Copyright protection for genuine abridgments upheld; prima facie copying justified temporary injunction and constitutional objection failed.

Genuine abridgments may qualify as original literary works protected by copyright, and the plaintiff's head-notes and notes were held to reflect skill, labour, and judgment rather than mere verbatim reproduction. The defendant's digest, prepared from the plaintiff's N.U.C. material, was found to copy protected expression and form of abridgment, so a temporary injunction was justified because a prima facie case existed and the balance of inconvenience favoured the copyright owner. The court also held that the Copyright Act, 1914 continued to operate by force of Article 372 of the Constitution, so the constitutional objection failed.

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Issues: Whether the plaintiff had a prima facie copyright claim in its notes and head-notes, whether the defendant's digest amounted to infringement, and whether a temporary injunction was justified; and whether the Copyright Act, 1914 continued to operate after the Constitution.

Analysis: Genuine abridgments may constitute original literary works capable of copyright protection. The head-notes and notes were not mere verbatim reproductions of judicial decisions, but the product of skill, labour, and judgment. The defendant's digest was prepared only from the plaintiff's N.U.C. material, and several instances showed copying not merely of ideas but of expression and form of abridgment. For temporary injunction, the plaintiff had to show a bona fide dispute, a prima facie case, and that the balance of inconvenience favoured protection. On the facts, the copied matter could not be effectively separated from the rest of the digest, and continued sale would cause serious prejudice to the plaintiff. The Copyright Act, 1914 remained operative by force of Article 372 of the Constitution, and the objection based on the Constitution therefore failed.

Conclusion: The plaintiff was entitled to temporary injunction, and the appeal against that order failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A genuine abridgment can be an original literary work protected by copyright, and where prima facie copying of protected expression is shown, a temporary injunction may be granted if the balance of convenience favours the copyright owner.

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