Hurley v McDonald's Australia Limited B17/2000

The Full Federal Court heard an appeal in *Hurley v McDonald's Australia Limited* concerning a dispute between the applicant, Mr Hurley, and the respondent, McDonald's Australia Limited. The core of the disagreement related to the alleged infringement of Mr Hurley's copyright in a drawing he had created, which he claimed McDonald's had reproduced without authorisation.

The central legal question before the Full Federal Court was whether McDonald's had, in fact, infringed Mr Hurley's copyright. This required the court to consider whether Mr Hurley's drawing was an original work capable of copyright protection, and if so, whether McDonald's had reproduced a substantial part of that work in its own materials. The court also had to determine whether any reproduction that occurred was authorised or otherwise excused under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).

The court's reasoning focused on the concept of originality in copyright law, requiring that the work originate from the author and involve some degree of skill and labour. It then examined the evidence to ascertain whether McDonald's had access to Mr Hurley's drawing and whether the similarities between the two works were sufficient to constitute the reproduction of a substantial part. The court applied established principles of copyright infringement, considering the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the alleged copying.

Ultimately, the Full Federal Court found that Mr Hurley had not established copyright infringement. The court concluded that the similarities between the works were not substantial enough to warrant a finding of infringement, and that McDonald's had not reproduced a substantial part of Mr Hurley's original work. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed.