Pearson Education Ltd Vrs Adzei [2011] GHASC 47 (1 June 2011)

Pearson Education Ltd Vrs Adzei [2011] GHASC 47 (1 June 2011)

The summary in 'Gateway' replicated only the general idea or plot of 'Woes of the African Mother', which is excluded from copyright protection under section 2 of the Copyright Act 2005. Therefore, there was no infringement of copyright, and the judgments of the lower courts were set aside.

Citation
[2011] GHASC 47
Parties
Defendant/appellant: Pearson Education Limited; Plaintiff/respondent: Morgan Adzei
Court
Supreme Court
Jurisdiction
Ghana
Judgment Date
1 June 2011
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Supreme Court Final Judgment
Outcome
Appeal allowed; judgments of the High Court and Court of Appeal set aside.
Legal Topics
Copyright, Copyright Infringement, Ideas Vs Expression, Damages
Source Language
English
Intellectual Property Law Copyright Copyright Infringement Ideas Vs Expression Damages

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Parties

Pearson Education Limited

Defendant/appellant

Morgan Adzei

Plaintiff/respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Supreme Court Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the summary of the plot of 'Woes of the African Mother' in 'Gateway to English for Junior Secondary Schools' constitutes copyright infringement under section 2 of the Copyright Act 2005 (Act 690)
  2. 2 Whether copyright protection extends to the plot or general idea of a literary work

Ratio Decidendi

The summary in 'Gateway' replicated only the general idea or plot of 'Woes of the African Mother', which is excluded from copyright protection under section 2 of the Copyright Act 2005. Therefore, there was no infringement of copyright, and the judgments of the lower courts were set aside.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; judgments of the High Court and Court of Appeal set aside.

Orders

  • Judgment of the High Court, Accra dated 27th July, 2006 set aside.
  • Judgment of the Court of Appeal dated 30th July, 2009 set aside.