Copyright Law – Protectable Work

“Goldfish-filled Telephone Booth”

Abstract

In the case of an item of contemporary art, a wide scope of protection cannot be expected under the prevailing understanding of the Copyright Act. However, through the analysis of the present case, it may be possible to give a certain degree of copyright protection to it by taking into account to a certain extent the following aspects: the idea underlying it when determining the copyrightability of it; the totality of the circumstances when judging similarity and infringement.