Exceptions and Limitations to copyright are provisions which allow for works protected by copyright to be used in specific situations without a licence from the copyright owner. There are numerous limitations and exceptions found in copyright legislation including, for example, the fair use exception, exceptions for libraries, archives and educational institutions, and the back-up copy exception.
Like most copyright systems, French copyright law does not leave much room for the freedom of authors of transformative graphic works (also called “derivative works”). Three interesting cases on derivative works, two involving Jeff Koons and one Tintin, have recently put French copyright law in the international spotlight (e.g. here and here). The American transformative…
To mark the deadline for the national implementation of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (CDSMD) and present the mid-term results of its cross-disciplinary and transnational research, the Horizon 2020 project reCreating Europe is organising the web conference “The implementation of the CDSM Directive: snapshots into the future of EU copyright law”,…
On 4 June 202, the European Commission published its guidance on Article 17 of Directive 790/2019 on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (CDSM Directive). The guidance drew attention mainly because the Commission shifted from a position that rejected ex-ante blocking of content to a permissive take towards ex-ante blocking beyond manifestly illegal content (see…
This post is the second installment of a synopsis of the doctoral thesis the author defended at Universidade Católica Portuguesa on 25 September 2020. The thesis was recently published by Kluwer Law International, as part of its Information Law Series. The first part of this post has established the need to reform the InfoSoc framework…
This post is the first instalment of a synopsis of the doctoral thesis the author defended at Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Lisbon) on 25 September 2020. The thesis was recently published by Kluwer Law International, as part of its Information Law Series. Copyright exceptions fine-tune the reach of authors’ exclusive rights. They treat as non-infringing…
Until recently, the French police’s handling of the yellow vest (gilets jaunes) demonstrations was ‘only’ criticized for excessive use of force (notably by the UN Human Rights Council). The “disproportionate” police behaviour was substantiated by extensive video footage recorded by protesters. To avoid videos of their agents’ interventions being shared on social networks, however, the…
Introduction A few weeks ago, the “International Instrument on Permitted Uses in Copyright Law” (hereinafter, the Instrument) was published with open access. The Instrument is the outcome of an international academic initiative that brought together around twenty outstanding copyright experts from various countries around the world. The group of experts convened its first meeting in…
Our daily life is studded with hints unveiling how the Internet is becoming a society within our society. From the terms and conditions we subscribe to in order to use it, to consolidated practices in the online world, the Internet mostly functions according to its own rules, which either abide by or clash with legal…
Will the text and data mining (TDM) exceptions, introduced in arts 3 and 4 of the EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive) and currently being implemented by the EU Member States, serve its purpose of promoting the development of AI technologies or will they remain (another) set of meaningless black…
The Directive on Copyright in a Digital Single Market (CDSM Directive, see here and here for an overview) is due to be implemented by the Member States of the European Union by 7 June 2021. The 27 Member States have struggled with transposing the CDSM Directive and have so far produced various transposition drafts, many of…
