Revisiting Copyright Principles Post THJ v Sheridan
restating copyright principles and dispelling some of the myths
This webinar continues the discussion reinforced by our position statement in response to the ruling by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales in the case of THJ vs Sheridan. BAPLA sought external and independent legal advice on this case to provide further clarification for our members, many of whom contacted us for guidance.
The case itself dealt with a software dispute and discussed copyright protection of graphic interfaces. While not applicable to photographs directly, the ruling restates the legal test determining copyright protection of all kinds of visual works, including photographs. The test has been applied by English courts since 2009 and, in short, grants copyright protection to works which are original, i.e., bear the marks of the author’s own intellectual creation. The originality resides, in particular, in the free and creative choices made by the photographer when creating the photograph, whether in setting up the scene, or in post-production.
We are pleased to welcome guest speakers Anthony Misquitta, General Counsel at the V&A and Consultant Solicitor at Keystone Law, Anna Skurczynska, Founder Director at Open Plan Law and Samuel Duerden from Open Plan Law. Anthony and Anna will clarify the term ‘out of copyright’, outline essential copyright principles and address common misconceptions that have arisen following this case, while Sam will give a brief summary and some background to the THJ vs. Sheridan case.
Speakers
Speakers
Speakers
Anthony Misquitta
Anthony Misquitta is the General Counsel at the V&A and a Consultant Solicitor at Keystone Law specialising in IP and contracts. Anthony also lectures on art, IP and related subjects for the Institute of Art & Law and the London School of Economics (LSE). He is a trustee of the Association for Cultural Enterprises, the William Morris Gallery and the Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art.
Anna Skurczyńska
Anna started her practice as a solicitor in the mergers & acquisitions at the international law firm of White & Case LLP. Over time she specialised in transactions involving IP assets leading her to focus on the protection of creativity.
In 2016, drawn back to private practice, Anna founded Open Plan Law with the ambition of offering innovative, engaged and collaborative legal services to creators of all kinds.
As legal relationships become increasingly complex in the globalised and tech-dominated economies, she firmly believes that those who treat legal advice as an indispensable element of their business will be at a competitive advantage.
She is a firm believer that legal services should be accessible, affordable and practical while delivered to the highest standards.
In 2018, Anna was shortlisted for the Law Society’s Excellence Award (Private Practice) and singled out for her contribution to the photography industry.
Anna is a photographic copyright expert on the British Copyright Council, and is a member of the Copyright Editorial Board at Lexis.
She is an Associate Lecturer in Media Law and Ethics at the University of the Arts (UAL) where, since the star of the Covid-19 pandemic, Anna has led a journalistic student project on the impact of the coronavirus on human rights.
Samuel Duerden
Samuel Duerden is a recently qualified solicitor at Open Plan Law and works on matters relating to intellectual property infringement, data protection and AI policy and licensing.
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Thank you to our Sponsors
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