Copyright in Ideas: Equitable Ownership of Copyright

Abstract:

One of the fundamental principles of copyright law is that copyright does not protect ideas, but only the expression of ideas. This is referred to as the expression versus idea dichotomy. According to this principle, a person who contributes only an idea to a copyright work cannot claim authorship or joint authorship of that work. Instead, it is the author or creator of the work who becomes the sole copyright owner, even when the idea appropriated by the author was the sine qua non for the creation of the work. This article delves into the concept of equitable ownership of copyright. It reviews jurisprudence regarding equitable copyright in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Hong Kong and finds that only in Canada has this issue been neglected in legal discourse. It examines the possibility of using the law of equity to assist contributors of ideas who cannot claim legal ownership of copyright under the Copyright Act.