Suchergebnisse

Swedish Tiger; with case note by Branka Marusic

Abstract: The European Copyright acquis communautaire seeks a balance between a high level of protection of right holders on the one hand and the promotion of learning and culture on the other by instituting strong exploitation rights and providing exceptions to these exclusive exploitation rights for purposes of research, education and the dissemination of knowledge and culture. The use of copyrighted works for several non-commercial research purposes is therefore made possible under European Union (EU) copyright law. In this article, it is shown that, despite its increasingly international character, copyright law remains largely national law, based on the principle of territoriality. National regimes vary significantly throughout the Member States, which leads to legal uncertainty, and may cause obstacles in transnational teaching and research. It will be concluded that harmonization of 'EU Copyright Law', which is flexible enough to cope with every challenge the digital age poses, is still a work in progress, which will continue into the coming years, if not decades. Résumé: L'acquis communautaire en droit européen du droit d'auteur cherche un équilibre entre d'une part un haut niveau de protection des ayants droit et d'autre part la promotion de l'enseignement et de la culture, en instituant d'importants droits d'exploitation et en prévoyant des exceptions à ces droits d'exploitation exclusifs dans un but de recherche, d'éducation et de diffusion de la connaissance et de la culture. L'utilisation d'oeuvres protégées par le droit d'auteur dans différents buts de recherché non-commerciaux est ainsi rendue possible en droit d'auteur européen. Dans cet article, il est indiqué que malgré son caractère de plus en plus international, le droit d'auteur demeure largement un droit national, basé sur le principe de territorialité. Les régimes nationaux varient de manière significative selon les Etats membres, ce qui conduit à une incertitude juridique et peut constituer des obstacles dans l'enseignement et la recherché transnationaux. Le présent article conclut que l'harmonisation du "droit d'auteur européen" qui est suffisamment souple pour affronter les défis de l'ère digitale, est encore en développement, lequel se poursuivra au cours des prochaines années, voire décennies. Zusammenfassung: Im acquis communautaire des europäischen Urheberrechts wird ein Gleichgewicht, zwischen einem hohen Schutzniveau der Rechtsinhaber einerseits und einem Fortschritt für Entwicklung und Kultur andererseits, angestrebt. Dazu werden zum einen starke Lizenzrechte implementiert, gleichzeitig aber auch Ausnahmen für diese exklusiven Nutzungsrechte für Zwecke der Forschung, Lehre und Verbreitung von Wissen und Kultur geschaffen. Dementsprechend ist die Nutzung urheberrechtlich geschützter Arbeiten für eine gewisse Anzahl an nicht-kommerziellen Forschungszwecken gemäß EU-Urheberrecht möglich. In dem vorliegenden Beitrag wird aufgezeigt, dass das Urheberrecht trotz seines immer stärker werdenden internationalen Charakters nach wie vor weitestgehend nationales Recht, basierend auf dem Territoritalprinzip, bleibt. Die nationalen Regelungen der Mitgliedsstaaten variieren jedoch signifikant, was zu Rechtsunsicherheit führt und Hindernisse für transnationale Forschung und Lehre mit sich bringen kann. Schließlich wird die Schlussfolgerung gezogen, dass die Harmonisierung eines "EU-Urheberrechts", das flexibel genug ist, allen Anforderungen, die das digitale Zeitalter bringt, zu begegnen, eine anhaltende "Baustelle" ist, die noch die nächsten Jahre, wenn nicht Jahrzehnte andauern wird.

This Article suggests a path to develop a principled conceptualizat ion for copyright of limitations and exceptions at the international level. The paper argues that, normatively, copyright has always sought to reflect a balance between protection and access. It demonstrates that this balance was present to the minds of the negotiators of the 1886 Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and may have been somewhat overlooked in revisions of the Convention. It was ultimately replaced by a three-step test designed to restrict the ability of individual legislators to create limitations and exceptions. The article also considers the conflicts between copyright and rights such as the right to privacy, human rights principles of free expression and cultural diversity, the right to information, the right to education, and the nascent right to development, all of which imply striking a balance in intellectual property protection. The article begins with a historical look at the public interest foundations of the Berne Convention and its revisions until 1971. The article then proceeds to a conceptualization of limitations and exceptions in order to show the policy linkages of each type of exception and proposes a set of principles for limitations and exceptions. The article also examines the meaning and impact of the three-step test because it would be pointless, not theoretically, but from a policy perspective, to ignore the application of the test in suggesting international principles for limitations and exceptions.

Copyright law has provided a channel for the public in order to use the copyright works in certain circumstances without the permission from the copyright owner and this use does not amount to the copyright infringement, or so called "copyright exception". However, nowadays there have been the sale contracts that restrict or exempt the consumers from any use that may otherwise fall within the ambit of copyright exception, for example, when the movie DVD is purchased, there is the contract affixed the DVD stating that "only for personal use" despite that the consumers may use this DVD in other ways such as for research and study, for teaching etc., but the consumers are only allowed for personal use. Therefore, there has been an interesting question as to whether this contract is enforceable. From the study on the legislations in other countries, there are two directions: the first is to give important respect to the principle on the freedom of contract and in this case, the court enforces the contract. And the second is to give recognition to the consumer protection and in this case, there is specific provision in copyright law that makes this contract void. However in Thailand, there is no such provision in copyright law, and it is quite difficult to apply the Civil and Commercial Code in this area. Therefore it is necessary to develop such provision in copyright law in the future.

While copyright law is ordinarily thought to consist primarily of exclusive rights, the regime's various exemptions and immunities from liability for copyright infringement form an integral part of its functioning, and serve to balance copyright's grant of a private benefit to authors/creators with the broader public interest. With contributors from all over the world, this handbook offers a systematic, thorough study of copyright limitations and exceptions adopted in major jurisdictions, including the United States, the European Union, and China. In addition to providing justifications for these limitations, the chapters compare differences and similarities that exist in major jurisdictions and offer suggestions about how to improve the enforcement of copyright limitations domestically and globally. This work should appeal to scholars, policymakers, attorneys, teachers, judges, and students with an interest in the theories, policies, and doctrines of copyright law. ; https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/books/1306/thumbnail.jpg

Exceptions are an essential part of the copyright system. They aim to encourage innovation, serve the public interest or respond to market failures. While extensive theoretical and doctrinal research has examined the history, nature, justification, and judicial interpretation of exceptions, empirical evidence in this area of copyright law is limited. This article aims to synthesise the empirical studies on exceptions currently catalogued on the Copyright Evidence Portal. After a short introduction to the topic, the article reviews the debates and questions addressed by scholars investigating exceptions empirically. In doing so, it identifies five main areas of study: i) judicial interpretation; ii) evaluating policy options; iii) impact of exceptions; iv) public domain and incentives; and v) technology and compensation. Under each area of study, the article summarises the main findings of the catalogued studies with a view to generating a picture of existing evidence and research agendas. Finally, the article highlights recent legislative and policy developments that may suggest potential directions for future research.

The relationship between intellectual property (IP) protection and economic development is not better understood today than it was five decades ago at the height of the independence era in the Global South. Development indicators in many developing and least-developed countries reflect poorly in precisely the areas that are most closely associated with copyright law's objectives, such as promoting democratic governance, facilitating a robust marketplace of ideas, fostering domestic markets in cultural goods, and improving access to knowledge. Moreover, evidence suggests that copyright law has not been critical to the business models of the creative sectors in leading emerging markets. These outcomes indicate that the current configuration of limitations and exceptions (L&Es) in international copyright law has not advanced the human welfare goals that animate its leading justifications in developing countries. This Article argues that development interests require radically different kinds of limitations and exceptions to the copyright bargain than are reflected in international copyright law. The Article considers the design of the international copyright system in light of what economists have learned about the conditions necessary for economic development and examines what changes to international copyright L&Es those insights demand. It concludes that a more realistic dialogue about the relationship between copyright and economic development compels new types of L&Es, thus underscoring where developing and least-developed countries should sensibly invest their limited economic and political capital when engaging with the international copyright framework.