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===On the distinction between [[copyright]] and [[confidence]]=== | ===On the distinction between [[copyright]] and [[confidence]]=== | ||
The key thing is to distinguish between [[breach of copyright]] and [[breach of confidence]]. The former is | The key thing is to distinguish between [[breach of copyright]] and [[breach of confidence]]. The former is an '''[[intellectual property]] right''' over the [[form]] of information; the latter a '''[[contract]] ual right''' over the [[substance]] of information. | ||
*'''[[Breach of copyright]]''': Copyright subsists in the particular articulation of the information, rather than in the information per se. To breach of copyright is to deny a copyright owner the commercial benefit of its creation: e.g., by accessing for free something the copyright owner wants you to pay for. In other words I ''can’t'' copy ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone'' without J.K. Rowling’s permission, but I ''can'' tell you the plot. | *'''[[Breach of copyright]]''': Copyright subsists in the particular articulation of the information, rather than in the information per se. To breach of copyright is to deny a copyright owner the commercial benefit of its creation: e.g., by accessing for free something the copyright owner wants you to pay for. In other words I ''can’t'' copy ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone'' without J.K. Rowling’s permission, but I ''can'' tell you the plot. | ||
*'''[[Breach of confidence]]''': [[Breach of confidence]] is less about the ''[[form]]'' of the information and more about its ''[[substance]]'': If I have signed a [[confidentiality agreement]] I can ''copy'' {{confiprov|confidential information}} to my heart’s content, as long as I only use it within the bounds of my [[licence]] to {{confiprov|use}} it. In other words, I can do what I like as long as I don’t disclose the ''content'' of that information to anyone else. Here the forbidden action is “telling you the plot”: I could do that either by giving you a full copy of the material, ''or'' telling you the plot without copying anything at all. [[Breach of confidence]] thus creates heightened compliance issues, implying as it does that the {{confiprov|confidential information}} is not public, presenting risks of market abuse and insider dealing. | *'''[[Breach of confidence]]''': [[Breach of confidence]] is less about the ''[[form]]'' of the information and more about its ''[[substance]]'': If I have signed a [[confidentiality agreement]] I can ''copy'' {{confiprov|confidential information}} to my heart’s content, as long as I only use it within the bounds of my [[licence]] to {{confiprov|use}} it. In other words, I can do what I like as long as I don’t disclose the ''content'' of that information to anyone else. Here the forbidden action is “telling you the plot”: I could do that either by giving you a full copy of the material, ''or'' telling you the plot without copying anything at all. [[Breach of confidence]] thus creates heightened compliance issues, implying as it does that the {{confiprov|confidential information}} is not public, presenting risks of market abuse and insider dealing. | ||
*It is the substantive content and not the particular form of the information that is valuable. | *It is the substantive content and not the particular form of the information that is valuable. | ||
===[[Remedies - Confi Provision|Remedies]] for [[breach]]=== | ===[[Remedies - Confi Provision|Remedies]] for [[breach]]=== | ||
Big difference here. | Big difference here. | ||
*'''[[Copyright]] — [[account for profit|account for profits]]''': If I breach your copyright must account to you for the profits I have made out of the misuse of your information. | *'''[[Copyright]] — [[account for profit|account for profits]]''': If I breach your copyright must account to you for the profits I have made out of the misuse of your information. | ||
*'''[[Confidence]] — [[damages]]''': If I beach your confidence, I must compensate you for the [[damages]] you have suffered as a result. My [[account for profit|profit]] from the use of the information is not part of the calculation (unless, by profiting from it, I have deprived you of the opportunity to profit, and even then you have to persuade a court that such a [[consequential loss]] was a [[reasonably foreseeable]] consequence of my breach, which [[Hadley v Baxendale - Case Note|courts have traditionally been reluctant to do]]. | *'''[[Confidence]] — [[damages]]''': If I beach your confidence, I must compensate you for the [[damages]] you have suffered as a result. My [[account for profit|profit]] from the use of the information is not part of the calculation (unless, by profiting from it, I have deprived you of the opportunity to profit, and even then you have to persuade a court that such a [[consequential loss]] was a [[reasonably foreseeable]] consequence of my breach, which [[Hadley v Baxendale - Case Note|courts have traditionally been reluctant to do]]. |