Gormley v. EMI Records (Ireland) Ltd. [1998] IESC 44; [2000] 1 IR 84; [1999] 1 ILRM 178 (17th November, 1998)

The plaintiff's recitation was not an original literary work but a reproduction of material taught by Mrs. Cunningham. The magnetic tape recording did not constitute a material form for copyright protection under the Act. Originality was lacking as the plaintiff merely repeated what she had been told, and copyright subsists only in works that originate from the author and are fixed in a material form that is intelligible without further processing.

Citation: [1998] IESC 44
Parties: Applicant: Plaintiff; Respondent: Defendant; Third Party: Mrs. Cunningham
Jurisdiction: Ireland
Procedural Posture: Copyright Claim / Appeal
Outcome: appeal refused
Legal Topics: Originality, Material Form, Literary Work, Copyright Subsistence

Intellectual Property Copyright Law Originality Material Form Literary Work Copyright Subsistence

Case Brief

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Parties

Plaintiff

Applicant

Defendant

Respondent

Mrs. Cunningham

Third Party

Procedural Posture

Legal Issues

1 Whether the plaintiff's recitation constitutes an original literary work under the Copyright Act, 1963
2 Whether copyright subsists in a work not reduced to writing but recorded on tape
3 Whether the plaintiff's recitation was original or merely a copy

Ratio Decidendi

Court Disposition

appeal refused