Why is the Government consulting the public on “parody” but not on “secondary creation”?

“Parody” is used by the Government as a collective term to refer to a wide scope of works such as “parody”, “satire”, “caricature” or ‘pastiche” which include an element of imitation or incorporate certain elements of an underlying copyright work for the purposes of creating comic or critical effects. The coverage is very broad.
“Secondary creation” is not a term commonly used in copyright jurisprudence and it is difficult to ascertain its actual coverage.
For instance, there are views suggesting that “secondary creation” should include translations and adaptations, or should be treated as “derivative works”. However, the concepts of translation and adaptation, both being derivative works, are clear under international copyright treaties and copyright laws in different jurisdictions. In particular, the owner of the copyright in a work has the exclusive right to make a translation or an adaptation of the same. Although there may be original elements in the later work itself, it may not be appropriate to take this as the sole basis in considering any copyright exception.
The provision of a copyright exception solely based on the rather ambiguous concept of “secondary creation” may blur the line between infringing and non-infringing works, create uncertainty and increase opportunities for abuse.

Last revision date: 30 November 2020