In October 2018, Professor Dinusha Mendis‘s paper titled ‘In Pursuit of Clarity: The Conundrum of Copyright and CAD – Seeking Direction Through Case Law’ was published in the European Intellectual Property Review.

Through the application of selected statutes and case law drawn from the United Kingdom (UK), the paper explores the copyright status of three-dimensional design files and particularly questions whether they can be protected as literary and / or artistic works. In responding to this question, the paper highlighting gaps and challenges inherent in the law and adopts a ‘coherentist’ and ‘regulatory instrumentalist’ analysis in providing recommendations for the future.

Delving deeper into the topic of copyright and software, more from the perspective of the blockchain, Professor Mendis delivered an invited guest talk on 15th November 2018 at the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre Invited Speaker Series.

In delivering her talk, Professor Mendis explored the application of blockchain technology within the legal framework designed for traditional collecting societies. In doing so, she examined the potential for this new technology to strip aside the “middleman” and permit direct transactions between parties. Such elements have much significance for copyright law, particularly from the point of view of enforcement in the dissemination of creative works. Drawing on recent developments, including an analysis of the Collective Rights Management Directive, the paper questioned whether collecting societies have a place in the blockchain era or whether such questions are borne out of a mere hype.