The defendant operated a web-site providing a search facility of the Usenet news system which allowed its users to locate copies of films online for downloading. The claimant said this was an infringement of its copyrights.
Held: The defendant had infringed the copyright of the claimants. Though its terms denied that its editors should promote the downloading of unlawful content, the system was in fact designed to search newsgroups promoting the downloading of illegitimate and unauthorised copies, and to provide its own equivalent of a web hyperlink to such files. A person who procures an infringement of copyright is liable joint and severally with the infringer, but ‘mere (or even knowing) assistance or facilitation of the primary infringement is not enough. The joint tortfeasor must have so involved himself in the tort as to make it his own. This will be the case if he has induced, incited or persuaded the primary infringer to engage in the infringing act or if there is a common design or concerted action or agreement on a common action to secure the doing of the infringing act.’
Kitchin J
[2010] EWHC 608 (Ch), [2010] ECC 13, [2010] FSR 21, [2010] EMLR 17, [2010] ECDR 8, [2011] Bus LR D49
Bailii
Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 20, Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Evans v E Hulton and Co Ltd ChD 1924
Passing on memories for use in a ghosted autobiography is not sufficient for a claim of joint authorship. Tomlin J considered whether a publication had been authorised by the copyright owner and said: ‘where a man sold the rights in relation to a . .
Cited – Falcon v Famous Players Film Co CA 1926
The defendants hired a film to a cinema. The film was based on the plaintiff’s play.
Held: The defendants infringed the plaintiff’s exclusive right conferred by the 1911 Act to authorise a performance of the play. The hirer sold the use which . .
Cited – Moorhouse v University of New South Wales 1976
(High Court of Australia) The plaintiffs complained that the facilities of a library included a photocopying machine, alleging that this encouraged copyright infringement. Held; Gibbs J said: ‘a person who has under his control the means by which an . .
Cited – CBS Songs Ltd v Amstrad Consumer Electronics Plc HL 12-May-1988
The plaintiffs as representatives sought to restrain Amstrad selling equipment with two cassette decks without taking precautions which would reasonably ensure that their copyrights would not be infringed by its users.
Held: Amstrad could only . .
Cited – Unilever Plc v Gillette (UK) Limited CA 1989
Unilever claimed infringement of its patent. The court was asked whether there was a good arguable case against the United States parent company of the existing defendant sufficient to justify the parent company to be joined as a defendant and to . .
Cited – Generale Bank Nederland Nv (Formerly Credit Lyonnais Bank Nederland Nv) v Export Credit Guarantee Department CA 23-Jul-1997
The bank claimed that it had been defrauded, and that since an employee of the defendant had taken part in the fraud the defendant was had vicarious liability for his participation even though they knew nothing of it.
Held: Where A becomes . .
Cited – Sabaf Spa v MFI Furniture Centres Ltd and Managhetti Spa ChD 31-Jul-2001
The claimant owned a patent on certain features of a cooking hob, and complained that the defendants had imported infringing designs. The defendant challenged the patent for obviousness.
Held: Both of the inventive features relied upon to . .
Cited – L’Oreal Sa and Others v Ebay International Ag and Others ChD 22-May-2009
The court was asked as to whether the on-line marketplace site defendant was liable for trade mark infringements by those advertising goods on the web-site.
Held: The ECJ had not yet clarified the law on accessory liability in trade mark . .
Cited – Sociedad General De Autores Y Editores De Espana (SGAE) v Rafael Hoteles SA ECJ 7-Dec-2006
ECJ (Law Relating To Undertakings) Copyright and related rights in the nformation society – Directive 2001/29/EC – Article 3 – Concept of communication to the public – Works communicated by means of television . .
Cited by:
Cited – Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp and Others v British Telecommunications Plc ChD 28-Jul-2011
The claimant rights holders sought an order to require the defendant broadband internet provider to deny access to its users to websites which were said to facilitate the distribution of infringing copies of their films. An earlier judgment had . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Intellectual Property
Updated: 02 November 2021; Ref: scu.406550
