Can copyright be trumped by a penal law against obscenity?
Kat friends Adar Bengom (Ortal) and Jenia Melkhior , from Herzog Fox & Ne'eman in Tel-Aviv, report on how obscenity may render copyright in a work unenforceable in certain circumstances, at least according to one court in Israel . Can concerns over obscenity cut back on copyright protection? Given a recent ruling given by the Israeli Magistrate Court in Herzliya, the potential answer may be �yes�. In the case of Sex Style v. Abutbu l, the plaintiff, a producer of pornographic movies, sued the defendant, an individual who operates an adult website, for copyright infringement. It was alleged that the defendant�s website provided links without authorization to 15 pornographic movies. While the court ruled that the movies are entitled to copyright protection, it declined awarding statutory damages for infringement on the ground of such content, being obscene, was therefore illegal. At the beginning of its analysis, the court determined that the movies are pornographic (rather t...