The basic requirement for the subsistence of copyright in a work is that it must be original (Section 2(1) of the Copyright Act). "Originality" does not mean that the work must be in any way unique or inventive but merely that it should be the product of the author's own labours and endeavours. A work can be original notwithstanding that it has been copied from a previous work provided sufficient skill and effort have been embodied in creating the subsequent work. An adaptation, such as a translation, is thus clearly capable of being "original". In this regard Section 2(3) of the Copyright Act is relevant. The Section reads as follows:
"A work shall not be ineligible for copyright by reason only that the making of the work, or the doing of any acts in relation to the work, involved infringement of copyright in some other work".
