THE DOCTRINE OF SCÈNE À FAIRE IN COPYRIGHT LAW

Abstract

“There is nothing new under the Sun; that certain patterns are bound to occur no matter how creative you are” The “Book of Ecclesiastes” the author complained about the monotony of life. The Doctrine of Scène À Faire is a concept in Copyright Law which holds that certain creative works of a genre aren’t copyrightable as certain patterns are so recurring and ingrained in a particular genre that they can’t be copyrighted, as they are mandatory or customary to that particular genre. The term “Scène À Faire” means “Elements of an original work those are so trite or common that they are not captured by copyright.” As stated in the Duhaime's Law Dictionaryi . Scènes à faire is a term in French language which translates to “scene to be made” or “scene that must be done”. It is a scene in a book or film which is almost obligatory for a genre of its type, again signifying the recurring pattern. When it comes to Indian Courts, they have applied a reductionist, dissection and filtration approach in their consideration of infringement of visual works that is driven by an expanded view of Scène À Faire. Although the courts have from time to time acknowledged that the standards for originality and creativity required for copyright are intentionally low, and that there are myriad of ways to express themes and ideas visually. In this article the authors are going to explore the doctrine in depth along with the complimentary merger doctrine that is supportive of the Doctrine of Scène À Faire in sense that it highlights where the idea and expression are inseparable or merged.