Manuel Delia challenges Mario Philip Azzopardi’s copyright claim over Ix-Xiħa play

Lawyers defending blogger Manuel Delia against a copyright claim filed by playwright Mario Philip Azzopardi have argued that Azzopardi does not own the rights to the play.

In the first sitting of the lawsuit held on Monday morning before Mr Justice Ian Spiteri Bailey, Delia’s lawyers asked the court that their client be non-suited.

Azzopardi sued Delia after the latter published the script of the play, Ix-Xiħa, on his blog. 

The production of Ix-Xiha had been cancelled by the Manoel Theatre board following public outcry at the misrepresentation of Daphne Caruana Galizia in the script - a leaked version of which was published by Delia and subsequently panned by members of the Maltese theatre community. One the characters mocks the last words published by the assassinated journalist.

When the case was called, lawyers Therese Comodini Cachia, Antonio Ghio and Matthew Cutajar, part of Delia’s legal team, informed the judge that they had taken over the brief and that their client could not attend the sitting as he was currently abroad. 

They also drew the court’s attention to the defendant’s recently-filed reply, the first point of which argued that a reading of the contract, exhibited by Azzopardi together with his sworn application, showed that he did not own the rights to the play. 

“It is apparent from the fourth paragraph of page 3 of the contract, as well as clause 29 and 40 of the same, that the owner of those rights is the company Staġun Teatru Malti. Therefore, the defendant should be non-suited,” the lawyers argued.

The reply also goes on to raise other preliminary defences, amongst them that the publication of the script fell well within the parameters of exceptions to copyright as laid out in the Copyright Act.  The article of the law cited, explicitly exempts from copyright claims reproductions of a work “by way of caricature, pastiche or parody.”

Azzopardi still had to prove the link between any damages he allegedly suffered and the defendant’s actions, Delia’s lawyers added.

Asked whether there was any evidence to be exhibited by the defendant, Comodini Cachia told the court that the preliminary plea, if upheld, would stultify the entire case.

The judge ordered that the parties submit evidence limited to the first plea with the aim of having a preliminary decision on it.

The case was adjourned to November, for evidence by both parties about the defence’s argument that Azzopardi did not own the rights to the play.

Lawyers Eve Borg Costanzi and Andrew Borg Cardona are also assisting Delia.

Lawyer Ezekiel Psaila is assisting Azzopardi.