Originality and Utilitarian Works: The Uneasy Relationship between Copyright Law and Unfair Competition

[Abstract] Courts have struggled with articulating the standard for “originality” in copyright law. Some judges have leaned towards a “sweat of the brow” theory, that rewards authors for their investment of labour in creating a work. Others, most notably, the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark decision of Feist Publications Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co. Inc., have held out for a standard which requires some “spark” or modicum of creativity. In this article, the author examines the concept of “originality” in light of the shifting purposes of copyright law in Canada, and the historical relationship of utilitarian works to copyright law. Works such as directories and factual compilations owe their value not to their contents, which are often in the public domain, but to the effort that has gone into collecting those contents. The scope of protection of such “utilitarian works” to be offered under copyright law has generated controversy in case law and commentary. By examining the treatment of the concept of “originality” in recent Canadian cases dealing with utilitarian works, the author explores the uneasy relationship between unfair competition law and copyright law in Canada. She argues that the proliferation of utilitarian works protected by copyright, and in particular, information products, has rendered a threshold for originality extremely problematic. She argues that the problem lies in the tension between copyright and unfair competition, primarily in relation to utilitarian works. Copyright, she concludes, is an inapt vehicle for resolving issues of competition in the information economy. *****[Résumé] Les tribunaux ont cherché à définir la norme d’ originalité en droit d’auteur. Certains juges favorisent la thèse du travail industrieux à la sueur de son front , récompensant l’auteur pour l’effort investi dans la création d’une uvre. D’autres, en particulier la Cour suprême des états-Unis dans l’arrêt de principe Feist Publication Inc. c. Rural Telephone Service Co., préconisent une norme qui exige une étincelle ou un minimum de créativité. Dans cet article, l’auteure examine le concept d’ originalité à la lumière des objectifs changeants de la loi canadienne sur le droit d’auteur et des liens historiques entre les uvres utilitaires et le droit d’auteur. Le mérite des oeuvres comme les répertoires et les compilations de données ne tient pas tant à leur contenu, qui souvent est du domaine public, qu’à l’effort déployé pour rassembler ce contenu. L’étendue de la protection de telles uvres utilitaires prévue par la loi sur