Examining design features of copyrights using hot area and track

Abstract

Features shared by two creative works are important factors to be examined in copyright trials. The study explored a highly subjective issue in graphic and pictorial infringement judgement. In the study, an eye tracker was used to measure the hot area and the track of 61 study subjects. The subjects were asked to look at three different portraits of Mona Lisa and the track of their eyeball movement recorded. The study results showed that (1) the study subjects’ hot area and track of Samples 1 to 3 were highly concentrated on the face of Mona Lisa followed by her hands. (2) Compared to female subjects, male subjects’ hot area and track were more concentrated on specific areas. (3) The handlebar moustache of Sample 2 and the round face of Sample 3 were the key features of these two works. The visual features of Samples 2 and 3 are significantly different from those of Sample 1. The study used the areas of a graphic or pictorial work that the viewer stared at without moving the eyeballs as a critical and objective reference for defining the visual feature of the work. It is the first time in the world that such an approach was tested, and the study results may be used as an important reference in judicial trials on copyright infringement.