Propertizing European Copyright


Book Description

With an acceleration in the last decades, the language of property, piracy and theft has become mainstream in copyright matters. Scholars have argued that this latent propertization has progressively led to the undue expansion of copyright and an enclosure of knowledge, causing clashes with users’ fundamental rights and EU social and cultural policies. Challenging the validity of such critiques, Propertizing European Copyright demonstrates that these distortive effects are only the result of mishandled property rhetoric and that a commitment to copyright propertization could enable a more internally consistent and balanced development of EU copyright law.




Research Handbook on the Future of EU Copyright


Book Description

. . . an important contribution to the study of EU copyright law. It provides a good overview of different aspects of copyright law in the European Union and comprises a prevailing guide which undoubtedly will be of great use to both academics and practitioners. Ghufran Sukkaryeh, European Intellectual Property Review Estelle Derclaye s book is indeed a Handbook on EU copyright law, since practically every aspect of copyright law is examined through the lens of EU law by foremost European specialists. But it goes further than providing an understanding of what has been and ought to be happening in EU copyright law: each chapter can touch a raw nerve in the copyright law of any country in the world. Rarely has it been so obvious that EU copyright law can be considered a laboratory for copyright law in general. Ysolde Gendreau, Université de Montréal, Canada It has been over fifteen years since the EU started harmonising copyright law. This original Handbook takes stock and questions what the future of EU copyright should be. What went wrong with the harmonisation acquis? What did the directives do well? Should copyright be further harmonised? Each of the 25 recognised copyright experts from different European countries gives a critical account of the EU harmonisation carried out on several aspects of copyright law (subject-matter, originality, duration, rights, defences etc.), and asks whether further harmonisation is desirable or not. This way, the Handbook not only gives guidance to European institutions as to what remains to be done or needs to be remedied but is also the first overall picture of current and future EU copyright law. This Handbook will be of great interest to academics and intellectual property lawyers, as well as general commercial lawyers, across Europe because it reviews European directives in the field of copyright and also the relationships between copyright and other laws. Policymakers will also find much to interest them in the discussions regarding the future of EU copyright law and the proposed amendments to the existing legal framework.




EU Copyright Law Between Property and Fundamental Rights


Book Description

Although scholars and stakeholders have long analyzed and tried to limit the clashes between copyright and fundamental rights caused by the recent developments of EU copyright law, none of their proposed solutions has been proven successful. This chapter is based on the assumption that the cause of this impasse lies in the systematic chaos generated by the incompatibility of EU and national copyright models. Since its onset, EU copyright law has substantially departed from Member States' common traditions, while Article 17.2 of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights (ECFR) completed the paradigm shift by formalizing the definition of copyright in proprietary terms. Due to the vagueness of CJEU's "fair balance" test and the different approaches of the ECFR and national constitutions to the functions, limits, and hierarchical rank of property rights, this classification has broadened the divide between EU and national case laws and caused several interpretative short circuits before national courts. The chapter argues that the only way out from the stalemate is a systematic reordering of this otherwise fragmented multilevel framework. To this end, it starts with a description of the main symptoms of the EU paradigm shift (§ 2) and compares the effects of copyright propertization before the CJEU and in selected Member States (§ 3). Then it proposed an integrated interpretation of CJEU's precedents in light of the common constitutional traditions (§ 4) and concludes by providing examples of how the new interpretative framework may help to restore the lost balance on more solid and stable systematic bases (§ 5).




New Developments in EU and International Copyright Law


Book Description

More than a source of income and a means of protection for creators, rightholders, and the creative and entertainment industries, copyright is also a vehicle for technological advances and economic development. In the European Union, industries with intensive emphasis on intellectual property rights (mainly copyright) generate more than a quarter of employment and more than a third of economic activity. Yet copyright continues to be plagued by problematic attempts to balance the interests of rightholders, the public, consumers, intermediaries, collecting societies, different national legal traditions, and other forces, European and global. This book draws a comprehensive picture of current, pending, and proposed copyright developments – legislation, ‘communications,’ white papers, and court decisions – at the levels of the European Union and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Twenty-two well-known and prestigious experts on intellectual property law from seventeen jurisdictions worldwide contribute essays on particular trends in copyright, including discussions of the following and more: - making content available in an EU digital single market; - collective management and multi-territorial licensing; - exceptions for libraries and archives, education and research; - traditional knowledge and cultural expressions; - unjustified geoblocking; - illegal content on the Internet; - text and data mining; - copyright enforcement online; and - role of the European Court of Justice. Policy recommendations are also set forth, as well as a detailed conceptual framework for a potential EU Copyright Code. As a detailed and thoughtful overview of current trends in copyright internationally, this book has no peers. It is sure to be welcomed by practitioners, policymakers, academics, researchers, and business leaders for whom intellectual property rights, and especially copyright, are of the first importance.




Harmonizing European Copyright Law


Book Description

The European concern with copyright and related rights -- Object, subject, and duration of protection -- Exclusive rights and limitations -- Rights management information and technological protection measures -- Term extension for sound recordings -- Term calculation for co-written musical works -- Orphan works -- The blessings and curses of harmonization -- The last frontier : territoriality.




EU Copyright Law


Book Description

EU Copyright Law is a seminal commentary work from a team of leading experts in the field combining aspects of theory and practice and placing copyright in perspective. It will be an indispensable reference tool for academics, researchers, practitioner




Copyright Exhaustion


Book Description

In the Second Edition of Copyright Exhaustion, copyright scholar Péter Mezei offers an expanded examination of copyright exhaustion, including its historical development, theoretical framework, practical applications, and policy considerations. He includes updated case law and statutory developments for the first-sale doctrine in the United States and in the European Union, covering both analogue and digital applications with an eye toward scrutinizing the common rejection of exhaustion in the resale of digital subject matter including computer programs, sound recordings, audiovisual works, and e-books. He advocates for a digital first-sale doctrine that would offer legal consistency to copyright law and a technologically feasible framework for content producers and consumers.







European Intellectual Property Law


Book Description

The second edition of this popular textbook has been thoroughly revised, expanded and updated in order to reflect the recent extensive changes in European IP legislation. Providing an in-depth examination of the core areas of IP law, from copyright, patents and trademarks through to the protection of plant varieties and industrial design, it is perfectly pitched to guide the reader through the complexities of the European IP system. New to this edition: Coverage of recent legislative changes since the first edition, including detail on the proposed new copyright package New expanded chapters on Plant Variety Rights, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications New chapter on IPRs and Unfair Competition, including Trade Secrets Expanded chapter on patents, including coverage of the unitary patent and the UPC, by new co-author and patent expert Stefan Luginbuehl. Key features: Concise and straightforward style, gives students and non-specialist practitioners a clear understanding of the fundamentals of European intellectual property law Highlights extracts from primary sources including decisions of the CJEU and other key case law, reports, and white papers Poses questions designed to provoke critical thinking and reflection around legal problems Covers related areas adjacent to IP law, in order to help students understand the context in which IP legislation operates Gives an overview of community and European IP rights and areas that have been harmonized at a legislative level Considers international IP protection and the interrelation between European and IP law more broadly in order to promote comparative study. With its detailed and comprehensive overview on the structure and content of European IP law, this textbook has proved an essential companion to both basic and advanced courses on European intellectual property across the globe. Acclaim for the first edition: 'This clearly-written and comprehensive text, by two leading scholars of European intellectual property law, is extremely adaptable. It is a perfect platform for classroom teaching, and is also a fine resource for those researching in what is becoming an increasingly complex field.' - Graeme B. Dinwoodie, Chicago-Kent University, US




Originality in EU Copyright


Book Description

Through an assessment of the originality requirement, this work guides the reader in interpreting judicial decisions which are of fundamental importance to current and future understanding of EU copyright. The book�s holistic approach and methodology t