THE PLOT THICKENS

Dan Brown, author of the blockbuster “The Da Vinci Code” has been defending a claim of copyright infringement from the authors of an earlier book, “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail” who claim that he lifted themes and theories from their ‘near-history’ book.

In the UK, copyright protects the words and the form in which ideas are expressed but not the ideas themselves. If Dan Brown had simply copied chunks of text from the claimants’ book their claim would have been a straightforward matter. However the allegation here is that Dan Brown has copied themes or theories, rather than words. If, as Dan Brown claims, the theories he has used in his book were already in the public domain before both books were written, then the claimants cannot claim ownership of them.

Judgment is now reserved for a few weeks (watch this space). In the event that the claim succeeds, which on the present evidence seems unlikely, authors will have to reconsider the use of sources from which they draw their ideas. There is potential for a flood of claims from disgruntled writers who believe they have had their ideas copied by more successful authors.

PERFORMERS' MORAL RIGHTS

Since February performers have joined authors, composers and directors in enjoying the benefit of “moral rights”. As a result of a change in the law, performers can exercise the right to be identified as a performer in connection with live performances, live broadcasts and sound recordings of performances. They can also object to “derogatory treatment” of a performance. The regulations do not apply to audio-visual recordings of performances but will apply to film soundtracks released as sound recordings.

The rights have to be asserted by performers. They can also be waived and exceptions to the provisions include instances where identifying the performer is not reasonably practicable and where performances form part of advertisements. The right to be identified as a performer does not extend to individuals performing as part of a choir or group. For those of you who engage performers, contracts and credit guidelines will need reviewing to ensure they comply with these new arrangements. A breach of these rights can give the performer the opportunity to seek to prevent you from using their performance – which could prevent an event from going ahead in some cases.