Copyright Law (Originality, Works, Rights & Ownership)

Core definition (Commonwealth approach)
- A work is original if it is independently created by the author and not copied from an existing work.
- Quantity or quality of literary or artistic merit is irrelevant; focus is on skill, labour and judgment.
Continental (EU/Authors’ Right) approach
- Non-copied nature plus a “minimal degree of creativity” is required.
- Intellectual contribution must show the author’s personal stamp.
Key comparative jurisdictions
- Common law (Sri Lanka, UK, India, Australia, Canada, New Zealand) → copyright.
- Civil/Authors’ Right (France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, much of EU, parts of US doctrine) → author’s right.
Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone (US Supreme Court)
- Phone-directory white pages = no copyright (mere labour/sweat not enough).
- Yellow pages contained selection/design/advertising → sufficient creativity → copyright subsists.
Sri Lankan & Commonwealth cases
- Walter v. Lane / University of London Press → originality = author’s skill & labour.
- Mahanamahewa v. Austin Kantar and Wasantha vs. Seegiri affirm non-copied test.
- ACLS v. Dallas (murder-case reportage) → mere compilation of court documents lacked originality.

Novel based on historical facts → YES (facts free; narrative expression original).
Detective story using court records → YES (expression + creative plot).
Anthology of unwritten folk tales →
- Stories themselves in public domain.
- Author’s arrangement/language protected; stories free for new uses.
Telephone diary with calendar/postal tables → NO (common-place info, no creativity).

Definition: Works based on pre-existing works yet containing sufficient new intellectual input.
Typical forms
- Translations
- Adaptations (film of a book, stage play from a novel, etc.)
- Compilations/anthologies, encyclopedias, databases (creative selection/arrangement).
Legal position (Berne & Sri Lanka IP Act §7)
- Derivative work gains its own copyright without prejudice to rights in the underlying work.
- Permission from original right-holder still required to use source material.
Case illustration: Anuradha Seneviratne v. Penguin (Commercial HC SL)
- Story republished from anthology without author’s consent → infringement despite anthology publisher’s licence.

Economic rights (exclusive, transferrable)
- Reproduce, publish, distribute, translate, adapt, publicly communicate, etc.
Moral rights (personal, non-transferrable but waivable)
- Paternity/attribution: right to be named as author.
- Integrity: right to object to distortion, mutilation, derogatory treatment.
- Survive even after assignment of economic rights.
TRIPS: leaves moral-rights protection optional; EU gives high protection; US limited (VARA for visual art).

Ease of replication: unlimited perfect copies (download/upload/stream).
Global dissemination: instantaneous, borderless, difficult enforcement.
Modification & mash-ups: digital plasticity → derivative content created in seconds.
Authorship issues: computer-generated or AI works raise question of “no human author”.

Any expression in print or writing (books, articles, tables, computer programs, lyrics, speeches, exam papers).
Quality/style immaterial; even timetables & catalogues protected if original.
De minimis limit: titles, very short slogans usually NOT protected (handled under passing-off/trademark).

Per UK CDPA 1988 & Indian Act: music excluding words/actions intended to be sung or performed.
Song = combination of musical work (composition) + literary work (lyrics).
Notations (sheet music) = literary expression of musical work.
Contemporary issues: remix culture → debate over adaptation, moral right of integrity, possible plagiarism.

Requires movement, story or action capable of physical performance; cannot be purely static.

Paintings, drawings, sculpture, engravings, photographs, craft-work (2-D & 3-D).
No artistic quality threshold; originality test applies.
Copying another artwork: merely labour-intensive replicas (e.g.
child’s Mona Lisa copy) not protected; must embody independent artistic skill beyond duplication.

Default rule: Author = first owner of copyright.
Specific attributions
- Literary/dramatic → author.
- Musical → composer.
- Artistic (photo) → photographer.
- Film/sound recording → producer.
- Computer-generated → person who caused creation (human controller).

Work created by collaboration where individual contributions are inseparable/non-distinct.
All joint authors share ownership; exploitation requires consent of all.
If contributions separable (e.g.
chapters by different writers), each author owns his part.
Requirements (India Test: Najma Heptulla v. Orient Longman): collaboration, contribution, non-distinctiveness, authorship.
Song: NOT joint authorship between lyricist & composer (distinct elements).

Contract of service (employee): employer is first copyright owner for works made in the course of employment, unless contract says otherwise.
- Key-test → Was the work part of employee’s assigned duties?
- Chandraguptha Amarasinghe v. Lake House: war-time photos shot on journalist’s personal initiative ≠ within course of employment → photographer retained copyright & moral rights.
Contract for service (commission): paying a freelancer; unless contract states otherwise, commissioner owns economic rights (§14 SL IP Act), not the freelancer.

Collective work: created on initiative & direction of one person who publishes under own name; that initiator is owner (e.g.
newspaper, encyclopedia).
Audio-visual (film): typically classed as collective; producer holds copyright but underlying contributions (script, music) keep separate rights.

Recent applications list AI systems as co-authors with human operators.
Some offices (e.g.
US CO, UK IPO) accept human causation requirement; AI cannot solely own copyright.
Sri Lanka follows human-controller rule; joint authorship with AI remains legally experimental.

Term = life of author + 70 years (SL; Berne minimum 50 years).
After expiry → public domain (free for all, but moral rights may still persist in some jurisdictions).

Originality tests → Non-copying (Common law) | + Minimal creativity (EU/US)
Economic rights → transfer/license possible.
Moral rights → cannot transfer, but may be waived in writing.
Derivative work → needs permission from underlying rights holder, yet gains own copyright.
Employment → employer owns if within assigned duties.
Commission → commissioner owns unless contract says otherwise.
Joint authorship → indivisible contributions; equal co-owners.
Digital challenges → replication, dissemination, modification, AI authorship.