Music copyright issues concerning joint authorship

Abstract

This dissertation attempts to answer the question: Do the legal principles and tests established through case-law truly determine whether all the relevant contributors who deserve to be awarded for their input are joint authors or not? It evaluates the main requirements to obtain copyright as a joint author: namely that a work be original and that there be significant contribution through collaboration. Maltese courts generally follow British doctrine on the subject, yet, the CJEU’s requirements for originality are different from those in the UK. In practice there is not such a large difference and Malta’s lack of definition for originality allows it to follow the CJEU’s doctrine without the necessity of amending the law. Furthermore, it is possible to obtain joint authorship by arranging or adapting a musical score, as long as certain requirements are fulfilled. It is necessary that contributions are non-distinct and significant. It is possible for performers to gain joint authorship through their performances if they satisfy the requirements. Ideas on their own cannot warrant joint authorship but their expression might – as held in ‘Kogan vs Martin.’ Courts across the EU perform different tests to determine joint authorship, which are compared and contrasted with those conducted in Britain and Malta. A recent British judgement might provide clarifications on joint authorship and might have ramifications on the current understanding of the subject. The dissertation concludes that current Maltese law allows for an easy transition to determine originality from British-based doctrine to CJEU interpretations; that an appropriate test for contribution ought to take into consideration both its qualitative and quantitative aspects; and that legislators ought to consider introducing ‘intention’ as a requirement for joint authorship to provide more consistency.