aFellow of St Catherine's College, Oxford; Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law, University of Oxford; Senior Research Associate (and Interim Director), Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre. This article is the revised version of a paper delivered in Oxford as part of the Intellectual Property in the New Millennium seminar series on 5 June 2007. I am grateful to David Vaver for organising the seminar, and to David Brennan, Joshua Getzler, Michael Spence and the anonymous referees for their help with different parts of the article itself. Thanks also to Barbara Lauriat for the Charles Reade reference in n 7 below.
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An Intentional View of the Copyright Work
Article first published online: 10 JUL 2008
DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2230.2008.00705.x
© 2008 The Author. Journal Compilation © 2008 The Modern Law Review Limited
Additional Information
How to Cite
Pila, J. (2008), An Intentional View of the Copyright Work. The Modern Law Review, 71: 535–558. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2230.2008.00705.x
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aFellow of St Catherine's College, Oxford; Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law, University of Oxford; Senior Research Associate (and Interim Director), Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre. This article is the revised version of a paper delivered in Oxford as part of the Intellectual Property in the New Millennium seminar series on 5 June 2007. I am grateful to David Vaver for organising the seminar, and to David Brennan, Joshua Getzler, Michael Spence and the anonymous referees for their help with different parts of the article itself. Thanks also to Barbara Lauriat for the Charles Reade reference in n 7 below.
Publication History
- Issue published online: 10 JUL 2008
- Article first published online: 10 JUL 2008
Keywords:
- Copyright;
- literary;
- dramatic;
- musical and artistic works;
- authorship;
- originality;
- idea/expression distinction;
- substantiality;
- scope
The questions at the heart of copyright – what is a work, and the extent of copyright protection – are considered. Arguments are presented firstly for an understanding of works oriented around expressive intent, and secondly for a statutory test of infringement that pays closer attention to issues of policy and the authorial acts that copyright rewards. The article revisits two central cases of modern English copyright law, Walter v Lane and Interlego v Tyco Industries, and suggests that their reasoning is problematic; Walter v Lane because the transcripts of Lord Rosebery's speeches were not books for copyright purposes, and Interlego because the technical specifications were part of the drawings, which were consequently new artistic works for copyright purposes. This is supported by contemporary authority – including paradoxically Sawkins v Hyperion Records, which recently affirmed the correctness of both cases – and has wider implications for our copyright regime.