Australian courts to determine copyrights on a case-by-case basis

Australian courts to determine copyrights on a case-by-case basis

Overview

A recent case PrimaryHealthCareLtdvCommissionerofTaxation [2010] FCA419 highlighted the importance of "independent intellectual effort" in copyright cases.

Facts

The beneficial owner of a trust, the applicant, purchased certain medical and dental practices on behalf of the trust. The applicant alleged to obtain the copyrights interest as part of the purchase of practices, which fell under computableincome and as such was allowed for tax deductions from the net revenue of the trust. In this case, Copyrightwas claimedfor thefollowing:

Prescriptions

Healthsummaries

Referral letters

Consultation notesoftheacquired medicaland dental practices.

Findings

It was noted by Justice Stone that for a medical record to qualify as literary work it should contain some individual intellectual effort and so could copyright exist. All medical records that were claimed for copyrights were assessed by Justice Stone as follows:

Consultation notes that had only one author was considered continuous narrative, which displayedindependentintellectualeffort and so was qualifying for copyright protection. However, theconsultation notes that had multiple authors were restricted.

Prescription consisted onlyofthenamesofmedications, dosage and standard directions therefore was not qualified for copyright protection and also healthsummaries that had a listofprevious illnesses and actions were restricted.

The referral letters contained intellectual independent effect and content were driven bythepurposeoftheletters so it qualified for copyright protection.

Consultation notes that had only one author was considered continuous narrative, which displayedindependentintellectualeffort and so was qualifying for copyright protection. However, theconsultation notes that had multiple authors were restricted.

The referral letters contained intellectual independent effect and content were driven bythepurposeoftheletters so it qualified for copyright protection.

Outcome

Justice Stone found that in medical records like prescriptions,healthsummaries, referral letters and consultation notes do not involuntarily attract copyrights. So she determined that such records should be examined on a case by case basis which also displaysthelevelofindependentintellectualeffortthat would justify classifyingtherecord as an original literary work forthepurposesoftheCopyrightAct 1968.

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