COPYRIGHT

Anything worth copying is worth protecting

What does it do?

• Establishes the right of the creator of the work to exploit his/her work

• Governs the extent to which the work can be used by others

• Protects the right of the creator or anyone who has invested in the creation e.g. publisher/broadcaster

What kind of material is covered?

• Original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works

• Sound recordings, film and broadcasts• Typographical arrangements• Spoken word in e.g. speeches• Translations and adaptations of work• Material on the internet • NB - work MUST have an ‘original’ quality

Compare Common law and Civil law approach

• CIVIL – concentrates more on moral rights of author and the benefits to society of creation of the work. Protection of author important so that more work can be created for the benefit of society.

• COMMON LAW – more emphasis on property exploitation rights. Moral rights of author & integrity are fairly new idea in UK

Some UK cases

• Some recent cases from UK:• Baigent & Leigh v Random House (Da

Vinci Code case) – • Lucasfilm v Ainsworth UKSC [2011] The

Star Wars case - stormtrooper helmets• Ashdown v Telegraph Newspapers 2001• Newport State of Mind case – parody?

Some cases from USA

• Harper & Row v Nation Enterprises 1985• Perfect 10 v Google Inc. 2007• Campbell v Acuff-Rose Music Inc.2012 • ‘Gone with the Wind’ /’The Wind Done

Gone’ 2001 – parody• The ‘Catcher in the Rye’/’60 Years Later;

Coming through the Rye’ case – not parody

A technical area of Intellectual Property law

• Governed by internal legislation within individual states – UK/USA etc

• EU Directives – affect UK • International Conventions – Berne and

Universal - affect all who sign up• Rome convention – performers &

broadcasters rights, authors and producers of sound recordings

What does the law usually cover • Rights in the use of the material• These rights can be assigned (sold) or

transferred on death• Time limits for different types of work• Benefits from royalties – Peter Pan!• Distinguish Moral Rights of the creator -

cannot be assigned• Performance rights

Who owns what?

• Employees’work usually owned by employer.• Freelance retains copyright in her work UNLESS

another agreement has been made• What about photographs? - see the rights of

the photographer after CDPA 1988.(Bronson Case) He/she owns the commercial rights BUT if photo commissioned for personal/domestic purpose the commissioner has a MORAL right in the picture……….

MORAL RIGHTS?

• This form of right introduced into UK by 1988 ACT:-

• A. Right to be identified as author (paternity right)

• B. right to object to derogatory treatment of work

• C. right to object to false attribution of work

Useful cases re Moral Rights

• Godot v TGI Paris [1993]

• Turner Entertainment Co v Huston [1991]

• Clark v Associated Newspapers [1998]

SO….IS ANYTHING COVERED?

• Not entirely…..• The work must have an ‘original quality’

about it – standard not always very high in UK

• For infringement a ‘substantial’ amount of the work must be copied

• ‘Substantial’ applies to QUALITY as much as QUANTITY

INFRINGEMENT

• Copying a work• Issuing copies to public• Renting/lending copies to public• Performing, showing or playing a work in

public• Communicating work to the public• Making an adaptation of a work or any of

above in relation to an adaptation.

INFRINGEMENT 2

• To do any of the above without permission in respect of the whole or substantial part of the work is a PRIMARY infringement

• What is ‘substantial’?• Note that all this applies to material on the

internet as well. Note the new powers under Digital Economy Act 2010