In Today's News: Two Major Copyright Rulings From the UK (w/ Full Text of Opinions)

1. “The Court of Appeal in London has today upheld a ruling that headlines and web links taken from newspapers websites are protected by copyright.” (via Managing IP)

Case: NLA v Meltwater & PRCA

Full Text of Ruling (via BAILII)

• “Winners And Losers In The News Aggregator Copyright Case” (via paidContent)

“PRCA and Meltwater are trying to broaden the case out, painting it as an internet-wide assault on consumers’ ability to use the humble hyperlink. But this ruling – as bizarre as it may seem when applied in the digital age – affects commercial operators alone, and is not so much about links per se as about the headlines and story text aggregators copy in order to deliver those links. Licenses are not sought from free aggregators like Google News.”

• Interview with David Pugh of Newspaper Licensing Agency (via eConsultancy)

• Meltwater News Release

• Newspaper Licensing Agency News Release

2. “UK Supreme Court Extends Copyright Jurisdiction” (via Managing Intellectual Property)

“English courts have jurisdiction to hear disputes over US copyright involving English defendants, the UK Supreme Court ruled today.” Complete Report from the BBC

Case: Lucasfilm Limited and others (Appellants) v Ainsworth and another (Respondents)

• Full Text of UK Supreme Court Judgment (PDF)

• Full Text of UK Supreme Court Press Summary (PDF)

Filed under: Interviews, News, Profiles