Copyright in UK Law
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C.B.S. Songs Ltd v Amstrad Consumer Electronics Plc
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My Lords, I accept that a defendant who procures a breach of copyright is liable jointly and severally with the infringer for the damages suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the infringement. The defendant is a joint infringer; he intends and procures and shares a common design that infringement shall take place. A defendant may procure an infringement by inducement, incitement or persuasion.
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Ladbroke (Football) Ltd v William Hill (Football) Ltd
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Whether a part is substantial must be decided by its quality rather than its quantity. The reproduction of a part which by itself has no originality will not normally be a substantial part of the copyright and therefore will not be protected. For that which would not attract copyright except by reason of its collocation will, when robbed of that collocation, not be a substantial part of the copyright and therefore the courts will not hold its reproduction to be an infringement.
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Hyde Park Residence Ltd v Yelland
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I have pointed out earlier in this judgment that the basis of the defence of public interest in a breach of confidence action cannot be the same as the basis of such defence to an action for infringement of copyright. In an action for breach of confidence the foundation of the action can fall away if that is required in the public interest, but that can never happen in a copyright action.
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Designer Guild Ltd v Russell Williams (Textiles) Ltd (trading as Washington DC)
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And there are numerous authorities which show that the "part" which is regarded as substantial can be a feature or combination of features of the work, abstracted from it rather than forming a discrete part. That is what the judge found to have been copied in this case. Or to take another example, the original elements in the plot of a play or novel may be a substantial part, so that copyright may be infringed by a work which does not reproduce a single sentence of the original.
It is on this ground that, for example, a literary work which describes a system or invention does not entitle the author to claim protection for his system or invention as such. The other proposition is that certain ideas expressed by a copyright work may not be protected because, although they are ideas of a literary, dramatic or artistic nature, they are not original, or so commonplace as not to form a substantial part of the work.
The purpose of the examination is not to see whether the overall appearance of the two designs is similar, but to judge whether the particular similarities relied on are sufficiently close, numerous or extensive to be more likely to be the result of copying than of coincidence. It is at this stage that similarities may be disregarded because they are commonplace, unoriginal, or consist of general ideas.
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L.B. (Plastics) Ltd v Swish Products Ltd
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There can be no copyright in a mere idea, so if all that the respondents had done was to take from the appellants the idea of external latching, or the "unhanding" of components, or any other idea implicit in their work, the appellants could not complain. That copying has taken place, is for the plaintiff to establish and prove as a matter of fact. The beginning of the necessary proof normally lies in the establishment of similarity combined with proof of access to the plaintiffs' productions.
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Copyright cultures
Purpose: This column aims to look at the different economic and intellectual approaches to copyright as separate cultures whose assumptions and approaches make it difficult for them to share a sing...
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Copyright in the networked world: copyright police
Purpose: The purpose of this column is to look at how copyright enforcement is handled. Design/methodology/approach: Legal issues in enforcement are examined, as well as the initiatives of organiz...
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Copyright in the networked world: gray copyright
Purpose: This paper uses an inductive approach to define “gray copyright.” It is needed to describe those situations in which the practical degree of copyright protection can best be measured in sh...
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Why a copyright column?
Copyright is integral to everything we do in digital publishing. This new column will examine a wide range of intellectual property issues using concrete examples from current projects. Since Inter...
- Copyright Dogfight
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Update on new copyright exceptions
By way of follow up to our post on 8 May on the new UK copyright exceptions, the government has confirmed that the new exception for personal copies for private use (and another new exception allow...
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Brexit and Copyright Law
At the end of March the European Commission issued a “Notice to Stakeholders. Withdrawal of the United Kingdom and EU Rules in the Field of Copyright.” It is a helpful but notably incomplete summa...
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UK Changes to Copyright Exceptions
Three statutory instruments amending UK copyright exceptions came into force on 1 June 2014 relating to Public Administration, Disability, and Research, Education, Libraries & Archives. The changes...
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Ask for a hearing to be adjourned - Leeds
Forms relating to matters raised in the Administrative Court, including challenges to decisions made by organisations such as local authorities and regulators.... ... Are you the ... Do you oppose the adjournment? ... Interested Party ... If Yes, please give reasons: ... AC001 (09.08) ... © Crown copyright 2008 ... Send your completed form and the appropriate fee or form Ex160 to the address above ... AC001 (09.08) ... © Crown copyright ... ...
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Request for an Adjournment (London)
Planning Court forms including the statutory review claim form.... ... Are you the ... Do you oppose the adjournment? ... Interested Party ... If Yes, please give reasons: ... PC001 (09.08) ... © Crown copyright 2008 ... Send your completed form and the appropriate fee or form Ex160 to the address above ... PC001 (09.08) ... © Crown copyright ... ...
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Claim form (Part 8)
Commercial Court forms including claims and application notices.... ... N208(CC) Claim form (CPR Part 8) (04.14) ... ©Crown copyright 2014 ... Claim No ... Details of claim ... Statement of Truth ... *(I believe)(The Claimant believes) that the facts stated in this claim form are ... ...
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Payment details
County Court Business Centre (CCBC) forms including the BACS registration form for payments. Replaces CAPSBACS1 guidance.... ... schedule) ... IBAN no. (if payments made from a bank outside the UK) ... CAPSBACS2 (02.16) ... GB41NWBK60708010018840 ... ©Crown copyright ... ...