Time to repeal section 9(3) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988: new insights from the lobbying and drafting history behind the infamous United Kingdom computer-generated works regime

Time to repeal section 9(3) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988: new insights from the lobbying and drafting history behind the infamous United Kingdom computer-generated works regime

Journal article

1 online resource

The question of whether copyright protects computer-generated outputs grips the public attention. The Intellectual Property Office recently sought views on whether s.9(3) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 should be retained, amended or removed. This discussion provides a comprehensive and critical account of the lobbying and drafting history underpinning s.9(3). Informed by original archival research, this exploration demystifies the legislative history behind the computer-generated work regime. It shows that lobbyists were concerned the Copyright Act 1956 insufficiently protected computer outputs unless a human author had direct control over the conception and execution of the work. They called on the government to introduce related rights protection, similar to the protection of sound recordings and films. However, contrary to the lobbyists’ concerns, the courts have been prepared to extend traditional authorial copyright to highly automated computer outputs. The remaining scope of s.9(3), therefore, *95 becomes ever narrower. The provision is seemingly unnecessary and so could be repealed without causing much uncertainty. Thus, it is suggested that the IPO should seek to omit s.9(3).

Crossref

Intellectual Property Quarterly ; I.P.Q. 2025, 2, 94-152

[New York, NY] : Thomson Reuters, 2025.

English

https://1.next.westlaw.com/Copyright

External Online Journals > Intellectual Property Quarterly