And Database: DR Eszter Telek IPR-Insights Consulting

Copyright protection of software
and database
Dr Eszter Telek
IPR-Insights Consulting
IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

1116 BUDAPEST, KONDORFA U. 10.  TEL.: (+36-1) 204-7730  FAX: (+36-1) 204-7731
E-MAIL: INFO@IPR-INSIGHTS.HU  WWW.IPR-INSIGHTS.HU
Software and database protection
Copyright protection
 Creation – protected by IPR: copyright
and industrial rights
 Software and database are protected by
copyright
 Copyright protection issues:
 without notification
 without an authority’s decision
 solely by the creation of the intellectual
product – the work
What is work?
 Work
 Literary and artistic works: shall include every production in the
literary, scientific and artistic domain, whatever may be the mode or
form of its expression
 Originality
 Such as
 books
 dramatic or dramatico-musical works
 cinematographic works
 works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture
 photographic works
 maps
 plans
 etc.
 Ideas and principles themselves are not protected - protection shall
applies to the expression in any form
What is work?
 Types of works: not a closed list
 software and database is protected as literary work by BC
 later it was expressed such as computer program (software), database
 ORIGINAL WORK
 it is the author’s own intellectual creation
 No qualtative – quantitative – aesthetic criteria

The author
 Who created the work
 natural person or group of natural persons
 Special:
 collective works
 employee creates work in the execution of his
duties

Term of copyright protection

 Directive 1993/98/EEC – harmonization of
term of protection
 P.m.a. + 70 years
 Author’s life + 70 years
 Database – sui generis protection – see later

The authors’ rights

 Copyright protection of the work means authors’
exclusive rights:
 moral rights
 economic rights
 The author may never transfer his moral rights

 Assignment of economic rights:
 varies by countries

Exemptions
 Free use of the works
 General
 Private copying
 Quoting
 Disabled persons
 Court, public administration and other authority
proceedings
 Etc.
 Special software and database cases
 See later

Copyright protection of computer program
 Directive 91/250/EEC
 Harmonizing different national regulations
 What is computer program?

 No definition in the Directive
 Preamble:
 the term 'computer program` shall include programs in any form, including
those which are incorporated into hardware; whereas this term also includes
preparatory design work leading to the development of a computer program
provided that the nature of the preparatory work is such that a computer
program can result from it at a later stage
 Source code, object code; documentation

 Ideas, methods not protected
 Protected as literary work

 Originality
 Author’s own creation
 No quantitative, qualitative, aesthetic requirements
 Author
 Joint authorship
 Employer as holder of economic rights
 Term of protection
 p.m.a. 70 years

 Author /right holder – exclusive rights

 LICENSE
 Special exemptions:
 the authorization of right holder is not required
 granted to the lawful acquirer
 Art. 5 (1):copying, adaptation necessary for lawful use, including error corrections
 Art. 5(2):back-up copies
 Art. 5(3): reverse engineering
 Art. 6:decompilation – from object to source code

Copyright protection of database

 Directive 97/7/EC
 What is database?
 database shall mean a collection of independent works, data or
other materials arranged in a systematic or methodical way
and individually accessible by electronic or other means
 electronic or non-electronic databases

 for example: dictionary, phone book, online databases etc.
 not software


 Protection
 Copyright – Article 3
 selection or arrangement is the author’s own intellectual creation
 independent protection of works included in the database
 Sui generis – Article 7

 “Member States shall provide for a right for the maker of a database
which shows that there has been qualitatively and/or quantitatively a
substantial investment in either the obtaining, verification or
presentation of the contents to prevent extraction and/or re-utilization
of the whole or of a substantial part, evaluated qualitatively and/or
quantitatively, of the contents of that database.”


 Term of protection
 Copyright: p.m.a. 70 years
 Sui generis
 15 years from the first of January following the year
of completion
 substantial change: shall qualify the database
resulting from that investment for its own term of
protection


 Author /right holder – exclusive rights
 LICENSE
 Special exemptions:
 the authorization of right holder is not required
 granted to the lawful acquirer
 Copyright
 necessary for the purposes of access to the contents of the databases and normal
use of the contents
 Copyright and sui generis
 option for member states to limit the exclusive rights of right holders
 reproduction for private purposes of a non-electronic database
 sole purpose of illustration for teaching or scientific research
 purposes of public security of for the purposes of an administrative or
judicial procedure

Thank you for your kind attention!


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Copyright:

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Copyright protection of software

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

 No qualtative – quantitative – aesthetic criteria

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

Term of copyright protection

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

The authors’ rights

 The author may never transfer his moral rights

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

Copyright protection of computer program

 What is computer program?

 Source code, object code; documentation

Copyright protection of computer program

 Protected as literary work

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

Copyright protection of computer program

 Author /right holder – exclusive rights

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

Copyright protection of database

 electronic or non-electronic databases

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

Copyright protection of database

 Sui generis – Article 7

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

Copyright protection of database

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

Copyright protection of database

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

Thank you for your kind attention!

IPR-INSIGHTS CONSULTING AND RESEARCH

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