In the U.S., visual aspects of software are generally copyrightable. Check out the Pac-Man v. KC Munkin case from 1982. There are several others. www.copyrightcodex.com/infringement/16-infringement-substantial-similarity/software-copyright-infringement#Pac-Man_v_KC_Munchkin
But when "visual" includes GUI, there's less copyright protection (because user interface elements are functional). Check out the Apple v. Microsoft case from 1994 as an example.
Those cases are US cases. Given this thread concerns UK law, it might be better to find equivalent UK cases that establish this. (Indeed, the lack of previous UK cases is why the threads link is so notable)
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What about for the visual aspects of software?
In the U.S., visual aspects of software are generally copyrightable. Check out the Pac-Man v. KC Munkin case from 1982. There are several others. www.copyrightcodex.com/infringement/16-infringement-substantial-similarity/software-copyright-infringement#Pac-Man_v_KC_Munchkin
But when "visual" includes GUI, there's less copyright protection (because user interface elements are functional). Check out the Apple v. Microsoft case from 1994 as an example.
I'm not sure what the equivalent UK law would be.
Those cases are US cases. Given this thread concerns UK law, it might be better to find equivalent UK cases that establish this. (Indeed, the lack of previous UK cases is why the threads link is so notable)
You're totally right (I edited original comment to reflect that those are US cases). I'm not sure what the equivalent UK law would be.