Re: Copyright in headlines

Eran Bareket <bareket[_at_]netvision.net.il> wrote:
>
> Shetland Times Ltd. v. Dr. J Wills et al [1997] F.S.R. 604 (Ct.
> Sess. O.H.)(Ireland) is directly pertinent to your query. The
> plaintiff owned and published a newspaper by the name "Shetland Times".
> They also operated an online edition of the paper, accessible through
> their site.

[snip]
> However, in light of the concession that a headline could be a
> literary work and since the headlines at issue (or at least some of
> them) involve eight or so words designedly put together for the purpose
> of imparting information, it appeared to me arguable that there was an
> infringement, at least in some instances.."
>
> This was an interlocutory decision and the Judge, much like yourself,
> was unable to rely on precedents ("authority"). However, the result
> and, albeit partly, the reasoning, seems correct.

In Scots law, such an interlocutory injunction simply means that there is an arguable case, not that the point is proven. One cannot use the Shetland Times case as any sort of precedent.

Professor Charles Oppenheim
Dept of Information and Library Studies
Loughborough University
Loughborough
Leics LE11 3TU

01509-223065
Fax 01509-223053
<c.oppenheim[_at_]lboro.ac.uk> Received on Thu Jun 11 1998 - 15:26:57 GMT