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Judgment date
Case number
S150/2003
Before
McHugh ACJ, Gummow, Kirby, Hayne, Callinan JJ
Catchwords
Copyright – Infringement – Television broadcast – Television programme broadcast by appellant contained excerpts from programmes previously broadcast by respondent – Each excerpt of brief duration – Meaning of the "subject matter" of broadcast copyright – Whether each visual image capable of being observed as a separate image on a television screen and accompanying sounds is "a television broadcast" in which copyright subsists – Whether a "substantial part" of a television broadcast must be copied to constitute infringement.
Statutes – Construction and interpretation – Relevance of legislative history and context – Relevance of legislative history and context of similar United Kingdom statute – Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), ss 25(4), 87.
Words and phrases – "broadcast", "television broadcast", "re-broadcast", "programme", "subject-matter", "substantial part", "fixation".
Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) – ss 14(1), 25(4), 87, 91, 101.
Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth) – ss 6(1), 14.