- JUDGMENT SUMMARY: Donoghue v. Allied Newspapers, Ltd. (Retrospective Authorship)
- DATE OF JUDGMENT: 6 July 1937
- BENCH: Farwell, J.
SUBJECT:
Rights are protected in works, not in ideas, themes or plots.
FACTS:
The Plaintiff was a famous jockey who was interviewed about his adventures, which were subsequently used by journalist S. T. Felstead. A series of articles called "Steve Donoghue's Racing Secrets, Enthhhralling Stories of the Sport of Kings" was published in the 'News of the World' newspaper about him. All articles were approved by Mr Donoghue before publishing. Mr Falstead wanted to use further the material which was published in these articles in another piece titled "My Racing Secrets. By Steve" to be published in the newspaper "Guides and Ideas", which was condensed parts from the older articles and thus effectively creating new work. Mr Donoghue did not approve of the publication of the new work. He then moved to the court for an injunction restraining the publication of the aforesaid work alleging infringement of his copyright.
IMPORTANT PROVISIONS:
Section 2(d), section 2(z), section 13 and section 17 of the Copyright Act.
ISSUES:
The main issue in question before the court was:
Whether the Plaintiff is or is not the sole author or joint author of the published articles in the 'News of the World' under the then in-force Copyright Act 1911?
ANALYSIS OF THE JUDGMENT:
Defendant's Contentions: The defendant company argued the case on three grounds: (i) that Mr Donoghue was neither the sole nor the co-owner of the copyright in the articles in question; (ii) that the copyright, if existed, was assigned by him by an equitable assignment to the News of the World under an agreement, and therefore it no longer subsists with him and (iii) that, he consented to the publication, although he sought afterwards to withdraw from that position.
Court's Observations:
In the present case, it was observed that an idea however brilliant or clever it may be, is nothing more than an idea if it is not put into any form of words or any form of expression such as a picture or a play. No copyright subsists in an idea until it is reduced into writing, or into some tangible form, by which the idea or information is conveyed to others.
Mr Donoghue primarily provided Mr Felstead with the ideas for his articles; ideas which were then conveyed through Mr Felstead's expression. The language used in the articles was established to be of Mr Felstead's and not Mr Donoghue's, although some of the articles contained dialogue possibly taken word for word from Mr Donoghue's recollections. Mr Donoghue prejudiced the substance of the works, the language used was Mr Felstead's, making him the author of the works. Mr Donoghue, therefore, failed in his act.
The court observed that "...there is no copyright in an idea or ideas. A person may have a brilliant idea for a story, or a picture, or a play, and one which appears to him to be original; but if he communicates that idea to an author or an artist or a playwright, the production which is the result of the communication of the idea to the author or the artist or the playwright is the copyright of the person who has clothed the idea in a form, whether, using a picture, a play, or a book, and the owner of the idea has no rights in that product."
Farwell J further said: 'If the idea, however original, is nothing more than an idea, and is not put into any form of words, or any form of expression such as a picture, then there is no such thing as copyright at all.'
The court held that the Plaintiff was neither the owner nor co-owner of, of the articles in the 'News of the World' and the action was not maintainable in the court.
Conclusion:
From the present case, it is clear that copyright subsists in work, not in ideas, themes or plots. The idea is not a subject matter of copyright, and the copyright is not infringed if someone takes the idea and develops his own work.
