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Dramatic works meaning

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What does Dramatic works mean?
In legal practice, dramatic works are works intended for performance—such as plays, choreography and mime—comprising a sequence of action capable of being performed before an audience. In the UK, the term is defined in legislation (the copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988) and expressly includes a work of dance or mime; copyright arises when the work is original and recorded “in writing or otherwise.” Irish legislation (the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000) adopts a materially similar approach, including dance and mime and requiring fixation. Case law in both jurisdictions emphasises that a dramatic work is a work of action capable of performance. Key legal features: - Protects the expression of scenes, movement, stage business and structure, not mere ideas, concepts or general “formats.” - TV formats rarely qualify unless sufficiently detailed and fixed; sporting events and unscripted happenings generally do not. - A film is a separate copyright category; a film may embody, but is not itself, a dramatic work. Practical significance: authors (e.g., playwrights and choreographers) control copying, public performance, recording and communication to the public; moral rights usually apply. Term is typically life of the author plus 70 years. Usage is broadly consistent across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
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View the related Practice Notes about Dramatic works

PRACTICE NOTES
UK Music Copyright (CDPA 1988): Subsistence, Authorship and Ownership, Infringement and Authorisation, Defences, Remedies, Piracy, AI and Streaming

Copyright is a proprietary right that grants the owner the exclusive ability to perform, and to permit others to perform, particular acts in relation to the work. Under UK law, as contained in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988), there is a closed list of categories eligible for protection, namely: original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works sound recordings, films or broadcasts the typographical arrangement of published editions To qualify, a work falling within one of these categories must be fixed in some form. For example, writing down or electronically saving a song’s notes and lyrics creates a record that is protected, provided the work otherwise meets the CDPA 1988’s qualification requirements. For comprehensive guidance on those requirements and on subsistence generally, see Practice Notes: Copyright—protectable works and Copyright—subsistence and qualification. It is not necessary to register a work for copyright to arise. Court of Justice judgments This Practice Note includes references to Court of Justice judgments....

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PRACTICE NOTES
UK copyright protectable works: categorisation, originality/identifiability and fixation, artistic craftsmanship, design overlap and section 51, artist’s resale right, and post‑Brexit divergence from EU case law

Categorisation Copyright grants the proprietor the exclusive ability to carry out, and to authorise others to carry out, particular acts in respect of qualifying works. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) formally sets out categories of protected works, bringing certainty about the types recognised. However, the boundaries between these groupings have since become less distinct, partly because of the digital revolution and the growing intricacy of creative production. This has created uncertainty as to whether the CDPA 1988 categories are exhaustive—so that anything outside them is not protected—or whether copyright may subsist in creations not expressly listed in the statute. Debate therefore persists about the scope of protection available to works that defy neat classification under the statutory scheme. CDPA 1988, s 1(1) identifies the categories: original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works sound recordings, films or broadcasts, and typographical arrangements of published editions These headings delineate what the legislation regards as eligible subject matter. Earlier UK...

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PRACTICE NOTES
EU competition law and copyright exploitation: Articles 101/102 TFEU, exhaustion, territorial restrictions, geo-blocking, collective management and dominance abuses

What is copyright? Copyright safeguards the author’s original expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves. It does not hand the copyright owner a monopoly. Consequently, works that are alike or even identical may lawfully coexist provided they are not unauthorised reproductions. In the EU and the UK, protection arises automatically and requires no registration. In general, copyright protects original: musical, dramatic, literary and artistic works (all of which must be fixed in some form) sound recordings films typographical arrangements of published editions and broadcasts databases (which may fall under a database right or copyright) source code, user code and preparatory design material, and in some cases a user interface, logic, algorithms or programming languages Exhaustion of rights and parallel trade within the EEA Existence v exercise At the heart of the EU’s approach are rules securing the free movement of goods between Member States. Article 34 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union...

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View the related Precedents about Dramatic works

PRECEDENTS
Precedent: Particulars of Claim for Copyright Infringement (High Court IP List/IPEC, England and Wales)

Case No. [ insert number ] IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND & WALES INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LIST (ChD) [ INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ENTERPRISE COURT ] Between [ insert full name of claimant ] (the Claimant) and [ insert full name of defendant ] (the Defendant) PARTICULARS OF CLAIM The Claimant The Claimant has, at all material times, been and remains [ insert details of claimant ]. The Claimant’s principal business activity is [ insert type of business carried out ]. In particular, the Claimant [ insert brief description of claimant’s business relating to the copyright work or works ]. The Claimant has, throughout all material times, owned and continues to own the copyright in the [ insert details of relevant work ] (the Work). Pursuant to section 1 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, copyright subsists in the Work as a [ insert type of copyright work, for example...

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