A recent Alberta court case analyzed the limits of copyright
protection after a plaintiff tried to argue that pipe bending
machines infringed copyright1. The case confirmed that
copyright may exist in engineering drawings, but it does not extend
to the machine produced with those drawings. Patents are the
appropriate way to protect inventive machines, so innovating
companies need to consider patents as a way to most effectively
protect their rights.
The Court made its analysis in the context of an application for
summary judgment in a copyright infringement case. The plaintiff,
Proline, alleged that a former employee took confidential drawings
without permission, and arranged for a manufacturing company called
Willbros to make copies. Neither the former employee nor Willbros
were parties to the lawsuit. The defendant, Provincial Rentals,
agreed to purchase two pipe bending machines from Willbros. Wilbros
partially assembled machines and stopped work once it was
