Harpur v Lambourne [1999] NSWSC 598

Harpur v Lambourne [1999] NSWSC 598

The plaintiff's boating directory material was an original literary work because he applied industry knowledge, research, selection, categorisation, skill and labour to compile and arrange information about boating service providers. The defendant retained the plaintiff's information on his computer and used it as the basis for the published directories, with the vast majority of the plaintiff's work appearing in the defendant's 1997 directory under identical or closely similar headings. The plaintiff owned the copyright and there was no established partnership or assignment transferring it. The defendant therefore infringed the plaintiff's copyright, entitling the plaintiff to restraint,...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
22 April 1999
Procedural Posture
Application by Summons for Restraining Order Against Infringement of Copyright and Account of Profits / Ex Tempore Judgment After Hearing
Outcome
Infringement of copyright found; relief granted to the plaintiff.
Legal Topics
['infringement of Copyright' 'original Literary Work' 'compilation' 'boating Directory' 'account of Profits' 'partnership and Assignment of Copyright']
['copyright Law' 'intellectual Property' 'equity'] ['infringement of Copyright' 'original Literary Work' 'compilation' 'boating Directory' 'account of Profits' 'partnership and Assignment of Copyright']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Application by Summons for Restraining Order Against Infringement of Copyright and Account of Profits / Ex Tempore Judgment After Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the plaintiff's compilation of information for the Pittwater Hawkesbury Brisbane Water Boating Directory was an original literary work in which copyright subsisted under the Copyright Act (Cth) 1968." "Whether the defendant copied or infringed the plaintiff's copyright by publishing boating directories for 1997, 1998 and 1999 using the plaintiff's work." 'Whether any partnership or assignment affected ownership of copyright.']

Ratio Decidendi

The plaintiff's boating directory material was an original literary work because he applied industry knowledge, research, selection, categorisation, skill and labour to compile and arrange information about boating service providers. The defendant retained the plaintiff's information on his computer and used it as the basis for the published directories, with the vast majority of the plaintiff's work appearing in the defendant's 1997 directory under identical or closely similar headings. The plaintiff owned the copyright and there was no established partnership or assignment transferring it. The defendant therefore infringed the plaintiff's copyright, entitling the plaintiff to restraint,...

Court Disposition

Infringement of copyright found; relief granted to the plaintiff.

Orders

  • ["Order consistent with paragraph 1 of the summons as amended restraining infringement of the plaintiff's copyright." 'Order that an account be taken of the profits made by the defendant as contained in paragraph 4 of the summons.' "The defendant is to pay the plaintiff's costs of the application." 'Matter listed at...