Copyright and Computer Generated Materials

Tim Seidenspinner,Anne Fitzgerald

doi:10.15209/vulj.v3i1.25

Abstract

Computer generated materials are ubiquitous and we encounter them on a daily basis, even though most persons are unaware that this is the case. Blockbuster movies, television weather reports and telephone directories all include material that is produced by utilising computer technologies. Copyright protection for materials generated by a programmed computer was considered by the Federal Court and Full Court of the Federal Court in Telstra Corporation Limited v Phone Directories Company Pty Ltd. The court held that the White Pages and Yellow Pages telephone directories produced by Telstra and its subsidiary, Sensis, were not protected by copyright because they were computer-generated works which lacked the requisite human authorship. The Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) does not contain specific provisions on the subsistence of copyright in computer-generated materials. In the light of the decision of the Full Federal Court in Telstra v Phone Directories it is timely to consider whether specific provisions should be enacted to clarify the position of computer-generated works under copyright law.

Highlights

Much of the content we encounter on a daily basis is produced by computerised processes and there is little or no human input into the completed work
The issue of copyright protection for computer-generated materials has been examined in Australia on two separate occasions by independently-constituted Copyright Law Review Committees over a period of 10 years (1988 to 1998), the Committees’ recommendations for legislative clarification by the enactment of specific amendments to the Copyright Act have not yet been implemented and the legal position remains unclear
In the light of the decision of the Full Federal Court in Telstra v Phone Directories it is timely to consider whether specific provisions should be enacted to clarify the position of computer-generated works under copyright law and, in particular, whether the requirement of human authorship for original works protected under Part III of the Copyright Act should be reconceptualised to align with the realities of how copyright materials are created in the digital era

Summary

I: INTRODUCTION

Much of the content we encounter on a daily basis is produced by computerised processes and there is little or no human input into the completed work. 5 Telstra Corporation Limited v Phone Directories Company Pty Ltd [2010] FCAFC 149, Keane CJ, Perram and Yates JJ. The breakthrough which saw computer-generated works become commercially significant was the movie ‘Toy Story’, produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures in 1995, the first feature length computer-animated film. It was a huge success, grossing nearly $362 million worldwide, and was followed by two even more successful sequels, ‘Toy Story 2’ (1999) and ‘Toy Story 3’ (2010). Since ‘Toy Story’ was released, there have been many blockbuster films that contain or consist entirely of computer generated images, including, ‘Titanic’ (1997) and ‘Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace’ (1999). 8 Counsel for Telstra and Sensis, Mr N J Young, QC, in the hearing of the application for special leave to appeal to the High Court: [2011] HCATrans 248

II: ORIGINALITY AND AUTHORSHIP AS CORRELATES

II: USE OF COMPUTERS TO CREATE MATERIALS

III: COPYRIGHT AND COMPUTER-GENERATED WORKS

VI: TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED V PHONE DIRECTORIES PTY LTD

Findings

VII: REBOOTING THE DISCUSSION ON COPYRIGHT AND COMPUTER-GENERATED WORKS