The Newspaper Licensing Agency Ltd & Ors v Meltwater Holding BV & Ors

The Newspaper Licensing Agency Ltd & Ors v Meltwater Holding BV & Ors

End users of Meltwater News, by receiving and using the service, make copies of copyright material (including headlines and text extracts) on their computers, which constitutes copyright infringement unless licensed. Exceptions for temporary copies and fair dealing do not apply because the acts are not transient,...

Source-derived case information.

Parties
Claimant: The Newspaper Licensing Agency Limited; Claimant: MGN Limited; Claimant: Associated Newspapers Limited; Claimant: Express Newspapers Limited; Claimant: Guardian News and Media Limited; Claimant: Telegraph Media Group Limited; Claimant: Independent Print Limited; Defendant: Meltwater Holding BV; Defendant: Meltwater News UK Limited; Defendant: Public Relations Consultants Association Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
26 November 2010
Procedural Posture
Civil / First Instance Judgment
Outcome
judgment for claimants
Legal Topics
Copyright Infringement, Database Rights, Fair Dealing, Temporary Copies, Press Monitoring Services, Literary Works, Originality, Statutory Interpretation
Intellectual Property Copyright Law Copyright Infringement Database Rights Fair Dealing Temporary Copies Press Monitoring Services Literary Works +2 more

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Parties

The Newspaper Licensing Agency Limited

Claimant

MGN Limited

Claimant

Associated Newspapers Limited

Claimant

Express Newspapers Limited

Claimant

Guardian News and Media Limited

Claimant

Telegraph Media Group Limited

Claimant

Independent Print Limited

Claimant

Meltwater Holding BV

Defendant

Meltwater News UK Limited

Defendant

Public Relations Consultants Association Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil / First Instance Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether end users of Meltwater News require a licence from the claimants to lawfully receive and use the service
  2. 2 Whether receipt and use of Meltwater News by end users infringes copyright in headlines, articles, or databases
  3. 3 Whether exceptions such as temporary copies or fair dealing apply to end users' activities

Ratio Decidendi

End users of Meltwater News, by receiving and using the service, make copies of copyright material (including headlines and text extracts) on their computers, which constitutes copyright infringement unless licensed. Exceptions for temporary copies and fair dealing do not apply because the acts are not transient, incidental, or for criticism/review/reporting current events, and sufficient acknowledgment is not provided. Some headlines are original literary works or part of the article, and text extracts can be substantial parts under the Infopaq test. There is no infringement of database rights as alleged. Therefore, end users require a licence from the claimants to lawfully receive and...

Court Disposition

judgment for claimants

Orders

  • Declaration that end users of Meltwater News require a licence from the claimants to lawfully receive and use the service
  • Costs to be determined