IPKAT RIDDLE: COPYRIGHT, YOUR NUMBER IS UP

The IPKat has seen details of a case on BoingBoing that was (from his point of view) unfortunately settled. Irdial, a small US record label released a CD containing recordings that it made of “numbers stations” which are “radio stations where a neutral voice recites mysterious numbers and codes, presumed to be part of the international espionage system”. Another label, WEA, sampled Irdial’s recordings. Irdial claimed that WEA has infringed its copyright in its recordings. They based their entitlement to copyright on 3 grounds: (1) radio interference in their recording made it unique; (2) they edited the recording to make it interesting and (3) they processed the recording to make it clearer. WEA gave in to Irdial’s claim but what the IPKat wants to know is, how would this claim have been decided under UK law? The usual prize to the person who provides the best answer.



More radio-inspired copyright works here and here

More on numbers stations here, here and here