COURT: High court, Uk

CASE: Donoghue v. Allied Newspapers, Ltd. (1937) 3 All ER 503

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 6 July 1937

BENCH: Farwell, J.

This case is related to copyright

FACTS:
Journalist S. T. Felstead utilized an interview with the plaintiff, a well-
known jockey, regarding his escapades. The tabloid "News of the World"
ran a series of pieces about him titled "Steve Donoghue's Racing Secrets,
Enthhhralling Stories of the Sport of Kings." Mr. Donoghue gave his
approval to every piece before it was published.

In order to create fresh work, Mr. Falstead intended to utilize the

content from these articles in a piece titled "My Racing Secrets. By
Steve" that was going to be published in the publication "Guides and
Ideas." This piece was essentially a shortened version of the earlier
pieces. Mr. Donoghue was not in favor of the new work's publishing.
Then, claiming copyright infringement, he proceeded to the court to get
an injunction prohibiting the dissemination of the aforementioned work.

Section 2(d), section 2 (z), section 13 and section 17 of copyright act

were of high value for this case.

ISSUES:
under the then-current Copyright Act 1911, the primary question on the
court's agenda was whether the Plaintiff was, or was not, the only
author or co-author of the published pieces in the "News of the World."

DEFENDANT’S ARGUMENTS:
The defendant company put forth three arguments: first, Mr. Donoghue
wasn't the sole or joint owner of the copyright in the articles; second,
any existing copyright had been equitably assigned to the News of the
World through an agreement; and third, Mr. Donoghue had initially
consented to publication, despite later attempts to retract that consent.
COURT’S OBSERVATION:
The court found that while ideas are valuable, they only become
copyrightable when expressed in a tangible form like writing or art. Mr.
Donoghue provided ideas for articles, but Mr. Felstead's language and
expression made him the article's author. Simply having an idea doesn't
grant copyright; it's the form of expression that matters. Therefore, Mr.
Donoghue couldn't claim ownership, and the court ruled against him in
the case regarding the 'News of the World' articles.

CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, this case emphasizes that copyright protects the
expression of a work, not its underlying ideas, themes, or concepts.
Taking an idea and creating a different work based on it doesn't infringe
on copyright.