Part one Is there any protection in copying the footie fixtures

13 May 2010

Can I reproduce the football fixtures or is it copyright infringment

The law can be found in the following pieces of legislation namely the legislation which is sought to protect the English and Scottish (football) Premier Leagues and football leagues known as the the Fixture Lists.

The legislation

Copyright as a database under section 3 and 3A of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 ("CDPA 1988") and the sui generis database right pursuant to the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/3032) ("the Database Regulations"), which sought to enact and give effect to European Parliament and Council Directive 96/9/EC on the Legal Protection of Databases ("the Database Directive").

The arguments in favour of protection rely on the fact that "each of the Fixture Lists is a collection of independent works, data and/or other materials which are arranged in a systematic or methodical way and are individually accessible by electronic or other means", and as a consequence copyright subsists in the Fixture Lists.

The main problem with this statement is that it is argued by many that the Fixture Lists do not satisfy the definition of originality in section 3A(2) of the CDPA and they fail to satisfy the requirements of a literary work. In addition the Database Regulations do not apply as there has been no substantial investment in the obtaining, verification or presentation of the contents of the Fixture Lists as required by regulation 13 of the Databases Regulation.

It was therefore left to the court in a recent decision to ask the following questions namely :-

"i) are the Fixture Lists original literary works within section 3A(2)?

ii) has there been investment in obtaining, verification or presentation within Regulation 12?

iii) does copyright subsist in the Fixture Lists irrespective of whether it is a database"

In addition the task for the court is as follows:

i) Identify the data which is collected and arranged in the database;

ii) Analyse the work which goes into the creation of the database by collecting and arranging the data so identified, to isolate that work which is properly regarded as selection and arrangement;

iii) Ask whether the work of selection and arrangement was the author's own intellectual creation and in particular whether it involved the author's judgment, taste or discretion;

iv) Finally one should ask whether the work is quantitatively sufficient to attract copyright protection.

Michael Coyle is a Copyright Solicitor Advocate and can be contacted at michael.coyle@lawdit.co.uk or on the office numbers at 02380 235979. Lawdit Solicitors is a commercial law firm specialising in all aspect of commercial and IP/IT law.