Lawyer: Church will have a tough time with Sony

Alex Chapman, specialist games and copyright lawyer of Campbell Hooper solicitors, says that the Church of England may have an uphill battle on their hands with Sony as far as the dispute about an English Cathedral appearing in Resistance: Fall of Man is concerned. We give you the details on Chapman’s take on things.

So why are the odds stacked against the Church of England? Alex Chapman believes that there is no basis to the claims made by the Church of England against Sony, and they probably won’t hold up in court.

He cites a provision in the UK‘s 1988 Copyright Designs and Patents act as a basis for his observations – the provision itself explicitly stating that it isn’t copyright infringement if someone makes a representation of certain artistic works already on public display.

And if you’re wondering – yes, it applies to structures and sculptures permanently situated in a public place or in a location open to the public; the Cathedral in question is pretty much accessible to almost anyone. This makes the copyright infringement point moot.

There’s another hole in the Church of England’s attack, and it’s about the Cathedral’s age. Specifically, with the Cathedral being old as it is – making it highly unlikely that there’s any copyright remaining on it. Copyrights do expire 70 years after the creator of the work has died, after all, and the Cathedral’s been there for a VERY long time.

While this is certainly bad news to the Church, Chapman isn’t one to favor the other guy too heavily. He also states that while public buildings are fair game and all, presenting establishments in a bad light or manner is quite frowned upon – and this could be what the Church is after.

Still, he maintains that the Church of England will definitely have a fight on their hands. Whatever the legal consequences, he says the public reaction to the entire thing might be more damaging.

Well, what do you readers think? Let us know what you think about Chapman’s take on the whole affair by the comments below.

Alex Chapman, specialist games and copyright lawyer of Campbell Hooper solicitors, says that the Church of England may have an uphill battle on their hands with Sony as far as the dispute about an English Cathedral appearing in Resistance: Fall of Man is concerned. We give you the details on Chapman’s take on things.

So why are the odds stacked against the Church of England? Alex Chapman believes that there is no basis to the claims made by the Church of England against Sony, and they probably won’t hold up in court.

He cites a provision in the UK‘s 1988 Copyright Designs and Patents act as a basis for his observations – the provision itself explicitly stating that it isn’t copyright infringement if someone makes a representation of certain artistic works already on public display.

And if you’re wondering – yes, it applies to structures and sculptures permanently situated in a public place or in a location open to the public; the Cathedral in question is pretty much accessible to almost anyone. This makes the copyright infringement point moot.

There’s another hole in the Church of England’s attack, and it’s about the Cathedral’s age. Specifically, with the Cathedral being old as it is – making it highly unlikely that there’s any copyright remaining on it. Copyrights do expire 70 years after the creator of the work has died, after all, and the Cathedral’s been there for a VERY long time.

While this is certainly bad news to the Church, Chapman isn’t one to favor the other guy too heavily. He also states that while public buildings are fair game and all, presenting establishments in a bad light or manner is quite frowned upon – and this could be what the Church is after.

Still, he maintains that the Church of England will definitely have a fight on their hands. Whatever the legal consequences, he says the public reaction to the entire thing might be more damaging.

Well, what do you readers think? Let us know what you think about Chapman’s take on the whole affair by the comments below.