DISMISSAL OF APPEAL

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29055, 18 November 1959, Page 8

DISMISSAL OF APPEAL

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fNJZ. Press Association—Copyright) SYDNEY, November 17.

The New South Wales Full Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed an appeal by John Fairfax and Sons Pty., Ltd., against a decision by Mr Justice Manning early this year. Mr Justice Manning had dismissed a writ of sequestration by the company against Australian Consolidated Press, Ltd., and a writ of attachment against King Watson, editor of the ‘‘Daily Telegraph.”' . John Fairfax and Sons Pty.., Ltd., publishers of the "Sydney Morning Herald” had sought the orders for alleged breaches of an injunction given by Mr Justice McLelland on January 3. The injunction prevents the “Daily Telegraph’’ from substantially copying "Herald” classified advertisements. .The Full Court awarded costs against John Fairfax and Sons. Their Honours said the injunction granted by Mr Justice McLelland could only be on the basis of infringement of copyright, for a newspaper had no exclusive right to items of news published by it. “The plaintiff’s claim to copyright rests solely on the fact that although the copyright in the text of each announcement belonged to the advertiser, who tendered it for publication, the skill and labour applied by the plaintiff’s employees conferred on it copyright in the relevant columns of announcements as published,” the judgment said. “After notice of the injunction was served on the defendant company, it ceased to reproduce the birth and death announcements published in the "Sydney Morning Herald” in the same literal form in which they had previously appeared in that newspaper.

"Thereafter, and in particular on January 5, 1959, it took steps to alter each announcement before publication in the “Daily Telegraph.” Their Honours said the only way the “Sydney Morning Herald” could have copyright on the announcements was in the arrangement of the columns. They said they had come to the conclusion that the injunction was deliberately worded to prohibit only a literal transcription.