When considering whether copying has taken place, the degree of resemblance required is not merely a similarity or resemblance in some leading feature or in certain of the details but, the idea and general effect created by the original being kept in mind, a degree of similarity as would lead to the conclusion that alleged infringement is a copy or reproduction of the original, having adopted ‘its essential features and substance’.
Lord Herschel LC said that there can be no one test to decide always what amounts to a substantial part of a work.
Lord Watson said: ‘But in cases where copyright is claimed for pictures or drawings which treat an old and common subject, such as love-making beside a stile, the privilege of the author must, in my opinion, be strictly confined to the particular design which he has chosen.’
References: [1895] AC 20
Judges: Lord Shand, Lord Herschel LC
Jurisdiction: England and Wales
This case is cited by:
- Cited – Designers Guild Limited v Russell Williams (Textiles) Limited PatC 14-Jan-1998
The defendant denied that it had copied the plaintiff’s designs.
Held: There was sufficient evidence of copying. It was wrong to dissect a work, but rather the court should look at the matter as a whole. . .
(, [1998] EWHC Patents 349, [1998] FSR 803)
These lists may be incomplete.
Last Update: 27 November 2020; Ref: scu.191196
