SKYDON DEVELOPMENT LTD. v. MICRO ORGANIZATION LTD. AND OTHERS

SKYDON DEVELOPMENT LTD. v. MICRO ORGANIZATION LTD. AND OTHERS

The plaintiff's database was an original compilation involving sufficient skill, labour and judgment, the plaintiff owned the copyright as employer, the defendants reproduced the plaintiff's work as shown by convincing evidence including identical errors, the defendants' defences (lack of originality, non-ownership, public policy/government ownership, Anton Piller restraint) fail, and summary judgment is appropriate with damages to be assessed including for breach of fiduciary duty by the second and fourth defendants.

Citation
SKYDON DEVELOPMENT LTD. v. MICRO ORGANIZATION LTD. AND OTHERS
Parties
Plaintiff: SKYDON DEVELOPMENT LIMITED; First Defendant: MICRO ORGANIZATION LIMITED; Second Defendant: FUNG WING KAI; Third Defendant: NG YU PIK; Fourth Defendant: YAN LAI CHUI; Fifth Defendant: YIP WING HUNG
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
13 August 1999
Case Number
HCA10588/1998
Procedural Posture
Copyright Infringement; Breach of Fiduciary Duties / Summary Judgment Application (decision)
Outcome
Summary judgment for the plaintiff; defendants' defences dismissed; damages to be assessed
Legal Topics
Database Copyright, Originality of Compilation, Copyright Ownership, Substantial Reproduction, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Anton Piller Order, Summary Judgment
Source Language
EN
Intellectual Property Company Law Employment Law Database Copyright Originality of Compilation Copyright Ownership Substantial Reproduction Breach of Fiduciary Duty +2 more

Case Brief

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Parties

SKYDON DEVELOPMENT LIMITED

Plaintiff

MICRO ORGANIZATION LIMITED

First Defendant

FUNG WING KAI

Second Defendant

NG YU PIK

Third Defendant

YAN LAI CHUI

Fourth Defendant

YIP WING HUNG

Fifth Defendant

Procedural Posture

Copyright Infringement; Breach of Fiduciary Duties / Summary Judgment Application (decision)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the plaintiff's litigation database qualified for copyright protection as an original work
  2. 2 Whether the plaintiff was the owner of the copyright in the database
  3. 3 Whether the defendants substantially reproduced or copied the plaintiff's database

Ratio Decidendi

The plaintiff's database was an original compilation involving sufficient skill, labour and judgment, the plaintiff owned the copyright as employer, the defendants reproduced the plaintiff's work as shown by convincing evidence including identical errors, the defendants' defences (lack of originality, non-ownership, public policy/government ownership, Anton Piller restraint) fail, and summary judgment is appropriate with damages to be assessed including for breach of fiduciary duty by the second and fourth defendants.

Court Disposition

Summary judgment for the plaintiff; defendants' defences dismissed; damages to be assessed

Orders

  • Judgment entered for the plaintiff on the copyright infringement claim against the defendants
  • Judgment entered for the plaintiff on the claim for breach of fiduciary duties against the second and fourth defendants; damages to be assessed