ABSTRACT

Section 11 of the CDPA 1988 provides that the author of a work is the first owner in any copyright unless an author is an employee who creates the work in the course of employment. Authorship is determined by reference to ss 9 and 10 of the CDPA 1988, s 9 stating that the author is the person who creates the work, while s 10 provides that where two or more authors collaborate in the creation of a work, and the contribution of each is not distinct, then the work will be of joint authorship. If Arthur was an employee, Hal would be entitled to the copyright in any program produced. Each case will turn on its facts and the court may look at a number of factors. However, if Arthur was an independent subcontractor, the answer could be different. Hal Corporation might rely on the obiter view of the Court of Appeal in Massine v de Basil (1936-45). ‘But even if the author could rightly be regarded as an independent contractor the court was of the opinion that it ought to be implied as a term of the agreement that any work done by the plaintiff would be done on the basis that the [company] who had paid for the work should be entitled to such rights as might arise from that payment, and that [it] should not be deprived of the benefit of it merely on the ground that a person whom [it] paid was an independent contractor.’