(1)This Part restates and amends the law of copyright, that is, the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956, as amended.
(2)A provision of this Part which corresponds to a provision of the previous law shall not be construed as departing from the previous law merely because of a change of expression.
(3)Decisions under the previous law may be referred to for the purpose of establishing whether a provision of this Part departs from the previous law, or otherwise for establishing the true construction of this Part.
Cases considering section 172 4
[2003] EWCA Civ 995 · 11 July 2003
The provision is used as a continuity principle: a corresponding provision in Part I should not be construed as departing from the previous law merely because its expression has changed. It supported the court’s cautious treatment of the linguistic differences between the two Acts. (see para [20])
[2012] EWHC 1296 (QB) · 24 May 2012
Section 172(2) allowed the court to refer to decisions under the previous copyright law when deciding whether the current provision departed from that law. The court used that route in construing section 85. (see paras [325]-[334])
2 more judgments, and what each says about section 172, are in the
case-law panel in the full Act.