In this article, Kobby Afari Yeboah critiques the Idea/Expression Dichotomy in Intellectual Property Law. The concept provides that Copyright law protects “expressions of ideas” and not “ideas”. He discusses what he terms the “weak foundation” of this principle and its “failure” to protect the interests of creators of Intellectual Property. He sought to reveal the difficulties faced by the English courts in distinguishing “ideas” from “expressions of ideas”. The writer explores this theme in a case law approach, and looks at the current yardstick for Copyright protection in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 of the United Kingdom.
