MACMILLAN AND COMPANY LTD Vs. KAND JCOOPER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The action out of which this appeal has arisen was brought by the appellants to restrain the respondents K. and J. Cooper, a firm carrying on in Bombay the trade and business of publishers of educational books, from printing, distributing or otherwise disposing of copies of a certain book published by them hereinafter described, and to recover damages and other relief. The ground on which this relief was claimed was that the appellants were entitled to the copyright of a certain book entitled "Plutarch's Life of Alexander. Sir Thomas North's Translation. Edited for Schools by H.W.M. Parr, M.A.," and that the respondents by the publication subsequently in the year 1918 of their aforesaid book entitled "Plutarch's Life of Alexander the Great. North's Translation, edited with Introduction, Marginalia, Notes and Summary by A. Darby, M.A.," had infringed the copyright to which the appellants were entitled in the earlier compilation.

(2.) The text of the appellants book consisted of a number of detached passages, selected from Sir Thomas North's translation, words being in some instances introduced to knit the passages together so that the text should, as far as possible, present the form of an unbroken narrative. The passages so selected ware, in the original translation, by no means contiguous. Considerable printed matter in many instances separated the one from the other. North's translation consisted of 10,000 words; the text of the appellants book contained half of them, i. e., 20,000 words, while the book published by the respondents contained not only the aforesaid 20,000 words but 7,000 words in addition.

(3.) In addition to this text comprising the 20,000 words, the appellants book contained much printed matter which was omitted from the respondents book, namely, marginal notes, an introduction dealing with North's translation and Alexander's place in history, an analysis of the book's contents, a chronological table setting forth the principal dates in Alexander's life and a few short notes introduced into the text styled transition notes. The text was divided into six chapters; notes bearing on the text and a glossary were appended.