Copyright: Norowzian v Arks Ltd & Anor (No. 2) [1999] EWCA Civ 3014
I wrote a note on Mr Justice Rattee's decision in Norowzian v Arks Ltd and Others [1998] EWHC 315 (Ch) (17 July 1998) some 10 years ago and updated it slightly after the appeal was dismissed ([1999] EWCA Civ 3014). I had another look at the case while updating the IP/IT Update website and found that Lord Justice Nourse's decision contained some interesting dicta on the nature of copyright, originality and the interface between film and dramatic copyrights. The Issue The question was whether a young director's show reel, "Joy" , had been copied. The claimant had made a film which Mr Justice Rattee described as a very short film with no dialogue : it was shot by Mr Norowzian on the flat rooftop of a building in London. The set was merely a canvas sheet draped over an existing structure on the roof where the filming took place. The cast consists of one man only, casually dressed, and the whole action of the film consists of that one man dancing to music. He ...