Claim No: IP-2022-000053 - [2025] EWHC 1827 (IPEC)

As I have set out above, IPEC procedure requires that matters to be decided by the Court at trial are listed in the List of Issues. Therefore, as moral rights infringement was not so listed, there is no need for me to determine it and I decline in the exercise of my case management discretion to do so. However, in case I am wrong in that, I set out my findings below, based on the brief argument that was put to me at the trial.

The allegation of moral rights infringement is made only against GM Drinks and only in respect of First Label Products put into circulation in the United Kingdom after 13 April 2020. As set out above, this is a comparatively very small number of bottles (approximately 5,880 bottles).

The CDPA provides:

“s.77 Right to be identified as author or director

(1)

The author of a copyright literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, and the director of a copyright film, has the right to be identified as the author or director of the work in the circumstances mentioned in this section; but the right is not infringed unless it has been asserted in accordance with section 78…

…

(4)

The author of an artistic work has the right to be identified whenever—

(a)

the work is published commercially or exhibited in public, or a visual image of it is communicated to the public;…

s.78 Requirement that right be asserted.

(1)

A person does not infringe the right conferred by section 77 (right to be identified as author or director) by doing any of the acts mentioned in that section unless the right has been asserted in accordance with the following provisions so as to bind him in relation to that act.

(2)

The right may be asserted generally, or in relation to any specified act or description of acts—

…

(b)

by instrument in writing signed by the author or director.

(3)

The right may also be asserted in relation to the public exhibition of an artistic work—

(a)

by securing that when the author or other first owner of copyright parts with possession of the original, or of a copy made by him or under his direction or control, the author is identified on the original or copy, or on a frame, mount or other thing to which it is attached, or

…

(4)

The persons bound by an assertion of the right under subsection (2) or (3) are—

…

(b)

in the case of an assertion under subsection (2)(b), anyone to whose notice the assertion is brought;

(c)

in the case of an assertion under subsection (3)(a), anyone into whose hands that original or copy comes, whether or not the identification is still present or visible;…

The Work was signed by Ms Martin. Whilst this would have been extremely difficult to see on the copy of the Work forwarded by Ms Martin by email to Mr Patch on 13 April 2020, it was open to Mr Patch to enlarge the image to view Ms Martin’s signature. Ms Martin also asserted her authorship of the Work at that time. As the First Label Products distributed to the public in the United Kingdom by GM Drinks from shortly after 13 April 2020 did not carry an acknowledgement of Ms Martin’s authorship, in my judgment, Ms Martin would have succeeded under section 77 of the CDPA had she been permitted to run the point.