for debt is shared between them. 

• Limited Companies are separate from the actual owners of the company they represent. Due to the title of being a limited company, they have lower taxes to pay. However they must keep secure records of all of their financial records as well as having to pay for registration as a limited company