[G.R. No. 166337.
March 7, 2005] Chan, for his part, filed his own answer to the complaint,
BAYANIHAN MUSIC vs. BMG
THIRD DIVISION
Gentlemen:
Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of this
Court dated MAR 7 2005.
G.R. No. 166337 (Bayanihan Music Philippines, Inc. vs. BMG
Records (Pilipinas) and Jose Mari Chan, et al.)
Subject of this petition for review on certiorari is the Decision
dated December 14, 2004[1] of the Court of Appeals in CA-
G.R. SP No. 69626, upholding the Order dated August 24,
2001 of the Regional Trial Court at Quezon City, Branch 90,
which found no merit in petitioner's application for the
issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction, along with the
Order dated January 10, 2002, which denied petitioner's
motion for reconsideration.
On July 16, 1973, private respondent Jose Mari Chan (Chan)
entered into a contract with petitioner Bayanihan Music
Philippines, Inc. (Bayanihan), whereunder the former
assigned to the latter all his rights, interests and participation
over his musical composition "Can We Just Stop and Talk A
While". On March 11, 1976, the parties entered into a similar
contract over Chan's other musical composition entitled
"Afraid For Love To Fade".
On the strength of the abovementioned contracts, Bayanihan
applied for and was granted by the National Library a
Certificate of Copyright Registration for each of the two
musical compositions, thus: November 19, 1973, for the song
"Can We Just Stop and Talk A While" and on May 21, 1980,
for the song "Afraid for Love To Fade."
Apparently, without the knowledge and consent of petitioner
Bayanihan, Chan authorized his co-respondent BMG Records
(Pilipinas) [BMG] to record and distribute the aforementioned
musical compositions in a then recently released album of
singer Lea Salonga.
In separate letters both dated December 7, 1999, petitioner
Bayanihan informed respondents Chan and BMG of its
existing copyrights over the subject musical compositions and
the alleged violation of such right by the two. Demands were
made on both to settle the matter with Bayanihan. However
no settlement was reached by the parties.
Hence, on August 8, 2000, Bayanihan filed with the Regional
Trial Court at Quezon City a complaint against Chan and
BMG for violation of Section 216 of Republic Act No. 8293,
otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code of the
Philippines, with a prayer for the issuance of Temporary
Restraining Order (TRO) and/or writ of preliminary injunction,
enjoining respondent BMG from further recording and
distributing the subject musical compositions in whatever form
of musical products, and Chan from further granting any
authority to record and distribute the same musical
compositions.
In its answer, BMG contended, among others, that: (1) the
acts of recording and publication sought to be enjoined had
already been consummated, thereby rendering moot
Bayanihan's prayer for TRO and/or preliminary injunction; and
(2) there is no clear showing that petitioner Bayanihan would
be greatly damaged by the refusal of the prayed for TRO
and/or preliminary injunction. BMG also pleaded a cross-
claim against its co-respondent Chan for violation of his
warranty that his musical compositions are free from claims of
third persons, and a counterclaim for damages against
petitioner Bayanihan.
thereunder alleging that: (1) it was never his intention to
divest himself of all his rights and interest over the musical
compositions in question; (2) the contracts he entered into
with Bayanihan are mere music publication agreements
giving Bayanihan, as assignee, the power to administer his
copyright over his two songs and to act as the exclusive
publisher thereof; (3) he was not cognizant of the application
made by and the subsequent grant of copyrights to
Bayanihan; and (4) Bayanihan was remissed in its obligations
under the contracts because it failed to effectively advertise
his musical compositions for almost twenty (20) years, hence,
he caused the rescission of said contracts in 1997. Chan also
included in his answer a counterclaim for damages against
Bayanihan.
After hearing the parties, the lower court came out with an
order denying Bayanihan's prayer for TRO, saying, thus:
After carefully considering the arguments and evaluating the
evidence presented by counsels, this Court finds that the
plaintiff has not been able to show its entitlement to the relief
of TRO as prayed for in its verified complaint (see Section 4,
Rule 58 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended),
hence, this Court is of the considered and humble view that
the ends of justice shall be served better if the aforecited
application is denied.
IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, the aforecited application or
prayer for the issuance of a TRO is denied.
SO ORDERED.
Thereafter, the same court, in its subsequent Order
dated August 24, 2001,[2]cralaw likewise denied Bayanihan's
prayer for a writ of preliminary injunction, to wit:
After carefully going over the pleadings and the pertinent
portions of the records insofar as they are pertinent to the
issue under consideration, this Court finds that the plaintiff
has not been able to show its entitlement to the relief of
preliminary injunction as prayed for in its verified complaint
(see Section 4, Rule 58 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure,
as amended), hence, this Court is of the considered and
humble view that the ends of justice shall be served better if
the aforecited application is denied, (see also Order dated
July 16, 2001).
IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, the application or prayer for
the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction is denied.
SO ORDERED.
Its motion for a reconsideration of the same order having
been likewise denied by the trial court in its next Order of
January 10, 2002,[3]cralaw petitioner Bayanihan then went to
the Court of Appeals on a petition for certiorari, thereat
docketed as CA-G.R. SP No. 69626, imputing grave abuse of
discretion on the part of the trial court in issuing the Orders of
August 24, 2001 and January 10, 2001, denying its prayers
for a writ of preliminary injunction and motion for
reconsideration, respectively.
In the herein assailed Decision dated December 14,
2004, the Court of Appeals upheld the challenged orders of
the trial court and accordingly dismissed Bayanihan petition,
thus:
WHEREFORE, finding neither flaw of jurisdiction nor taint of
grave abuse of discretion in the issuance of the assailed
Orders of the respondent court dated August 24, 2001 and
January 10, 2002, the instant petition is DISMISSED. No
costs.
SO ORDERED.[4]cralaw
Hence, Bayanihan's present recourse.
It is petitioner's submission that the appellate court committed
reversible error when it dismissed its petition for certiorari and
upheld the trial court's denial of its application for a writ of
preliminary injunction. Petitioner insists that as assignee of
the copyrights over the musical compositions in question, it
has a clear legal right to a writ of preliminary injunction; that
respondents BMG and Chan violated its copyrights over the
same musical compositions; that despite knowledge by
respondent BMG of petitioner's copyrights over the said
musical compositions, BMG continues to record and distribute
the same, to petitioner's great and irreparable injury.
We DENY.
We have constantly reminded courts that there is no power,
the exercise of which is more delicate and requires greater
caution, deliberation and sound discretion, or which is more
dangerous in a doubtful case, than the issuance of an
injunction. A court should, as much as possible, avoid issuing
the writ which would effectively dispose of the main case
without trial.
Here, nothing is more evident than the trial court's abiding
awareness of the extremely difficult balancing act it had to
perform in dealing with petitioner's prayer for injunctive reliefs.
Conscious, as evidently it is, of the fact that there is manifest
abuse of discretion in the issuance of an injunctive writ if the
following requisites provided for by law are not present: (1)
there must be a right in esse or the existence of a right to be
protected; and (2) the act against which the injunction is to be
directed is a violation of such right,[5]cralaw the trial court
threaded the correct path in denying petitioner's prayer
therefor. For, such a writ should only be granted if a party is
clearly entitled thereto.[6]cralaw
Of course, while a clear showing of the right to an injunctive
writ is necessary albeit its existence need not be conclusively
established,[7]cralaw as the evidence required therefor need
not be conclusive or complete, still, for an applicant, like
petitioner Bayanihan, to be entitled to the writ, he is required
to show that he has the ostensible right to the final relief
prayed for in its complaint.[8]cralaw Here, the trial court did not
find ample justifications for the issuance of the writ prayed for
by petitioner.
Unquestionably, respondent Chan, being undeniably the
composer and author of the lyrics of the two (2) songs, is
protected by the mere fact alone that he is the creator thereof,
conformably with Republic Act No. 8293, otherwise known as
the Intellectual Property Code, Section 172.2 of which reads:
172.2. Works are protected by the sole fact of their creation,
irrespective of their mode or form of expression, as well as of
their content, quality and purpose.
An examination of petitioner's verified complaint in light of the
two (2) contracts sued upon and the evidence it adduced
during the hearing on the application for preliminary
injunction, yields not the existence of the requisite right
protectable by the provisional relief but rather a lingering
doubt on whether there is or there is no such right. The two
contracts between petitioner and Chan relative to the musical
compositions subject of the suit contain the following identical
stipulations:
7. It is also hereby agreed to by the parties herein that in
the event the PUBLISHER [petitioner herein] fails to use in
any manner whatsoever within two (2) years any of the
compositions covered by this contract, then such composition
may be released in favor of the WRITER and excluded from
this contract and the PUBLISHER shall execute the
necessary release in writing in favor of the WRITER upon
request of the WRITER;
xxx xxx xxx
9. This contract may be renewed for a period of two-and-
one-half (2 1/2) years at the option of the PUBLISHER.
Renewal may be made by the PUBLISHER by advising the
WRITER of such renewal in writing at least five (5) days
before the expiration of this contract.[9]cralaw
It would thus appear that the two (2) contracts expired
on October 1, 1975 and March 11, 1978, respectively, there
being neither an allegation, much less proof, that petitioner
Bayanihan ever made use of the compositions within the two-
year period agreed upon by the parties.
Anent the copyrights obtained by petitioner on the basis of the
selfsame two (2) contracts, suffice it to say 'that such
purported copyrights are not presumed to subsist in
accordance with Section 218[a] and [b], of the Intellectual
Property Code,[10]cralaw because respondent Chan had put
in issue the existence thereof.
It is noted that Chan revoked and terminated said contracts,
along with others, on July 30, 1997, or almost two years
before petitioner Bayanihan wrote its sort of
complaint/demand letter dated December 7, 1999 regarding
the recent "use/recording of the songs 'Can We Just Stop and
Talk A While' and 'Afraid for Love to Fade,'" or almost three
(3) years before petitioner filed its complaint on August 8,
2000, therein praying, inter alia, for injunctive relief. By then, it
would appear that petitioner had no more right that is
protectable by injunction.
Lastly, petitioner's insinuation that the trial court indulged in
generalizations and was rather skimpy in dishing out its
reasons for denying its prayer for provisional injunctive relief,
the same deserves scant consideration. For sure, the manner
by which the trial court crafted its challenged orders is quite
understandable, lest it be subjected to a plausible suspicion
of having prejudged the merits of the main case.
WHEREFORE, petition is hereby DENIED.
SO ORDERED.
Very truly yours,
Lotus Development Corp. v. Borland International Inc.
U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
March 9, 1995
49 F.3d 807, 34 USPQ2d 1014
[Editor's note: This case is discussed in Legal Protection of
Digital Information in:
Chapter 2, Section III.C. (Methods of Operation).]
Stahl, J.
This appeal requires us to decide whether a computer
menu command hierarchy is copyrightable subject matter. In
particular, we must decide whether, as the district court <34
USPQ2d 1016> held, plaintiff-appellee Lotus Development
Corporations copyright in Lotus 1-2-3, a computer
spreadsheet program, was infringed by defendant-appellant
Borland International, Inc., when Borland copied the Lotus 1-
2- 3 menu command hierarchy into its Quattro and Quattro
Pro computer spreadsheet programs. See Lotus Dev.
Corp. v. Borland Intl, Inc., 788 F. Supp. 78 [22 USPQ2d
1641] (D. Mass. 1992) (Borland I); Lotus Dev.
Corp. v. Borland Intl, Inc., 799 F. Supp. 203 (D. Mass. 1992)
(Borland II); Lotus Dev. Corp. v. Borland Intl, Inc., 831 F.
Supp. 202 [30 USPQ2d 1081] (D. Mass. 1993) (Borland
III); Lotus Dev. Corp. v. Borland Intl, Inc.,831 F. Supp. 223
[30 USPQ2d 1081] (D. Mass. 1993) (Borland IV).
I. Background
 Lotus 1-2-3 is a spreadsheet program that enables
users to perform accounting functions electronically on a
computer. Users manipulate and control the program via a
series of menu commands, such as Copy, Print, and motion and granted Lotuss motion in part. The district court
Quit. Users choose commands either by highlighting them
on the screen or by typing their first letter. In all, Lotus 1-2-3
has 469 commands arranged into more than 50 menus and
submenus.
Lotus 1-2-3,like many computer programs, allows users
to write what are called macros. By writing a macro, a user
can designate a series of command choices with a single
macro keystroke. Then, to execute that series of commands
in multiple parts of the spreadsheet, rather than typing the
whole series each time, the user only needs to type the single
pre- programmed macro keystroke, causing the program to
recall and perform the designated series of commands
automatically. Thus, Lotus 1-2-3 macros shorten the time
needed to set up and operate the program.
Borland released its first Quattro program to the public
in 1987, after Borlands engineers had labored over its
development for nearly three years. Borlands objective was
to develop a spreadsheet program far superior to existing
programs, including Lotus 1-2-3. In Borlands words, [f]rom
the time of its initial release . . . Quattro included enormous
innovations over competing spreadsheet products.
The district court found, and Borland does not now
contest, that Borland included in its Quattro and Quattro Pro
version 1.0 programs a virtually identical copy of the entire 1-
2-3 menu tree. Borland III, 831 F. Supp. at 212 (emphasis in
original). In so doing, Borland did not copy any of Lotuss
underlying computer code; it copied only the words and
structure of Lotuss menu command hierarchy. Borland
included the Lotus menu command hierarchy in its programs
to make them compatible with Lotus1-2-3 so that spreadsheet
users who were already familiar with Lotus 1-2-3 would be
able to switch to the Borland programs without having to learn
new commands or rewrite their Lotus macros.
In its Quattro and Quattro Pro version 1.0 programs,
Borland achieved compatibility with Lotus 1-2-3 by offering its
users an alternate user interface, the Lotus Emulation
Interface. By activating the Emulation Interface, Borland
users would see the Lotus menu commands on their screens
and could interact with Quattro or Quattro Pro as if using
Lotus 1- 2-3, albeit with a slightly different looking screen and
with many Borland options not available on Lotus 1-2-3. In
effect, Borland allowed users to choose how they wanted to
communicate with Borlands spreadsheet programs: either by
using menu commands designed by Borland, or by using the
commands and command structure used in Lotus 1-2-3
augmented by Borland- added commands.
Lotus filed this action against Borland in the District of
Massachusetts on July 2, 1990, four days after a district court
held that the Lotus 1-2-3 menu structure, taken as a whole
including the choice of command terms [and] the structure
and order of those terms, was protected expression covered
by Lotuss copyrights. Lotus Dev. Corp. v. Paperback
Software Intl, 740 F. Supp. 37, 68, 70 [15 USPQ2d 1577] (D.
Mass. 1990) (Paperback).1 Three days earlier, on the
morning after the Paperback decision, Borland had filed a
declaratory judgment action against Lotus in the Northern
District of California, seeking a declaration of non-
infringement. On September 10, 1990, the district court in
California dismissed Borlands declaratory judgment action in
favor of this action.
Lotus and Borland filed cross motions for summary
judgment; the district court denied both motions on March 20,
1992, concluding that neither partys motion is supported by
the record. Borland I, 788 F. Supp. at 80 . The district court
invited the parties to file renewed summary judgment motions
that would focus their arguments more precisely in light of
rulings it had made in <34 USPQ2d 1017> conjunction with
its denial of their summary judgment motions. Id. at 82 . Both
parties filed renewed motions for summary judgment on April
24, 1992.In its motion, Borland contended that the Lotus 1-2-
3 menus were not copyrightable as a matter of law and that
no reasonable trier of fact could find that the similarity
between its products and Lotus 1-2-3 was sufficient to sustain
a determination of infringement. Lotus contended in its motion
that Borland had copied Lotus 1-2-3s entire user interface
and had thereby infringed Lotuss copyrights.
On July 31, 1992,the district court denied Borlands
ruled that the Lotus menu command hierarchy was
copyrightable expression because
[a] very satisfactory spreadsheet menu
tree can be constructed using different
commands and a different command
structure from those of Lotus 1-2-3.In fact,
Borland has constructed just such an
alternate tree for use in Quattro Pros
native mode. Even if one holds the
arrangement of menu commands
constant, it is possible to generate literally
millions of satisfactory menu trees by
varying the <49 F.3d 811> menu
commands employed.
Borland II, 799 F. Supp. at 217 . The district court
demonstrated this by offering alternate command words for
the ten commands that appear in Lotuss main menu. Id. . For
example, the district court stated that [t]he Quit command
could be named Exit without any other modifications, and
that [t]he Copy command could be called Clone, Ditto,
Duplicate, Imitate, Mimic, Replicate, and Reproduce,
among others. Id.. Because so many variations were
possible, the district court concluded that the Lotus
developers choice and arrangement of command terms,
reflected in the Lotus menu command hierarchy, constituted
copyrightable expression.
In granting partial summary judgment to Lotus, the
district court held that Borland had infringed Lotuss copyright
in Lotus 1-2-3:
[A]s a matter of law, Borlands Quattro
products infringe the Lotus 1-2-3 copyright
because of (1) the extent of copying of the
menu commands and menu structure
that is not genuinelydisputed in this case,
(2) the extent to which the copied
elements of the menu commands and
menu structure contain expressive
aspects separable from the functions of
the menu commands and menu
structure, and (3) the scope of those
copied expressive aspects as an integral
part of Lotus 1-2-3.
Borland II, 799 F. Supp. at 223 (emphasis in original).
The court nevertheless concluded that while the Quattro and
Quattro Pro programs infringed Lotuss copyright, Borland
had not copied the entire Lotus 1-2-3 user interface, as Lotus
had contended. Accordingly, the court concluded that a jury
trial was necessary to determine the scope of Borlands
infringement, including whether Borland copied the long
prompts2 of Lotus 1- 2-3, whether the long prompts contained
expressive elements, and to what extent, if any, functional
constraints limited the number of possible ways that the Lotus
menu command hierarchy could have been arranged at the
time of its creation. See Borland III, 831 F. Supp. at 207
.Additionally, the district court granted Lotus summary
judgment on Borlands affirmative defense of waiver, but not
on its affirmative defenses of laches and estoppel. Borland
II, 799 F. Supp. at 222-23 .
Immediately following the district courts summary
judgment decision, Borland removed the Lotus Emulation
Interface from its products. Thereafter, Borlands spreadsheet
programs no longer displayed the Lotus 1-2-3 menus to
Borland users, and as a result Borland users could no longer
communicate with Borlands programs as if they were using a
more sophisticated version of Lotus 1-2-3. Nonetheless,
Borlands programs continued to be partially compatible with
Lotus 1-2-3,for Borland retained what it called the Key
Reader in its Quattro Pro programs. Once turned on, the Key
Reader allowed Borlands programs to understand <34
USPQ2d 1018> and perform some Lotus 1-2-3 macros.3 With
the Key Reader on, the Borland programs used Quattro Pro
menus for display, interaction, and macro execution, except
when they encountered a slash (/) key in a macro (the
starting key for any Lotus 1-2-3 <49 F.3d 812> macro), in
which case they interpreted the macro as having been written
for Lotus 1-2-3. Accordingly, people who wrote or purchased
macros to shorten the time needed to perform an operation in
Lotus 1-2-3 could still use those macros in Borlands
programs.4 The district court permitted Lotus to file a
supplemental complaint alleging that the Key Reader
infringed its copyright.
The parties agreed to try the remaining liability issues
without a jury. The district court held two trials, the Phase I
trial covering all remaining issues raised in the original
complaint (relating to the Emulation Interface) and the Phase
II trial covering all issues raised in the supplemental complaint
(relating to the Key Reader). At the Phase I trial, there were
no live witnesses, although considerable testimony was
presented in the form of affidavits and deposition excerpts.
The district court ruled upon evidentiary objections counsel
interposed. At the Phase II trial, there were two live
witnesses, each of whom demonstrated the programs for the
district court.
After the close of the Phase I trial, the district court
permitted Borland to amend its answer to include the
affirmative defense of fair use. Because Borland had
presented all of the evidence supporting its fair-use defense
during the Phase I trial, but Lotus had not presented any
evidence on fair use (as the defense had not been raised
before the conclusion of the Phase I trial), the district court
considered Lotuss motion for judgment on partial findings of
fact. SeeFed. R.Civ. P. 52(c). The district court held that
Borland had failed to show that its use of the Lotus 1-2-3
menu command hierarchy in its Emulation Interface was a fair
use. See Borland III, 831 F. Supp. at 208 .
In its Phase I-trial decision, the district court found that
each of the Borland emulation interfaces contains a virtually
identical copy of the 1-2-3 menu tree and that the 1-2-3 menu
tree is capable of a wide variety of expression. Borland
III, 831 F. Supp. at 218 . The district court also rejected
Borlands affirmative defenses of laches and estoppel. Id.at
218-23 .
In its Phase II-trial decision, the district court found that
Borlands Key Reader file included a virtually identical copy
of the Lotus menu tree structure, but represented in a
different form and with first letters of menu command names
in place of the full menu command names. Borland IV, 831
F. Supp. at 228 . In other words, Borlands programs no
longer included the Lotus command terms, but only their first
letters. The district court held that the Lotus menu structure,
organization, and first letters of the command names . . .
constitute part of the protectable expression found in [Lotus 1-
2-3]. Id. at 233 . Accordingly, the district court held that with
its Key Reader, Borland had infringed Lotuss copyright. Id.at
245 . The district court also rejected Borlands affirmative
defenses of waiver, laches,estoppel, and fair use. Id.at 235-
45 . The district court then entered a permanent injunction
against Borland, id. at 245 , from which Borland appeals.
This appeal concerns only Borlands copying of the
Lotus menu command hierarchy into its Quattro programs
and Borlands affirmative defenses to such copying. Lotus
has not cross-appealed; in other words, Lotus does not
contend on appeal that the district court erred in finding that
Borland had not copied other elements of Lotus 1-2-3, such
as its screen displays.
II. Discussion
On appeal, Borland does not dispute that it factually
copied the words and arrangement of the Lotus menu
command hierarchy. Rather, Borland argues that it lawfully
copied the unprotectable menus of Lotus 1-2-3. Borland
contends that the Lotus menu command hierarchy is not
copyrightable because it is a system, method of operation,
process, or procedure foreclosed from protection by 17
U.S.C. Section 102(b). Borland also raises a number of
affirmative defenses. <49 F.3d 813>
A. Copyright Infringement Generally
To establish copyright infringement, a plaintiff must
prove (1) ownership of a valid copyright, and (2) copying of
constituent elements of the work that are original. Feist
Publications, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv.Co.,499 U.S. 340, 361 [18
USPQ2d 1275] <34 USPQ2d 1019> (1991); see also Data
Gen. Corp. v. Grumman Sys. Support Corp., 36 F.3d 1147,
1160 n.19 [32 USPQ2d 1385] (1st Cir. 1994); Concrete Mach.
Co. v. Classic Lawn Ornaments, Inc., 843 F.2d 600, 605 [6
USPQ2d 1357] (1st Cir. 1988). To show ownership of a valid
copyright and therefore satisfy Feists first prong, a plaintiff
must prove that the work as a whole is original and that the
plaintiff complied with applicable statutory formalities. See
Engineering Dynamics, Inc. v. Structural Software, Inc., 26
F.3d 1335, 1340 [31 USPQ2d 1641] (5th Cir. 1994). In
judicial proceedings, a certificate of copyright registration
constitutes prima facie evidence of copyrightability and shifts
the burden to the defendant to demonstrate why the copyright
is not valid. Bibbero Sys., Inc. v. Colwell Sys., Inc., 893 F.2d
1104, 1106 [13 USPQ2d 1634] (9th Cir. 1990); see also 17
U.S.C. Section 410(c); Folio Impressions, Inc. v. Byer
California, 937 F.2d 759, 763 [19 USPQ2d 1418] (2d Cir.
1991) (presumption of validity may be rebutted).
To show actionable copying and therefore
satisfy Feistssecond prong, a plaintiff must first prove that the
alleged infringer copied plaintiffs copyrighted work as a
factual matter; to do this, he or she may either present direct
evidence of factual copying or, if that is unavailable, evidence
that the alleged infringer had access to the copyrighted work
and that the offending and copyrighted works are so similar
that the court may infer that there was factual copying (i.e.,
probative similarity). Engineering Dynamics, 26 F.3d at 1340
; see also Concrete Mach., 843 F.2d at 606. The plaintiff must
then prove that the copying of copyrighted material was so
extensive that it rendered the offending and copyrighted
works substantially similar. See Engineering Dynamics, 26
F.3d at 1341 .
In this appeal, we are faced only with whether the
Lotus menu command hierarchy is copyrightable subject
matter in the first instance, for Borland concedes that Lotus
has a valid copyright in Lotus 1-2-3 as a whole5 and admits to
factually copying the Lotus menu command hierarchy. As a
result, this appeal is in a very different posture from most
copyright- infringement cases, for copyright infringement
generally turns on whether the defendant has copied
protected expression as a factual matter. Because of this
different posture, most copyright-infringement cases provide
only limited help to us in deciding this appeal. This is true
even with respect to those copyright-infringement cases that
deal with computers and computer software.
B. Matter of First Impression
Whether a computer menu command hierarchy
constitutes copyrightable subject matter is a matter of first
impression in this court. While some other courts appear to
have touched on it briefly in dicta, see,e.g.,Autoskill,
Inc. v. National Educ. Support Sys., Inc., 994 F.2d 1476, 1495
n.23 [26 USPQ2d 1828] (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 114 S. Ct.
307 (1993), we know of no cases that deal with the
copyrightability of a menu command hierarchy standing on its
own (i.e., without other elements of the user interface, such
as screen displays, in issue). Thus we are navigating in
uncharted waters.
Borland vigorously argues, however, that the Supreme
Court charted our course more than 100 years ago when it
decided Baker v. Selden, 101 U.S. 99 (1879).
In Baker v. Selden, the Court held that Seldens copyright
over the textbook in which he explained <49 F.3d 814> his
new way to do accounting did not grant him a monopoly on
the use of his accounting system.6 Borland argues:
The facts of Baker v.Selden, and even the
arguments advanced by the parties in that
case, are identical to those in this case.
The only difference is that the user
interface of Seldens system was
implemented by pen and paper rather
than by computer.
To demonstrate that Bakerv. Selden and this appeal
both involve accounting systems, Borland even supplied this
court with a video that, with special effects, shows Seldens
paper forms melting into a computer screen and
transforming into Lotus 1-2-3.
 We do not think that Bakerv. Selden is nearly as
analogous to this appeal as Borland claims. Of course, Lotus
1-2-3 is a computer <34 USPQ2d 1020> spreadsheet, and as
such its grid of horizontal rows and vertical columns certainly
resembles an accounting ledger or any other paper
spreadsheet. Those grids, however, are not at issue in this
appeal for, unlike Selden, Lotus does not claim to have a
monopoly over its accounting system. Rather, this appeal
involves Lotuss monopoly over the commands it uses to
operate the computer. Accordingly, this appeal is not, as
Borland contends, identical to Baker v. Selden.
C. Altai
Before we analyze whether the Lotus menu command
hierarchy is a system, method of operation, process, or
procedure, we first consider the applicability of the test the
Second Circuit set forth in Computer Assoc. Intl, Inc. v. Altai,
Inc., 982 F.2d 693 [23 USPQ2d 1241] (2d Cir. 1992).7 The
Second Circuit designed its Altai test to deal with the fact that
computer programs, copyrighted as literary works, can be
infringed by what is known as nonliteral copying, which is
copying that is paraphrased or loosely paraphrased rather
than word for word. See id. at 701 (citing nonliteral-copying
cases); see also 3 Melville B. Nimmer & David
Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright Section 13.03 [A] [1] (1993).
When faced with nonliteral-copying cases, courts must
determine whether similarities are due merely to the fact that
the two works share the same underlying idea or whether
they instead indicate that the second author copied the first
authors expression. The Second Circuit designed
its Altai test to deal with this situation in the computer context,
specifically with whether one computer program copied
nonliteral expression from another programs code.
The Altai test involves three steps: abstraction,
filtration, and comparison. The abstraction step requires
courts to dissect the allegedly copied programs structure
and isolate each level of abstraction contained within
it. Altai, 982 F.2d at 707 . This step enables courts to identify
the appropriate framework within which to separate
protectable expression from unprotected ideas. Second,
courts apply a filtration step in which they examine the
structural components at each level of abstraction to
determine whether their particular inclusion at that level was
idea or was dictated by considerations of efficiency, so as to
be necessarily incidental to that idea; required by factors
external to the program itself; or taken from the public
domain. Id. . Finally, courts compare the protected elements
of the infringed work (i.e., those that survived the filtration
screening) to the corresponding elements of the allegedly
infringing work to determine whether there was sufficient
copying of protected material to constitute infringement. Id.at
710 .
In the instant appeal, we are not confronted with
alleged nonliteral copying of computer code. Rather, we are
faced with Borlands deliberate, literal copying of the Lotus
menu command hierarchy. Thus, we must determine not
whether nonliteral copying occurred in some amorphous
sense, but rather whether the literal copying of the Lotus <49
F.3d 815> menu command hierarchy constitutes copyright
infringement.
While the Altai test may provide a useful framework for
assessing the alleged nonliteral copying of computer code,
we find it to be of little help in assessing whether the literal
copying of a menu command hierarchy constitutes copyright
infringement. In fact, we think that the Altaitest in this context
may actually be misleading because, in instructing courts to
abstract the various levels, it seems to encourage them to
find a base level that includes copyrightable subject matter
that, if literally copied, would make the copier liable for
copyright infringement.8 While that base (or literal) level would
not be at issue in a nonliteral-copying case like Altai, it is
precisely what is at issue in this appeal. We think that
abstracting menu command hierarchies down to their
individual word and menu levels and then filtering idea from
expression at that stage, as both the Altaiand the district court
tests require, obscures the more fundamental question of
whether a menu command hierarchy can be copyrighted at
all. The initial inquiry should not be whether individual <34
USPQ2d 1021>components of a menu command hierarchy
are expressive, but rather whether the menu command
hierarchy as a whole can be copyrighted. But see Gates
Rubber Co. v. Bando Chem. Indus., Ltd., 9 F.3d 823 [28
USPQ2d 1503] (10th Cir. 1993) (endorsingAltaisabstraction-
filtration-comparison test as a way of determining whether
menus and sorting criteria are copyrightable).
D. The Lotus Menu Command Hierarchy: A Method of
Operation
Borland argues that the Lotus menu command
hierarchy is uncopyrightable because it is a system, method
of operation, process, or procedure foreclosed from copyright
protection by 17 U.S.C. Section 102(b) .Section 102(b) states:
In no case does copyright protection for an original work of
authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system,
method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery,
regardless of the form in which it is described, explained,
illustrated, or embodied in such work. Because we conclude
that the Lotus menu command hierarchy is a method of
operation, we do not consider whether it could also be a
system, process, or procedure.
We think that method of operation, as that term is
used in Section 102(b), refers to the means by which a
person operates something, whether it be a car, a food
processor, or a computer. Thus a text describing how to
operate something would not extend copyright protection to
the method of operation itself; other people would be free to
employ that method and to describe it in their own words.
Similarly, if a new method of operation is used rather than
described, other people would still be free to employ or
describe that method.
We hold that the Lotus menu command hierarchy is an
uncopyrightable method of operation. The Lotus menu
command hierarchy provides the means by which users
control and operate Lotus 1-2-3. If users wish to copy
material, for example, they use the Copy command. If users
wish to print material, they use the Print command. Users
must use the command terms to tell the computer what to do.
Without the menu command hierarchy, users would not be
able to access and control, or indeed make use of, Lotus 1-2-
3s functional capabilities.
The Lotus menu command hierarchy does not merely
explain and present Lotus 1-2-3s functional capabilities to the
user; it also serves as the method by which the program is
operated and controlled. The Lotus menu command hierarchy
is different from the Lotus long prompts, for the long prompts
are not necessary to the operation of the program; users
could operate Lotus 1-2-3 even if there were no long
prompts.9 The Lotus <49 F.3d 816> menu command
hierarchy is also different from the Lotus screen displays, for
users need not use any expressive aspects of the screen
displays in order to operate Lotus 1-2-3; because the way the
screens look has little bearing on how users control the
program, the screen displays are not part of Lotus 1-2-3s
method of operation.10 The Lotus menu command hierarchy
is also different from the underlying computer code, because
while code is necessary for the program to work, its precise
formulation is not. In other words, to offer the same
capabilities as Lotus 1-2-3, Borland did not have to copy
Lotuss underlying code (and indeed it did not); to allow users
to operate its programs in substantially the same way,
however, Borland had to copy the Lotus menu command
hierarchy. Thus the Lotus 1-2-3 code is not a uncopyrightable
method of operation.11
The district court held that the Lotus menu command
hierarchy, with its specific choice and arrangement of
command terms, constituted an expression of the idea of
operating a computer program with commands arranged
hierarchically into menus and submenus. Borland II, 799 F.
Supp. at 216 . Under the district courts reasoning, Lotuss
decision to employ hierarchically arranged command terms to
operate its program could not foreclose its competitors from
also employing hierarchically arranged command terms to
operate their programs, <34 USPQ2d 1022> but it did
foreclose them from employing the specific command terms
and arrangement that Lotus had used. In effect, the district
court limited Lotus 1-2-3s method of operation to an
abstraction.
Accepting the district courts finding that the Lotus
developers made some expressive choices in choosing and
arranging the Lotus command terms, we nonetheless hold
that that expression is not copyrightable because it is part of
Lotus 1-2-3s method of operation. We do not think that
methods of operation are limited to abstractions; rather, they
are the means by which a user operates something. If specific
words are essential to operating something, then they are
part of a method of operation and, as such, are
unprotectable.This is so whether they must be highlighted,
typed in, or even spoken, as computer programs no doubt will
soon be controlled by spoken words.
The fact that Lotus developers could have designed
the Lotus menu command hierarchy differently is immaterial
to the question of whether it is a method of operation. In
other words, our initial inquiry is not whether the Lotus menu
command hierarchy incorporates any expression.12 Rather,
our initial inquiry is whether the Lotus menu command
hierarchy is a method of operation. Concluding, as we do,
that users operate Lotus 1-2-3 by using the Lotus menu
command hierarchy, and that the entire Lotus menu
command hierarchy is essential to operating Lotus 1-2-3, we
do not inquire further whether that method of operation could
have been designed differently. The expressive choices of
what to name the command terms and how to arrange them
do not magically change the uncopyrightable menu command
hierarchy into copyrightable subject matter.
Our holding that methods of operation are not limited
to mere abstractions is bolstered
by Baker v.Selden . In Baker, the Supreme Court explained
that
the teachings of science and the rules and
methods of useful art have their final end
in application <49 F.3d 817> and use; and
this application and use are what the
public derive from the publication of a
book which teaches them. . . . The
description of the art in a book, though
entitled to the benefit of copyright, lays no
foundation for an exclusive claim to the art
itself. The object of the one is explanation;
the object of the other is use. The former
may be secured by copyright. The latter
can only be secured, if it can be secured
at all, by letters-patent.
Baker v. Selden, 101 U.S. at 104-05 . Lotus wrote its
menu command hierarchy so that people could learn it and
use it. Accordingly, it falls squarely within the prohibition on
copyright protection established in Baker v. Selden and
codified by Congress in Section 102(b).
In many ways, the Lotus menu command hierarchy is
like the buttons used to control, say, a video cassette
recorder (VCR). A VCR is a machine that enables one to
watch and record video tapes. Users operate VCRs by
pressing a series of buttons that are typically labelled
Record, Play, Reverse, Fast Forward, Pause, Stop/Eject.
That the buttons are arranged and labeled does not make
them a literary work, nor does it make them an expression
of the abstract method of operating a VCR via a set of
labeled buttons. Instead, the buttons are themselves the
method of operating the VCR.
When a Lotus 1-2-3 user chooses a command, either
by highlighting it on the screen or by typing its first letter, he
or she effectively pushes a button. Highlighting the Print
command on the screen, or typing the letter P, is analogous
to pressing a VCR button labeled Play.
Just as one could not operate a buttonless VCR, it
would be impossible to operate Lotus 1-2-3 without employing
its menu command hierarchy. Thus the Lotus command
terms are not equivalent to the labels on the VCRs buttons,
but are instead equivalent to the buttons themselves. Unlike
the labels on a VCRs buttons, which merely make operating
a VCR easier by indicating the buttons functions, the Lotus
menu commands are essential to operating Lotus 1-2-3.
Without the menu commands, there would be no way to
push the Lotus buttons, as one could push unlabeled VCR
buttons. While Lotus could probably have designed a user
interface for which the command terms were mere labels, it
did not do so here. Lotus 1-2-3 depends for its operation on
use of the precise command terms that make up the Lotus
menu command hierarchy.
One might argue that the buttons for operating a VCR
are not analogous to the commands for operating a computer
program because VCRs are not copyrightable, whereas
computer programs are. VCRs may not be copyrighted
because they do not fit within any of the Section 102(a)
categories of copyrightable works; the closest they come is
sculptural work. Sculptural works, however, are subject to a
useful-article exception whereby the design of a useful
article . . . shall be considered a pictorial, graphic, or <34
USPQ2d 1023> sculptural work only if, and only to the extent
that, such design incorporates pictorial, graphic, or sculptural
features that can be identified separately from, and are
capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of
the article. 17 U.S.C. Section 101 . A useful article is an
article having an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not merely
to portray the appearance of the article or to convey
information. Id. . Whatever expression there may be in the
arrangement of the parts of a VCR is not capable of existing
separately from the VCR itself, so an ordinary VCR would not
be copyrightable.
Computer programs, unlike VCRs, are copyrightable as
literary works. 17 U.S.C. Section 102(a) . Accordingly, one
might argue, the buttons used to operate a computer
program are not like the buttons used to operate a VCR, for
they are not subject to a useful-article exception. The
response, of course, is that the arrangement of buttons on a
VCR would not be copyrightable even without a useful-article
exception, because the buttons are an uncopyrightable
method of operation. Similarly, the buttons of a computer
program are also an uncopyrightable method of operation.
That the Lotus menu command hierarchy is a method
of operation becomes clearer when one considers program
compatibility. Under Lotuss theory, if a user uses <49 F.3d
818> several different programs, he or she must learn how to
perform the same operation in a different way for each
program used. For example, if the user wanted the computer
to print material, then the user would have to learn not just
one method of operating the computer such that it prints, but
many different methods. We find this absurd. The fact that
there may be many different ways to operate a computer
program, or even many different ways to operate a computer
program using a set of hierarchically arranged command
terms, does not make the actual method of operation chosen
copyrightable; it still functions as a method for operating the
computer and as such is uncopyrightable.
Consider also that users employ the Lotus menu
command hierarchy in writing macros. Under the district
courts holding, if the user wrote a macro to shorten the time
needed to perform a certain operation in Lotus 1-2-3, the user
would be unable to use that macro to shorten the time
needed to perform that same operation in another program.
Rather, the user would have to rewrite his or her macro using
that other programs menu command hierarchy. This is
despite the fact that the macro is clearly the users own work
product. We think that forcing the user to cause the computer
to perform the same operation in a different way ignores
Congresss direction in Section 102(b) that methods of
operation are not copyrightable. That programs can offer
users the ability to write macros in many different ways does
not change the fact that, once written, the macro allows the
user to perform an operation automatically. As the Lotus
menu command hierarchy serves as the basis for Lotus 1-2-3
macros, the Lotus menu command hierarchy is a method of
operation.
In holding that expression that is part of a method of
operation cannot be copyrighted, we do not understand
ourselves to go against the Supreme Courts holding
in Feist . In Feist, the Court explained:
The primary objective of copyright is not to
reward the labor of authors, but to
promote the Progress of Science and
useful Arts. To this end, copyright assures
authors the right to their original
expression, but encourages others to
 build freely upon the ideas and
information conveyed by a work.
Feist, 499 U.S. at 349-50 (quotations and citations
omitted). We do not think that the Courts statement that
copyright assures authors the right to their original
expression indicates that all expression is necessarily
copyrightable; while original expression is necessary for
copyright protection, we do not think that it is alone sufficient.
Courts must still inquire whether original expression falls
within one of the categories foreclosed from copyright
protection by Section 102(b), such as being a method of
operation.
We also note that in most contexts, there is no need to
build upon other peoples expression, for the ideas
conveyed by that expression can be conveyed by someone
else without copying the first authors expression.13 In the
context of methods of operation, however, building requires
the use of the precise method of operation already employed;
otherwise, building would require dismantling, too. Original
developers are not the only people entitled to build on the
methods of operation they create; anyone can. Thus, Borland
may build on the method of operation that Lotus designed
and may use the Lotus menu command hierarchy in doing so.
Our holding that methods of operation are not limited to
abstractions goes against Autoskill, 994 F.2d at 1495 n.23 , in
which the <34 USPQ2d 1024> Tenth Circuit rejected the
defendants argument that the keying procedure used in a
computer program was an uncopyrightable procedure or
method of operation under Section 102(b). The program at
issue, which was designed to test and train students with
reading deficiencies,id. at 1481 , required students to select
responses to the programs queries by pressing the 1, 2, or 3
keys. Id. at 1495 n.23 . The Tenth Circuit held that, for
purposes of the preliminary injunction, . . . the record showed
that [this] keying procedure reflected at least a minimal
degree <49 F.3d 819> of creativity, as required by Feist for
copyright protection. Id..As an initial matter, we question
whether a programmers decision to have users select a
response by pressing the 1, 2, or 3 keys is original. More
importantly, however, we fail to see how a student select
[ing]a response by pressing the 1, 2, or 3 keys, id., can be
anything but an unprotectable method of operation.14
III. Conclusion
Because we hold that the Lotus menu command
hierarchy is uncopyrightable subject matter, we further hold
that Borland did not infringe Lotuss copyright by copying it.
Accordingly, we need not consider any of Borlands
affirmative defenses. The judgment of the district court
is Reversed.
Boudin,J., concurring.
[G.R. No. 131522. July 19, 1999]
PACITA I. HABANA, ALICIA L. CINCO and JOVITA N.
FERNANDO, petitioners, vs. FELICIDAD C.
ROBLES and GOODWILL TRADING CO.,
INC., respondents.
DECISION
PARDO, J.:
The case before us is a petition for review
on certiorari[1] to set aside the (a) decision of the Court of
Appeals[2], and (b) the resolution denying petitioners motion
for reconsideration,[3] in which the appellate court affirmed the
trial courts dismissal of the complaint for infringement and/or
unfair competition and damages but deleted the award for
attorneys fees.
The facts are as follows:
Petitioners are authors and copyright owners of duly
issued certificates of copyright registration covering their
published works, produced through their combined resources
and efforts, entitled COLLEGE ENGLISH FOR TODAY (CET
for brevity), Books 1 and 2, and WORKBOOK FOR
COLLEGE FRESHMAN ENGLISH, Series 1.
Respondent Felicidad Robles and Goodwill Trading Co.,
Inc. are the author/publisher and distributor/seller of another
published work entitled DEVELOPING ENGLISH
PROFICIENCY (DEP for brevity), Books 1 and 2 (1985
edition) which book was covered by copyrights issued to
them.
In the course of revising their published works,
petitioners scouted and looked around various bookstores to
check on other textbooks dealing with the same subject
matter. By chance they came upon the book of respondent
Robles and upon perusal of said book they were surprised to
see that the book was strikingly similar to the contents,
scheme of presentation, illustrations and illustrative examples
in their own book, CET.
After an itemized examination and comparison of the two
books (CET and DEP), petitioners found that several pages of
the respondents book are similar, if not all together a copy of
petitioners book, which is a case of plagiarism and copyright
infringement.
Petitioners then made demands for damages against
respondents and also demanded that they cease and desist
from further selling and distributing to the general public the
infringed copies of respondent Robles works.
However, respondents ignored the demands, hence, on
July 7, 1988, petitioners filed with the Regional Trial Court,
Makati, a complaint for Infringement and/or unfair competition
with damages[4] against private respondents.[5]
In the complaint, petitioners alleged that in 1985,
respondent Felicidad C. Robles being substantially familiar
with the contents of petitioners works, and without securing
their permission, lifted, copied, plagiarized and/or transposed
certain portions of their book CET. The textual contents and
illustrations of CET were literally reproduced in the book
DEP. The plagiarism, incorporation and reproduction of
particular portions of the book CET in the book DEP, without
the authority or consent of petitioners, and the
misrepresentations of respondent Robles that the same was
her original work and concept adversely affected and
substantially diminished the sale of the petitioners book and
caused them actual damages by way of unrealized income.
Despite the demands of the petitioners for respondents
to desist from committing further acts of infringement and for
respondent to recall DEP from the market, respondents
refused. Petitioners asked the court to order the submission
of all copies of the book DEP, together with the molds, plates
and films and other materials used in its printing destroyed,
and for respondents to render an accounting of the proceeds
of all sales and profits since the time of its publication and
sale.
Respondent Robles was impleaded in the suit because
she authored and directly committed the acts of infringement
complained of, while respondent Goodwill Trading Co., Inc.
was impleaded as the publisher and joint co-owner of the
copyright certificates of registration covering the two books
authored and caused to be published by respondent Robles
with obvious connivance with one another.
On July 27, 1988, respondent Robles filed a motion for a
bill of particulars[6] which the trial court approved on August
17, 1988. Petitioners complied with the desired
particularization, and furnished respondent Robles the
specific portions, inclusive of pages and lines, of the
published and copyrighted books of the petitioners which
were transposed, lifted, copied and plagiarized and/or
otherwise found their way into respondents book.
On August 1, 1988, respondent Goodwill Trading Co.,
Inc. filed its answer to the complaint[7] and alleged that
petitioners had no cause of action against Goodwill Trading
Co., Inc. since it was not privy to the misrepresentation,
plagiarism, incorporation and reproduction of the portions of
the book of petitioners; that there was an agreement between
Goodwill and the respondent Robles that Robles guaranteed
Goodwill that the materials utilized in the manuscript were her
own or that she had secured the necessary permission from
contributors and sources; that the author assumed sole
responsibility and held the publisher without any liability.
On November 28, 1988, respondent Robles filed her
answer[8], and denied the allegations of plagiarism and
copying that petitioners claimed. Respondent stressed that
(1) the book DEP is the product of her independent
researches, studies and experiences, and was not a copy of
any existing valid copyrighted book; (2) DEP followed the
scope and sequence or syllabus which are common to all
English grammar writers as recommended by the Association
of Philippine Colleges of Arts and Sciences (APCAS), so any
similarity between the respondents book and that of the
petitioners was due to the orientation of the authors to both
works and standards and syllabus; and (3) the similarities
may be due to the authors exercise of the right to fair use of
copyrigthed materials, as guides.
Respondent interposed a counterclaim for damages on
the ground that bad faith and malice attended the filing of the
complaint, because petitioner Habana was professionally
jealous and the book DEP replaced CET as the official
textbook of the graduate studies department of the Far
Eastern University.[9]
During the pre-trial conference, the parties agreed to a
stipulation of facts[10] and for the trial court to first resolve the
issue of infringement before disposing of the claim for
damages.
After the trial on the merits, on April 23, 1993, the trial
court rendered its judgment finding thus:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the court hereby orders
that the complaint filed against defendants Felicidad Robles
and Goodwill Trading Co., Inc. shall be DISMISSED; that said
plaintiffs solidarily reimburse defendant Robles for
P20,000.00 attorneys fees and defendant Goodwill for
P5,000.00 attorneys fees. Plaintiffs are liable for cost of suit.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Done in the City of Manila this 23rd day of April, 1993.
(s/t) MARVIE R. ABRAHAM SINGSON
Assisting Judge
S. C. Adm. Order No. 124-92[11]
On May 14, 1993, petitioners filed their notice of appeal
with the trial court[12], and on July 19, 1993, the court directed
its branch clerk of court to forward all the records of the case
to the Court of Appeals.[13]
In the appeal, petitioners argued that the trial court
completely disregarded their evidence and fully subscribed to
the arguments of respondent Robles that the books in issue
were purely the product of her researches and studies and
that the copied portions were inspired by foreign authors and
as such not subject to copyright. Petitioners also assailed the
findings of the trial court that they were animated by bad faith
in instituting the complaint.[14]
On June 27, 1997, the Court of Appeals rendered
judgment in favor of respondents Robles and Goodwill
Trading Co., Inc. The relevant portions of the decision state:
It must be noted, however, that similarity of the allegedly
infringed work to the authors or proprietors copyrighted work
does not of itself establish copyright infringement, especially if
the similarity results from the fact that both works deal with
the same subject or have the same common source, as in
this case.
Appellee Robles has fully explained that the portion or
material of the book claimed by appellants to have been
copied or lifted from foreign books. She has duly proven that
most of the topics or materials contained in her book, with
particular reference to those matters claimed by appellants to
have been plagiarized were topics or matters appearing not
only in appellants and her books but also in earlier books on
College English, including foreign books, e.i. Edmund Burkes
Speech on Conciliation, Boerigs Competence in English and
Broughtons, Edmund Burkes Collection.
xxx
Appellants reliance on the last paragraph on Section 11 is
misplaced. It must be emphasized that they failed to prove
that their books were made sources by appellee.[15]
The Court of Appeals was of the view that the award of
attorneys fees was not proper, since there was no bad faith
on the part of petitioners Habana et al. in instituting the action
against respondents.
On July 12, 1997, petitioners filed a motion for
reconsideration,[16] however, the Court of Appeals denied the
same in a Resolution[17] dated November 25, 1997.
Hence, this petition.
In this appeal, petitioners submit that the appellate court
erred in affirming the trial courts decision.
Petitioners raised the following issues: (1) whether or
not, despite the apparent textual, thematic and sequential
similarity between DEP and CET, respondents committed no
copyright infringement; (2) whether or not there was animus
furandi on the part of respondent when they refused to
withdraw the copies of CET from the market despite notice to
withdraw the same; and (3) whether or not respondent Robles
abused a writers right to fair use, in violation of Section 11 of
Presidential Decree No. 49.[18]
We find the petition impressed with merit.
The complaint for copyright infringement was filed at the
time that Presidential Decree No. 49 was in force. At present,
all laws dealing with the protection of intellectual property
rights have been consolidated and as the law now stands, the
protection of copyrights is governed by Republic Act No.
8293. Notwithstanding the change in the law, the same
principles are reiterated in the new law under Section 177. It
provides for the copy or economic rights of an owner of a
copyright as follows:
Sec.177. Copy or Economic rights.Subject to the provisions of
chapter VIII, copyright or economic rights shall consist of the
exclusive right to carry out, authorize or prevent the following
acts:
177.1 Reproduction of the work or substantial portion of
the work;
177.2 Dramatization, translation, adaptation, abridgement,
arrangement or other transformation of the work;
177.3 The first public distribution of the original and each
copy of the work by sale or other forms of transfer of
ownership;
177.4 Rental of the original or a copy of an audiovisual or
cinematographic work, a work embodied in a sound
recording, a computer program, a compilation of data and
other materials or a musical work in graphic form, irrespective
of the ownership of the original or the copy which is the
subject of the rental; (n)
177.5 Public display of the original or copy of the work;
177.6 Public performance of the work; and
177.7 Other communication to the public of the work [19]
The law also provided for the limitations on copyright,
thus:
Sec. 184.1 Limitations on copyright.-- Notwithstanding the
provisions of Chapter V, the following acts shall not constitute
infringement of copyright:
(a) the recitation or performance of a work, once it
has been lawfully made accessible to the public,
if done privately and free of charge or if made
strictly for a charitable or religious institution or
society; [Sec. 10(1), P.D. No. 49]
(b) The making of quotations from a published work
if they are compatible with fair use and only to
the extent justified for the purpose, including
quotations from newspaper articles and
periodicals in the form of press summaries;
Provided, that the source and the name of the
author, if appearing on the work are mentioned;
(Sec. 11 third par. P.D.49)
xxxxxxxxxxxx
(e) The inclusion of a work in a publication,
broadcast, or other communication to the public,
sound recording of film, if such inclusion is made
by way of illustration for teaching purposes and
is compatible with fair use:Provided, That the
source and the name of the author, if
appearing in the work is mentioned;[20]
In the above quoted provisions, work has reference to
literary and artistic creations and this includes books and
other literary, scholarly and scientific works.[21]
A perusal of the records yields several pages of the book
DEP that are similar if not identical with the text of CET.
On page 404 of petitioners Book 1 of College English for
Today, the authors wrote:
Items in dates and addresses:
He died on Monday, April 15, 1975.
Miss Reyes lives in 214 Taft Avenue,
Manila[22]
On page 73 of respondents Book 1 Developing English
Today, they wrote:
He died on Monday, April 25, 1975.
Miss Reyes address is 214 Taft Avenue Manila[23]
On Page 250 of CET, there is this example on
parallelism or repetition of sentence structures, thus:
The proposition is peace. Not peace through the medium
of war; not peace to be hunted through the labyrinth of
intricate and endless negotiations; not peace to arise out
of universal discord, fomented from principle, in all parts
of the empire; not peace to depend on the juridical
determination of perplexing questions, or the precise
marking of the boundary of a complex government. It is
simple peace; sought in its natural course, and in its
ordinary haunts. It is peace sought in the spirit of peace,
and laid in principles purely pacific.
--- Edmund Burke, Speech on Criticism.[24]
On page 100 of the book DEP[25], also in the topic of
parallel structure and repetition, the same example is found in
toto. The only difference is that petitioners acknowledged the
author Edmund Burke, and respondents did not.
In several other pages[26] the treatment and manner of
presentation of the topics of DEP are similar if not a rehash of
that contained in CET.
We believe that respondent Robles act of lifting from the
book of petitioners substantial portions of discussions and
examples, and her failure to acknowledge the same in her
book is an infringement of petitioners copyrights.
When is there a substantial reproduction of a book? It
does not necessarily require that the entire copyrighted work,
or even a large portion of it, be copied. If so much is taken
that the value of the original work is substantially diminished,
there is an infringement of copyright and to an injurious
extent, the work is appropriated.[27]
In determining the question of infringement, the amount
of matter copied from the copyrighted work is an important
consideration. To constitute infringement, it is not necessary
that the whole or even a large portion of the work shall have
been copied. If so much is taken that the value of the original
is sensibly diminished, or the labors of the original author are
substantially and to an injurious extent appropriated by
another, that is sufficient in point of law to constitute piracy.[28]
The essence of intellectual piracy should be essayed in
conceptual terms in order to underscore its gravity by an
appropriate understanding thereof. Infringement of a
copyright is a trespass on a private domain owned and
occupied by the owner of the copyright, and, therefore,
protected by law, and infringement of copyright, or piracy,
which is a synonymous term in this connection, consists in
the doing by any person, without the consent of the owner of
the copyright, of anything the sole right to do which is
conferred by statute on the owner of the copyright.[29]
The respondents claim that the copied portions of the
book CET are also found in foreign books and other grammar
books, and that the similarity between her style and that of
petitioners can not be avoided since they come from the
same background and orientation may be true. However, in
this jurisdiction under Sec 184 of Republic Act 8293 it is
provided that:
Limitations on Copyright. Notwithstanding the provisions
of Chapter V, the following shall not constitute infringement of
copyright:
xxxxxxxxxxxx
(c) The making of quotations from a published work
if they are compatible with fair use and only to
the extent justified for the purpose, including
quotations from newspaper articles and
periodicals in the form of press
summaries:Provided, That the source and the
name of the author, if appearing on the work,
are mentioned.
A copy of a piracy is an infringement of the original, and
it is no defense that the pirate, in such cases, did not know
whether or not he was infringing any copyright; he at least
knew that what he was copying was not his, and he copied at
his peril.[30]
The next question to resolve is to what extent can
copying be injurious to the author of the book being copied. Is
it enough that there are similarities in some sections of the
books or large segments of the books are the same?
In the case at bar, there is no question that petitioners
presented several pages of the books CET and DEP that
more or less had the same contents. It may be correct that
the books being grammar books may contain materials
similar as to some technical contents with other grammar
books, such as the segment about the Author Card. However,
the numerous pages that the petitioners presented showing
similarity in the style and the manner the books were
presented and the identical examples can not pass as
similarities merely because of technical consideration.
The respondents claim that their similarity in style can be
attributed to the fact that both of them were exposed to the
APCAS syllabus and their respective academic experience,
teaching approach and methodology are almost identical
because they were of the same background.
 However, we believe that even if petitioners and
respondent Robles were of the same background in terms of
teaching experience and orientation, it is not an excuse for
them to be identical even in examples contained in their
books. The similarities in examples and material contents are
so obviously present in this case. How can similar/identical
examples not be considered as a mark of copying?
We consider as an indicia of guilt or wrongdoing the act
of respondent Robles of pulling out from Goodwill bookstores
the book DEP upon learning of petitioners complaint while
pharisaically denying petitioners demand. It was further noted
that when the book DEP was re-issued as a revised version,
all the pages cited by petitioners to contain portion of their
book College English for Today were eliminated.
In cases of infringement, copying alone is not what is
prohibited. The copying must produce an injurious
effect. Here, the injury consists in that respondent Robles
lifted from petitioners book materials that were the result of
the latters research work and compilation and misrepresented
them as her own. She circulated the book DEP for
commercial use and did not acknowledge petitioners as her
source.
Hence, there is a clear case of appropriation of
copyrighted work for her benefit that respondent Robles
committed. Petitioners work as authors is the product of their
long and assiduous research and for another to represent it
as her own is injury enough. In copyrighting books the
purpose is to give protection to the intellectual product of an
author. This is precisely what the law on copyright protected,
under Section 184.1 (b).Quotations from a published work if
they are compatible with fair use and only to the extent
justified by the purpose, including quotations from newspaper
articles and periodicals in the form of press summaries are
allowed provided that the source and the name of the author,
if appearing on the work, are mentioned.
In the case at bar, the least that respondent Robles
could have done was to acknowledge petitioners Habana et.
al. as the source of the portions of DEP. The final product of
an authors toil is her book. To allow another to copy the book
without appropriate acknowledgment is injury enough.
WHEREFORE, the petition is hereby GRANTED. The
decision and resolution of the Court of Appeals in CA-G. R.
CV No. 44053 are SET ASIDE. The case is ordered
remanded to the trial court for further proceedings to receive
evidence of the parties to ascertain the damages caused and
sustained by petitioners and to render decision in accordance
with the evidence submitted to it.
SO ORDERED.