Coombs, Elinor (2020) May the Farce be with You: Confusing Sculptures Post-Lucasfilm. York Law Review, 1. pp. 36-48.
Abstract
This paper examines the copyright law relating to sculptures, particularly focusing on the UK’s decision in Lucasfilm v Ainsworth, which concerns Stormtrooper helmets from the Star Wars franchise, and whether they constituted sculptures under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The UK Supreme Court ruled the helmets not to be sculptures because of their utilitarian purpose as props in a film, meaning the helmets were unprotected by copyright law. This was a high-profile case for intellectual property law, but it unfortunately failed to clarify the already confused area. This paper discusses the statute and case law surrounding sculptures, and to what extent the UK courts successfully applied the law. It is concluded that whilst a great attempt was made to untangle the previously inconsistent case law, the Lucasfilm decision failed to do so.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Keywords: | Copyright Law Copyright law Intellectual property Sculptures |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Social Sciences (York) > The York Law School |
Depositing User: | Mr Carl Makin |
Date Deposited: | 12 May 2020 10:44 |
Last Modified: | 07 Jun 2023 14:01 |
Published Version: | https://www.york.ac.uk/law/york-law-review/volumes... |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | University of York |
Identification Number: | 10.15124/yao-mv4au734 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:160266 |
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Filename: COOMBS YLR SPRING 2020 V1 FINAL.pdf
Description: MAY THE FARCE BE WITH YOU: CONFUSING SCULPTURES POST-LUCASFILM