Performing Copyright

Luke McDonagh is Assistant Professor in the Law Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

This is a well-researched book, providing arguments from both theoretical and empirical perspectives … the book’s approach to copyright and authorship generally, would appeal to all copyright professionals and particularly to theatre practitioners and scholars. The book is unreservedly recommended.

• 1. Introduction – Copyright and Authorship on Stage The Rationale for this Book Overview of Jurisdictional Limitations and Thematic Scope A Theoretical Approach to Law and Authorship Copyright’s Cultural Turn Empirical Methodology Using Bourdieu to Frame the Empirical Case Study Overview of Chapters 2. ‘The Play’s The Thing …’ But What’s the Play? And Who Owns It? IntroductionAssessing the Relevance of Literary Theory and Theatre Studies on Legal Issues of Authorship Tracing the Influence of Law on Theatre and Theatre on Law: The Role of the Inns of Court and the Impact of the Stationers’ Company in the Elizabethan and Jacobean Eras (1558–1625) Law and Theatre: Assessing the Theatrical Text and Authorship During the Elizabethan and Jacobean Eras (1558–1625) Ownership of Plays in the Elizabethan and Jacobean Eras (1558–1625) Theatrical Collaboration as Polyvocal Authorship in the Elizabethan and Jacobean Eras (1558–1625) An Unstable Text in the Elizabethan and Jacobean Eras (1558–1625) A Case Study on Authorial and Textual Instability – Thomas Kyd and The Spanish Tragedy 1594–1613 The Publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623) and the Beginning of his Acclamation as the English Author-Figure Par Excellence Was Ben Jonson the First Self-conscious ‘Author’ in English Theatre?How Reconceptualising Anonymity Influenced Authorship During the Seventeenth Century Censorship of Theatre Texts in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries Material Matters – Printing, ‘Piracy’ and ‘Blocking’ in the Pre-Statutory Copyright Era 1557–1709 The Changing Nature of Theatre and the Playwright’s Status, Post-Restoration (1660–1709) The Statute of Anne 1710 and the Recognition of Authors as Owners Changes to Theatrical Culture Post-Statute of Anne 1710 Defining the Boundaries of Copyright Protection under the Statute of Anne 1710 The Changing Appreciation of What Copyright Protected 1710–1832 – From the Print-commodity to thePerformance-commodity The Reforms Brought About by the 1833 Act and 1842 Act – The Right to Perform a ‘Dramatic Piece’ The Problem of Dramatisations Post-1833 Authorship and Joint Authorship Under the 1833 Act and 1842 Acts What Were the Boundaries of the ‘Dramatic Piece’ 1833–1911? US Comparison under the 1856 US Copyright Act International Copyright: The Berne Convention 1886 The Imperial Copyright Act 1911 Conclusion 3. Copyright Law and Performing Authorship in Theatre – Exploring the Contrasting Roles of the Playwright, Director and Performers IntroductionUnderstanding the Work in Modern Copyright Law Original Dramatic Works under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) 1988 Original Musical Works Original Literary Works Original Works in EU Copyright Law – Assessing the ‘Dematerialised’ Work of Originality Original Works – Comparative Insights Summary of the UK Position on Originality of Dramatic Works Authorship and Ownership of the Economic Rights Overview of Joint Authorship Joint Authorship of Dramatic Works in the UK Joint Authorship of Musical Works in the UK Joint Authorship – Comparative Insights Beyond the Individual – Exploring Theatrical Authorship as a Social Practice Evaluating the Original Dramatic Work as Theatrical Text – ‘Fully Formed’ or ‘Devised/Revised’? Joint Authorship: How Do Dramatic Works Get Created Via the Workshop Process? The Role of the Writer The Role of the Director The Role of the Actors (Performers) The Final ‘Transcendent’ Work Is the ‘Workshopped’ Play a Work of Joint Authorship? The Importance of Contracts Assessing the Legal Problems that can Arise from Sharing Ownership Conclusion 4. When Does Copyright Infringement Occur on ‘The Haunted Stage’? IntroductionClaims of Plagiarism and Infringement in Theatre in Historical Perspective 1709–1911 Infringement of Copyright under the 1911 Act and the 1956 Act Infringement of Copyright under the CDPA 1988 How Much (or How Little) Needs to be Copied? The Meaning of ‘Substantial Part’ Assessing the Copying of Plots and Characters in Light of the Idea/Expression Dichotomy New Adaptations of Public Domain Works Comparative InsightsHow Prevalent are Disputes in the UK Theatre Field? Empirical Insights The Defence of Fair Dealing under the CDPA The Purposes of Criticism or Review, Quotation and Parody in the CDPA Assessing the Fairness of the Dealing under the CDPA Comparative InsightsExploring the Possibility of Incorporating an Open ‘Fair Use’ Standard in the UK Conclusion 5. Copyright’s Role in Enforcing Credit and Control in Theatre IntroductionMoral Rights and Dramatic Works The Attribution Right The Integrity Right Investigating the ‘Integrity-based Objection’ in the Context of Theatre Godot (France) Heretic (Australia) Clybourne Park (Germany) The Playboy of the Western World (Ireland) Summary of Comparative Insights Analysing the ‘Aura’ of the Work of Drama Evaluating the ‘Trajectory’ of the Work of Drama The Link between the Play’s Trajectory and the Public Domain How Prevalent are Integrity-based Objections in Theatre Practice?What to do about Beckett? Views from the Field Examining the Play’s Trajectory – What Makes King Lear Different from Waiting for Godot? Conclusion 6. How Should Law Respond to the Challenges of the Theatrical Context? How Should Theatre Respond to Law? IntroductionThe History of Authorship of Plays and the Shifting Property Boundaries of Ownership – The Text as Commodity Copyright Law, Authorship and Joint Authorship of Plays in the Contemporary Theatre Field Copyright Infringement – A Rare Occurrence in the Contemporary Theatre Field? Copyright and Moral Rights in the Theatre Field – The Issue of Integrity Looms Large Conclusion