United Kingdom Law on Works of Artistic Craftsmanship
32.Section 4(1) of the CDPA includes within the scope of protected artistic works “a work of artistic craftsmanship”, but does not provide any further definition on what that term means. The leading case on the scope of works of artistic craftsmanship is Hensher, in which the House of Lords unanimously held that the prototype piece of furniture before them was not a work of artistic craftsmanship. In that case, the defendants had conceded at trial that the furniture was a work of craftsmanship, so the only issue before the House of Lords was whether it was a work of artistic craftsmanship.33.In Response Clothing, HHJ Hacon said this about Hensher:“It is not a straightforward judgment, as has been acknowledged since. In Lucasfilm Ltd v Ainsworth [2011] UKSC 39; [2012] 1 AC 208 Lord Walker and Lord Collins (in a combined judgment with which Lord Phillips and Lady Hale agreed) concurred (at [29]) with Mann J’s assessment at first instance that it was difficult to identify the true principle of the judgment in Hensher and thus a meaning given to ‘artistic craftsmanship’ by the House of Lords. The Supreme Court in Lucasfilm was not required itself to reach a view on the meaning because after the first instance judgment the claimant no longer contended that its Imperial Stormtrooper helmets and armour, the articles in issue, were works of artistic craftsmanship.”34.I respectfully agree with that analysis. However, as Counsel for the Defendant relied in detail on the speeches of the five Law Lords, I will take each in turn. 35.Giving his judgment first, Lord Reid initially explained the significance of the intention of the individual(s) who created or designed an item but he did not (at page 78) consider the creator’s intention to create something artistic to be “either necessary or conclusive”. He went on to hold at page 79 (emphasis added):“I am quite unable to agree with the view of the Court of Appeal ante, p. 72F-G, that “there must at least be expected in an object or work that its utilitarian or functional appeal should not be the primary inducement to its acquisition or retention.”
- David Stone (sitting as Deputy High Court Judge) :
- The Application
- The Law on Strike Out/Summary Judgment
- On the other hand it is not uncommon for an application under Pt 24 to give rise to a short point of law or construction and, if the court is satisfied that it has before it all the evidence necessary for the proper determination of the question and that the parties have had an adequate opportunity to address it in argument, it should grasp the nettle and decide it. The reason is quite simple: if the respondent’s case is bad in law, he will in truth have no real prospect of succeeding on his claim or successfully defending the claim against him, as the case may be. Similarly, if the applicant’s case is bad in law, the sooner that is determined, the better
- However, it is not enough simply to argue that the case should be allowed to go to trial because something may turn up which would have a bearing on the question of construction
- Background
- The Defendant’s Strike Out Case
- United Kingdom Law on Works of Artistic Craftsmanship
- The whole conception of artistic craftsmanship appears to me to be to produce things which are both useful and artistic in the belief that being artistic does not make them any less useful.
- EU Copyright Law
- Declaration
- Conclusion