The Court of Appeal in London yesterday dismissed an appeal by a film director in a case against Guinness Brewing Worldwide Ltd and a Dublin-based advertising agency in which he claimed breach of copyright.
Mr Mehdi Norowzian, who specialises in directing commercials, took his appeal after he lost a claim for damages against Guinness Brewing Worldwide Ltd and Arks Ltd in the High Court last July. He now faces costs estimated at more than £200,000 sterling (€313,676).
The director claimed Guinness had copied his work without his consent when it produced the hugely successful "Anticipation" series of advertisements in 1994.
"Anticipation" featured the actor, Joe McKinney, dancing around a large pint of Guinness while waiting for it to settle. The dispute over the advertisement arose when Mr Norowzian, who has directed campaigns for Adidas, Stella Artois and Sony, claimed a breach of copyright on the basis that "Anticipation" was copied from his short film, Joy.
The High Court in London had ruled that Joy was neither a dramatic work nor a recording of a dramatic work entitled to protection under the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act and the Court of Appeal upheld the salient parts of the ruling.
Dismissing the appeal, Lord Justice Nourse, sitting with Lord Justice Brooke and Lord Justice Buxton, said they had found it impossible to decide whether "Anticipation" was or included a copy of a substantial part of Mr Norowzian's film.
Lord Justice Nourse conceded there was "a striking similarity between the filming and editing styles and techniques used by the respective directors of the two films. But no copyright subsists in mere style or technique".
The Court of Appeal also ruled that Mr Norowzian's film could be considered as a dramatic work for the purposes of the Copyright Act.
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