“a work consisting of music, exclusive of any words or action intended to be sung, spoken or performed with the music.”
“sounds in melodic or harmonic combination whether produced by voice or instruments.”
“Music is primarily intended for appreciation by the ear. Hence whenever a question arises in the field of musical copyright, such as originality or infringement, scholarly analysis may be useful, but the impact on the ear is ultimately more important; what it sounds like matters more than the notes which are written down.”
“… in general the product of the mind of a human author which is intended to be performed by the production of a combination of sounds to be appreciated by the ear for reasons other than linguistic content, the originality of the work resulting from the exercise of substantial independent skill, judgment or creative labour expended on its creation as opposed to its mere interpretation.”
“What the claimant to joint authorship of a work must establish is that he has made a significant and original contribution to the creation of the work and that he has done so pursuant to a common design. See, for example, Stuart v. Barrett [1994] E.M.L.R. 448. It is not necessary that his contribution to the work is equal in terms of either quantity, quality or originality to that of his collaborators. Nor, in the case of a song, does it matter that his contribution is to the orchestral arrangement of the song rather than to the song itself.”
“… it is the product of the labour, skill and capital of one man which must not be appropriated by another, not the elements, the raw material, if one may use the expression, upon which the labour and skill and capital of the first have been expended. To secure copyright for this product it is necessary that labour, skill and capital should have been expended sufficiently to impart to the product some quality or character which the raw material did not possess, and which differentiates the product from the raw material.”
“The word “original” does not in this connection mean that the work must be the expression of original or inventive thought. Copyright Acts are not concerned with the originality of ideas, but with the expression of thought, and, in the case of “literary work”, with the expression of thought in print or writing. The originality which is required relates to the expression of the thought. But the Act does not require that the expression must be in an original or novel form, but that the work must not be copied from another work - that it should originate from the author. In the present case it was not suggested that any of the papers were copied. Professor Lodge and Mr Jackson proved that they had thought out the questions which they set, and that they made notes or memoranda for future questions and drew on those notes for the purposes of the questions which they set. The papers which they prepared originated from themselves, and were, within the meaning of the Act, original. It was said, however, that they drew upon the stock of knowledge common to mathematicians, and that the time spent in producing the questions was small. These cannot be the tests for determining whether copyright exists. If an author, for the purposes of copyright, must not draw on the stock of knowledge which is common to himself and others who are students of the same branch of learning, only those historians who discovered fresh historical facts could acquire copyright for their works.”
“That passage was cited with approval in the House of Lords in Ladbroke (Football) Ltd. v. William Hill (Football) Ltd [1964] 1 W.L.R. 273 at pp. 277-78 per Lord Reid, where he stated that there was no dispute about the meaning of the term “original”
“Take the simplest case of artistic copyright, a painting or a photograph. It takes great skill, judgment and labour to produce a good copy by painting or to produce an enlarged photograph from a positive print, but no one would reasonably contend that the copy painting or enlargement was an “original” artistic work in which the copier is entitled to claim copyright. Skill, labour or judgment merely in the process of copying cannot confer originality. ………. There must in addition be some element of material alteration or embellishment which suffices to make the totality of the work an original work. Of course, even a relatively small alteration or addition quantitatively may, if material, suffice to convert that which is substantially copied from an earlier work into an original work. Whether it does so or not is a question of degree having regard to the quality rather than the quantity of the addition. But copying, per se, however much skill or labour may be devoted to the process, cannot make an original work. A well executed tracing is the result of much labour and skill but remains what it is, a tracing. Moreover it must be borne in mind that theCopyright Act 1956 confers protection on an original work for a generous period. The prolongation of the period of statutory protection by periodic reproduction of the original work with minor alterations is an operation which requires to be scrutinised with some caution to ensure that that for which protection is claimed really is an original artistic work.”
“I assume that Hyperion are aware that all three editions are registered with PRS and MCPS and will be eligible for the usual royalties unless they wish to make an offer in lieu.”
“3. The material is supplied solely for the above-mentioned recording. It must not be used for any other mechanical reproduction whatsoever, including silent or sound films, video, television, or radio transmission unless expressly agreed in writing in advance. Signature of this contract does not authorise Hyperion records or Ex Cathedra to sell on, or pass on the Matrix, nor to reissue such recording at a later date without further negotiation with Lionel Sawkins. All rights in this edition, including publication, performance and subsequent recordings by other parties are retained by Lionel Sawkins. 4. The Recording is notified to the Performing rights organisation of the country of recording, and the name of the copyright owner (Lionel Sawkins) is clearly stated on the recording packaging, the enclosed booklet and the recording itself.”
“To date, notwithstanding Hyperion’s wish to record the Works, no agreement has been reached between our client and Hyperion according to which our client has consented to Hyperion’s use of his copyright material. In the circumstances, please be aware that any unauthorised use of our client’s Works (and any infringement of his copyright therein) will entitle our client, at his discretion, to seek injunctive relief and/or damages amongst other remedies. Please accept this letter as notice that should Hyperion proceed on the basis outlined in your letter of15th October 2001 addressed to our client, a copy of which is attached, we anticipate receiving instructions to fully protect our client’s rights. Without prejudice to the foregoing, our client fully and unequivocally reserves his rights.”
“Payment of this invoice relates to use for the above-mentioned recording and does not entitle the hirer to use the recording for any other mechanical reproduction whatsoever unless expressly agreed in writing in advance. Payment of this invoice does not entitle the hirer to sell on or pass on the Matrix, nor to reissue such recording at a later date without further negotiation with Lionel Sawkins. All rights in these editions as notified to PRS Ltd and MCPS Ltd including publication, performance and subsequent recordings by other parties are retained by Lionel Sawkins”
“With thanks to Dr Lionel Sawkins for his preparation of performance materials for this recording.”
“© Copyright 2002 by Lionel Sawkins”