Copyright, International Agreement, Subject matter (copyrightable)

, (Institute for Information Law (IViR)), (Humboldt University), and (University of Oslo)/ /Leave a comment

This blog post contains an edited version of the European Copyright Society’s Opinion on Case C-227/23, Kwantum Nederland and Kwantum België.   The Berne Convention underscores the national treatment of foreign authors, allowing Union states to protect designs through various means. Article 2(7) introduces a material reciprocity test, limiting copyright protection for works of applied…

Database right, Digital Single Market, European Union, Legislative process

(The University of Nottingham), (Institute for Information Law (IViR)), (London School of Economics), and (Institute for Information Law (IViR) )/

The European Copyright Society posted an opinion on selected aspects of the proposed Data Act. The aim of the Data Act’s sui generis clause (art. 35) to reduce the availability of IP rights over some datasets is welcome. However, its drafting is flawed and risks creating even more fragmentation in the laws of Member States….

Database right, European Union, Legislative process

(Institute for Information Law (IViR))/ /Leave a comment

In retrospect, life was simple in 1996, the year that gave us the Database directive and its much-maligned sui generis right aimed at promoting a European database industry. Fast forward and see: The Database directive stands unchanged and there is still no clear evidence that the then-new intellectual property right is an effective instrument. At…

Austria, Case Law, Exceptions and Limitations, Making available (right of), Originality

(Institute for Information Law (IViR))/ /Leave a comment

By Mireille van Eechoud, Institute for Information Law (IViR) Of the many questions addressed by the Court in its Painer judgment (Case C-145/10) the most impact will probably be on the construction of an EU wide originality criterion for copyright works. Infopaq, BSA and Murphy went before, seemingly extending the originality standard implicit in the…