| Designer Guild Limited v. Russell Williams (Textiles) Limited (Trading As Washington DC) | |
|---|---|
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| Court | House of Lords |
| Decided | November 23, 2000 |
| Citation | [2001] E.C.D.R. 10 |
| Transcript | transcript |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Lord Bingham of Cornhill Lord Hoffmann Lord Hope of Craighead Lord Millett Lord Scott of Foscote |
Designer Guild Limited v. Russell Williams (Textiles) Limited,[1] is a leading House of Lords case on what constitutes copying in copyright infringement cases.[2] The House of Lords considered whether there was infringement of a fabric design. Although both the copyrighted work and the infringing design were different in detail, the overall impression of the designs was the same. This decision is significant because the House of Lords ruled that copyright infringement is dependent on whether the defendant copied a substantial portion of the original work, rather than whether the two works look the same.[3] The outcome suggests that in the United Kingdom the overall impression of a copyrighted work is protected if the copied features involved the labour, skill and originality of the author's work, even if the copyrighted work and infringing work are different in detail.[4]
- ^ Designers Guild Ltd v Russell Williams (Textiles) Ltd (t/a Washington DC), [2001] E.C.D.R. 10
- ^ 8 New Square: Intellectual Property. "Copyright, Designs and Related Rights". Retrieved 29 May 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Gillhams Solicitors. "Briefing Note - Copyright Infringement in Images & Photographs". Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ "United Kingdom – House of Lords Gives Expansive View of Copyright Protection". Ladas.com. Ladas & Parry LLP. February 2002. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.