Copyright Flashcards
What is Copyright?
Legal protection of literary and artistic works under copyright prevents unauthorised use of the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves.
It is automatically emitted at the expression of the work, hence the work doesn’t have to be registered.
Rights protected:
- Moral Rights
- Economic Rights
Right to prevent: reproduction of the work, public performance of the work, broadcasting or other communication to the public, translation, adaptation.
What are limitations on rights conferred by copyright?
1) Free Uses.
- personal, private and non-commercial use.
- teaching purposes
- news reporting
- quotations
- “fair use”.
2) Non voluntary Licenses. When a copyright owner is preventing the development of a new technology by not granting a license for the dissemination of its work.
How long does copyright protection last?
From the moment the work has been expressed in tangible form, for the whole duration of the author’s life + 50 years after her/his death.
Can Copyright be transferred?
The moral rights are non-transferable.
The economic rights can be transferred through assignment or licensing.
In some countries, only licensing is allowed.
- exclusive
- non-exclusive
License can take the form of collective management of rights.
How does the enforcement of copyright work?
- Conservatory of provisional measures.
Right of officials to search premises, seize suspected goods, documents… - Civil remedies.
Compensate the owner for economic injury suffered because of the infringement. Monetary damages. - Criminal sanctions.
In case the infringement was wilfully committed on a commercial scale. - Measures at the border
- Sanctions against abuses of technical means.
Non-circumvention technology. (risk)
What are “Related Rights”?
Rights of entities that contribute to making the work available to the public.
Namely the rights of Performers, Producers of phonograms and broadcasting organisation.
Examples of rights:
- right to prevent recording without consent.
- moral right to preserve image and reputation.
- right to equitable remuneration
- right to allow rental
Duration according to TRIPS:
50 years for performers and producers of phonograms.
20 years for broadcasters.
Similar limitations of copyrights apply to related rights as well.
Enforcement is similar to that of copyright.
What are today’s challenges affecting copyright?
With the digital age, there are issues on Territoriality, Jurisdiction and Detection of infringement.
Distribution to the public.
“targeting test” for territoriality.
Where a particular public is targeted by a distributor, then a distribution to that public may be actionable under the copyright law of the territory targeted.
What were some unintended consequences of law restricting circumvention of copyright-protecting technologies ?
- ban on acts of circumvention
- ban on distribution of technologies for circumvention
Provisions have been used to stifle a wide array of legitimate activities such as free speech and scientific research on security.
Are copyrights harmonised at EU level?
Economic rights are harmonised.
Moral rights are not harmonised.
Enforcement procedures have been partly harmonised.
Directives on copyright in the digital single market aim to modernise the copyright framework to allow wider online availability of content in the EU.
What are some recent treaties adopted by WIPO concerning copyright?
2013 Marraketch Treaty on visually impaired persons, aiming to improve the availability of works in different formats.
2012 Beijing Treaty on audiovisual performances.
What are the principal legislations of Copyright law and their history?
1886 Berne Convention and National Law.
Decolonisation = all countries join Berne.
Berne grants automatic protection.
US initially fiercely rejected Berne they registered British copyright. They were a developing country.
1988 Ronald Reagan finally joins Berne.
1995 TRIPS (WTO package)
1996 WIPO Internet Treaties, continuation of Berne to the Internet. Contain trips standards,
+ anti-circumvention
+ protection of information in regime of rights (Digital Rights Management Systems DRMs = lock the work)
so there is not “personal use” anymore.
Ratification of Treaties:
US - DMCA
EU - Digital Single Market Copyright Directive
2012 Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances.
2013 Marrakesh Treaty for the visually impaired.
How has the EU IP system evolved?
30 years ago, much was left to national laws. This was very complicated for business owners and operation.
European Union is the main actor of European IP integration, but not the only one.
Governments abandoned the option of grating an actual European IP system due to slowness of law-making. –> The EU “ASAP approach”, had to compromise for:
- creating more IP rights and rendering stronger existing rights
- acting in all IP field
- accepting not to be the sole IP integration body in Europe
The reason for this is that the EU has a weak legal mandate, and that IP was not included in the EU funding Treaties
Three levels of IP integration:
- Full integration, EU-wide granting and enforcement: Trademarks and Designs
- Harmonisation under EU: Copyright
- Harmonisation under EPO: Patents
What are the main EU directives in the field of copyright?
EU Directive Masterpieces:
• The Database Directive 1996, establishing right for protection of new databases that cannot be protected by copyright.
- The Directive on the legal protection of computer programs 1991, Defines that Software is protected by Copyright.
- EU Copyright Directive 2001, paving the way to copyright protection in the digital environment in all EU countries (ratification of WIPO Internet Treaties).
Others:
- The Digital Single Market Copyright Directive. (criticised. Article 11 Link tax, Article 13 platform need to obtain licenses for the use of contents).
