Mio AB and Others v Galleri Mikael & Thomas Asplund Aktiebolag and USM U. Schärer Söhne AG
2. Article 2(a), Article 3(1) and Article 4(1) of Directive 2001/29
must be interpreted as meaning that subject matter which reflects the personality of its author as an expression of his or her free and creative choices constitutes a work, for the purposes of those provisions. Choices dictated by various constraints, particularly technical, which bound that author during the creation of that subject matter are not free and creative, and nor are choices which, while free, do not bear the imprint of the author's personality by giving that subject matter a unique appearance. Circumstances such as the author's intentions during the creative process, his or her sources of inspiration and the use of shapes that are already available, the likelihood of a similar independent creation or the recognition of that subject matter in professional circles may be taken into account where appropriate, but are not, in any event, necessary or decisive for the purpose of establishing the originality of the subject matter for which protection is claimed.