CDPA 1988 s.152 – Appeal to the court on point of law

(1)An appeal lies on any point of law arising from a decision of the Copyright Tribunal to the High Court or, in the case of proceedings of the Tribunal in Scotland, to the Court of Session.

(2)Provision shall be made by rules under section 150 limiting the time within which an appeal may be brought.

(3)Provision may be made by rules under that section—

(a)for suspending, or authorising or requiring the Tribunal to suspend, the operation of orders of the Tribunal in cases where its decision is appealed against;

(b)for modifying in relation to an order of the Tribunal whose operation is suspended the operation of any provision of this Act as to the effect of the order;

(c)for the publication of notices or the taking of other steps for securing that persons affected by the suspension of an order of the Tribunal will be informed of its suspension.

Definitions used in section 152 3

the court

27 (1) In this Act “the court” means—

(a)in England and Wales, the High Court or any patents county court having jurisdiction by virtue of an order under section 287 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988,

(b)in Scotland, the Court of Session, and

(c)in Northern Ireland, the High Court.

Defined in Sch.4 para.38 · see it in the full Act

“the court” shall be construed in accordance with section 27 of this Act ;

Defined in Sch.4 para.38 · see it in the full Act

made

(2)Copyright does not subsist in a literary, dramatic or musical work unless and until it is recorded, in writing or otherwise; and references in this Part to the time at which such a work is made are to the time at which it is so recorded.

Defined in s.3(2) · see it in the full Act

publication

(3)In the case of a work of architecture in the form of a building, or an artistic work incorporated in a building, construction of the building shall be treated as equivalent to publication of the work.

Defined in s.175(3) · see it in the full Act

(1) In this Part “publication”, in relation to a work—

(a)means the issue of copies to the public, and

(b)includes, in the case of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, making it available to the public by means of an electronic retrieval system;

Defined in s.175(1) · see it in the full Act

Cases considering section 152 4

CSC Media Group Ltd v Video Performance Ltd

[2011] EWCA Civ 650 · 27 May 2011

Procedural: provides an appeal from the Tribunal to the High Court on a point of law. The Court held that a clarification and further-reasons procedure may be adapted to such appeals, with caution where the reasoning is fundamentally deficient (see paras [12], [89]-[90]).

CSC Media Group Ltd v Video Performance Ltd

[2010] EWHC 2094 (Ch) · 10 August 2010Interprets

Interprets the appeal jurisdiction as permitting an appeal only on a point of law. The court applied that limitation while identifying legally defective reasoning and failure to apply the statutory comparator requirement (see paras [18], [47]-[52]).

Phonographic Performance Ltd v British Hospitality Association & Ors

[2009] EWHC 209 (Ch) · 12 February 2010Interprets

Interprets section 152(1) as restricting appeals from the Copyright Tribunal to points of law. The appellate court may intervene for legal misdirection, failure to consider relevant matters, irrelevant considerations, inadequate reasoning or unsupported findings, but not merely because it would assess the facts differently. (see para [18])

1 more judgment, and what each says about section 152, are in the case-law panel in the full Act.