Droit d'auteur

“UK court discusses copyright protection of fictional characters and defences for parody and pastiche” by Eleonora ROSATI

Can a fictional character be protected as a self standing copyright work? If so, what is the test to be applied? In a judgment handed down yesterday - Shazam v Only Fools The Dining Experience and Others [2022] EWHC 1379 (IPEC) - the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) answered 'yes' and applied guidance derived from EU law, including the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Cofemel (Katposts here). Let's see what happened. Background Only Fools and Horses (OFAH) is a successful BBC TV series that ran between 1981 and 1991, with also some Christmas specials until 2003. The main character is a market trader, Derek...