Page 91 - Law and the Media

Law and the Media
The court is more willing to allow parodies that make political or humorous comment than
those that are solely for commercial reasons.

There is no precise guidance on what will amount to an infringement. Each case depends on
its own facts and a comparison of the original article and the copy. In Newspaper Licensing
Agency Ltd v Marks & Spencer plc (2001), Marks & Spencer entered into a contract with an
agency for the supply of photocopies of news items appearing in daily and national
newspapers. Marks & Spencer then made further copies of the news items for distribution to
individuals within its organization. The court held that, when considering whether there had
been copying of a ‘substantial part’ of the typographical arrangement of an edition of each
newspaper, the question was whether there had been copying of a sufficient amount of the
relevant skill and labour that had gone into producing the edition. A copy of an article on a
page, which gave no indication of how the rest of the page was laid out, was held not to be
a copy of a substantial part of the published edition of the newspaper as a whole.

Some copying is not a breach of copyright. If a copy is made of a television or sound
broadcast for private purposes only it will not amount an infringement of the copyright in the
broadcast itself, although it may infringe copyright in a pre-recorded programme or film.
Home taping of live programmes to keep in a private collection or to watch at a more
convenient time is permitted. However, it would amount to an infringement of copyright if
the videotape was sold or hired out.

3.4.2 Other infringements

Copies to the public
Under the CDPA it is an infringement to issue copies of copyrighted works to the public.
Under the Copyright Act 1956 the term used is to ‘publish’ them.

Performances in public
Performing a literary, dramatic or musical work in public is an infringing act, as is playing
or showing in public any sound recording, film, broadcast or cable programme. This includes
using copyright works in lectures or speeches, or in presentations using films, recordings or
broadcasts.

Broadcasts
Broadcasting a literary, musical or dramatic work infringes copyright. However, when an
artistic work is publicly displayed it can be included in broadcasts or films, and can be
photographed, drawn or painted.

Adaptations
Making adaptations of literary, dramatic or musical works is an infringement of copyright.
Turning a play into a book or a book into a play, translating a work or putting it into pictorial
form, are all adaptations. Producing a cartoon of a novel would be a breach of copyright.
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