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Law Cases
Intellectual Property Law Cases
Copyright 2 Cases

Walter v Lane [1900] AC 539

Country:
United Kingdom
By Oxbridge Law Team
Held

  • An Earl gave public speeches on 5 occasions. Reporter from newspaper took down speeches in shorthand and later transcribed them.

  • Defendant published book which included Earl’s speeches taken mainly from the reports published in newspaper.

  • Newspaper brought action for breach of copyright.

Held

  • Copyright has nothing to do with or literary/artistic merits of the author.

    • Copyright simply requires that A shall not avail himself of B’s skill, labour and expense by copying the end product.

  • To be ‘author’, written work in question must have necessitated more than mere skill of knowing how to write.

    • I.e. must require intellectual skill.

  • Production of report required more than mere act of writing; e.g.:

    • Ability to write shorthand

    • Subsequent transcribing, with punctuation and revisions added

    • Memory and judgment of reporter

  • Thus on facts, reporters for paper were authors.

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