The defendant appealed a finding of infringement in a music copyright work, ‘Young at Heart’, based on a claim of joint authorship. The claimant had delayed his claim for many years, but now sought only rights to future royalties.
Held: The defendant’s allegation of an estoppel against the claimant failed. The test for a joint authorship is not as to the intention to create a joint copyright, but as to the work itself. The judge had been right to confine his consideration to the language of section 11(3) and not to look beyond the section into the uncertain realms of policy.
Judges:
Lord Justice Laws Lord Justice Jonathan Parker Lord Justice Ward
Citations:
[2003] EWCA Civ 143, [2003] EMLR 18
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – Beckingham v Hodgens ChD 2002
Copyright in music – custom amd practice within the industry. . .
Restated – Taylors Fashions Ltd v Liverpool Victoria Trustees Co Ltd ChD 1981
The fundamental principle that equity is concerned to prevent unconscionable conduct permeates all the elements of the doctrine of estoppel. In the light of the more recent cases, the principle ‘requires a very much broader approach which is . .
Leave to appeal – Beckingham v Hodgens CA 4-Dec-2002
Renewed application for leave to appeal – refused – appeal against finding on facts. . .
Still Good Law – Darryl Neudorf v Network Expressions 1999
(Supreme Court of British Columbia) The court discussed the test for joint authorship after reviewing authorities in Canada, the US and England and said: ‘In the result I find that the test for joint authorship that should be applied to the facts in . .
Cited – Levy v Rutley CCP 1871
A claim of joint authorship was made in a play entitled The King’s Wager, or The Camp, the Cottage and the Court. The play had been written by a Mr Wilks, to whose work the plaintiff, and others at the plaintiff’s suggestion, had added a scene and a . .
Cited – Hadley v Kemp 1999
Three members of the group Spandau Ballet sought to be treated as joint authors of the songs in which copyright was claimed. The songs had been composed at home by another member of the group who was a keyboard player and singer, but then played and . .
Cited – Godfrey v Lees 1995
The court described the test for joint authorship in a work of music: ‘What the claimant to joint authorship of a work must establish is that he has made a significant and original contribution to the creation of the work and that he has done so . .
Cited – Redwood Music Ltd v Chappell and Co Ltd ChD 1982
It was submitted that an arrangement of an existing musical work only attracted a separate copyright if it involved great skill and labour. After referring to the University of London Press Limited, the court held: ‘That passage was cited with . .
Cited – Gillett v Holt and Another CA 23-Mar-2000
Repeated Assurances Created Equitable Estoppel
Repeated assurances, given over years, that the claimant would acquire an interest in property on the death of the person giving the re-assurance, and upon which the claimant relied to his detriment, could found a claim of equitable estoppel. The . .
Cited by:
Cited – Fisher v Brooker and Another ChD 20-Dec-2006
The claimant said that he had contributed to the copyright in the song ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ but had been denied royalties. He had played the organ and particularly the organ solo which had contrbuted significantly to the fame of the record.
Mentioned – Brooker and Another v Fisher CA 4-Apr-2008
The claimant had asserted a joint authorship of the song ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ written in the sixties. The defendant appealed saying that the claim had been brought too late, and that the finding ignored practice in the music industry. The . .
Cited – Kogan v Martin and Others CA 9-Oct-2019
Dispute over the authorship of the screenplay of a film.
Held: ‘the judgment cannot stand. The judge has adopted an erroneous approach to the evidence, failed to make important findings of primary fact, failed to take account of material . .
Cited – Martin and Another v Kogan and Others IPEC 22-Nov-2017
The parties disputed whether joint authorship of the screenplay for a film, ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’. The claimant now sought a declaration of sole authorship of film screenplay, and the defendant cross-claimed for a declaration of joint . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Intellectual Property
Updated: 07 September 2022; Ref: scu.179485