[1966]DLHC1653 • January 25, 1966 • High Court
ARCHIBOLD vs. C.F.A.O.
The plaintiff, Archibold, claimed damages of £G25,000 for conversion of his musical works comprising twelve songs recorded and sold by the defendants, C.F.A.O., on Senaphone label gramophone records without his consent. The defendants recorded and sold approximately 360,000 records between 1959 and 1961 without the plaintiff's permission. The defendants denied ownership of the copyright and alleged the claim was statute-barred and estopped by a prior Supreme Court judgment which had dismissed the plaintiff's copyright infringement claim.
read moreJUDGMENT OF HAYFRON-BENJAMIN J. The plaintiff by his writ claims £G25,000 damages for conversion of the plaintiff’s musical works in twelve songs taped by the defendants onto Senaphone label gramophone records; the said records were sold by the defendants as wholesalers to other retailers and also by retail to the public at the price of seven shillings per record without the plaintiff’s consent first had and obtained. The writ was taken out on 30 December 1963. The plaintiff’s case as appearing in his pleadings is that he is the owner of twelve musical works entitled Rain Drops, Take her in your Arms, Follow your Lover, Anne Claire, Where are you, Sailing Home, Baya Mambo, Emma Wawa, Sweet Adelina, Negrita Samea, Amada Mia and last but by no means the least, Little Auctioneer. He states that he is the owner of the copyright therein and of the sole right of taping and recording such works on gramophone records and of selling such records to the public and to other retailer...