 The main issues in the case were whether or not abridgements of a work inherently constituted copyright infringement , or whether they could qualify as a separate , new work . Lord Hartwicke ruled that abridgements fell under two categories : " true abridgements " and " coloured <unk> " . True abridgements presented a true effort on the part of the editor , and by this effort , constituted a new work which did not infringe upon the copyright of the original . Leaving it to literary and legal experts to decide , Hartwicke ruled that Modern Crown Law was not a true abridgement , but merely a duplication intending to circumvent the law . 
