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Justine Pila

Authorial intent

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Full-Text Articles in Law

Copyright And Its Categories Of Original Works, Justine Pila Jan 2010

Copyright And Its Categories Of Original Works, Justine Pila

Justine Pila

In this paper the categories of original (literary, dramatic, musical and artistic (LDMA)) works in which copyright subsists are considered, and an argument made that the Legislature's division of protected works into categories is appropriate given the psychology of art appreciation, and the fact that in order to perceive a work qua work one must perceive it in relation to a category of work. Nonetheless, an argument is also made that the statutory definitions of LDMA works suffer from the defects of formalist theory. Those defects are outlined, and an alternative theory of works proposed, drawing on the work of …


Works Of Artistic Craftsmanship In The High Court Of Australia: The Exception As Paradigm Copyright Work, Justine Pila Jan 2009

Works Of Artistic Craftsmanship In The High Court Of Australia: The Exception As Paradigm Copyright Work, Justine Pila

Justine Pila

In Burge v Swarbrick, the High Court of Australia delivered an important decision on the most elusive of works protected by copyright: the work of artistic craftsmanship (WAC). Drawing on the history and reasons for that protection, and adopting the analysis of Lord Simon in Hensher, the Court affirmed the orthodox view that such works have 'special status' in law on account of their 'real artistic quality'. In its judgment, whether a work has that quality depends on whether it is a work of craftsmanship the artistic form of expression of which is sufficiently 'unconstrained by functional considerations'. In this …


An Intentional View Of The Copyright Work, Justine Pila Jan 2008

An Intentional View Of The Copyright Work, Justine Pila

Justine Pila

The questions at the heart of copyright – what is a work, and the extent of copyright protection – are considered. Arguments are presented firstly for an understanding of works oriented around expressive intent, and secondly for a statutory test of infringement that pays closer attention to issues of policy and the authorial acts that copyright rewards. The article revisits two central cases of modern English copyright law, Walter v Lane and Interlego v Tyco Industries, and suggests that their reasoning is problematic; Walter v Lane because the transcripts of Lord Rosebery's speeches were not books for copyright purposes, and …