Copyright protection is granted to individuals or businesses that want to protect artistic, literary, and/or musical original creations in the form of books, paintings, movies, recordings, and/or software. Copyright protection allows its creator to benefit both economically, by financially rewarding the creator, and morally, by allowing the creator to claim authorship and thereby prevent mutilation or distortion of his/her work. To be granted copyright protection, the creator must establish that the work is both original and expressed in a tangible medium.

Legislation

International Law

All EU Member States are parties to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Berne Convention), so EU copyright protection is automatic and no formal registration is necessary. Therefore, if a company has copyright protection in the US under the Berne Convention, that company will equally have protection in the EU-27. Under the Berne Convention, created works are protected as soon as they exist. As such, WIPO does not maintain a public register of copyrighted material. However, in addition to the Berne Convention, WIPO administers several other treaties that related to copyright protection, including the Brussels Convention Relating to the Distribution of Program-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite, Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms, the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations, the WIPO Copyright Treaty, and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

EU Member States are also party to the Berne Union, which allows them to offer more, but not less, protection than is required under the Berne Convention.  Many EU Member States have therefore, created domestic registration systems that provide additional benefits to the copyright holder.  For example, by using an EU domestic registration system, the creator of a work may license or assign the rights of the creation to a publisher or producer.

European Union Law

The European Union created many copyright norms in multiple European Union Directives that address copyright, which are implemented by Member States, including the harmonization of the term of protection, the legal protection of software and databases, the adaptation of copyright to the information society, and the enforcement of intellectual property rights. Depending on the type of material for which your company seeks protection, the relevant EU Directive should be referenced.

The EU Information Society Copyright Directive, for example, is a frequently referenced Directive, as it is similar in many ways to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which is the US copyright law that implements the WIPO treaties. Both the US Act and EU Directive criminalize production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services that are used to circumvent measures that control access to copyrighted works and criminalizes the act of circumventing an access control, even when there is no infringement of copyright itself. Both also heighten penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet.

• Coverage

Copyright protection does not continue indefinitely. It begins from the moment the work is created and (in most cases placed in a tangible medium) and generally continues for a limited period of time after the death of the work’s creator. Under the Berne Convention (to which all EU Member States are parties), copyright protection extends for the life of the creator plus “not less than fifty years after his/her death. In both the US and the EU, copyright protection lasts seventy years after the death of the work’s creator.

• Registration

Effectively, copyright registration is unnecessary because the Berne Convention grants automatic protection the moment a work is created. This protection extends to all countries that are party to the Convention. As mentioned, however, many EU countries have national copyright offices often for the purpose of identifying the title of the author’s work, or as evidence that the author created the work in the event of an enforcement action. Further, obtaining registration from a Member State may allow the creator to license/assign the rights of the creation to, for example, a publisher or producer. To obtain copyright protection from a Member State, contact its national copyright office for more specific information.

• Market Entry Planning

A well-developed, comprehensive IPR strategy may include registering IPR with relevant agencies and controlling and enforcing IPR rights. At a minimum, your company’s strategy should include:

Registration - Register your copyright in the relevant EU Member State. Enforcement actions in the EU can and will only take place after formalities are properly recognized. Since formalities take time, it will also be some time before authorities begin enforcement procedures.

Control - Do not allow control of your copyright to slip into the hands of your agents or distributors. Make sure to:

• Incorporate copyright protections into contracts and marketing strategies;

• Enter into written and enforceable contracts that require agents, suppliers, distributors and employees to protect your copyright;

• Refuse to assign or license your copyright unless and until you fully understand the consequences; and

• Make certain that your rights in the copyright remain with you upon termination of the assignment, license, transaction or investment.

• Enforcement

European copyright is enforced both civilly and/or administratively. While there are international agreements, such as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), that have the basic standards for effective IP enforcement procedures, under the EU’s Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Directive, enforcement is a Member State issue. Under the Directive, Member States must provide measures, procedures and remedies necessary to ensure the enforcement of IPR that are fair and equitable. All EU Member States must provide “effective, dissuasive, and proportionate” remedies and penalties against those engaged in counterfeiting and piracy.

The abovementioned EU Directive has led many states to adopt national provisions on civil remedies more closely in line with “best practices” standards. These standards include procedural protection, which covers evidence and protection of evidence, and provisional measures such as injunctions and seizure. There is also a “right of information” that allows judges to gain access to names and addresses of those involved in distributing the illegal goods, and the details about the amount of goods involved and the prices. Remedies include the infringing work’s destruction, recall of illegal material, and permanent removal of that work from the EU market. The legitimate copyright holder may be entitled to damages and/or injunctive relief. Thus far, the EU has no criminal remedy available.

Under the EU Regulation concerning customs action against goods suspected of infringing certain IP rights, the right-holder may file a written complaint with the relevant customs authorities. Such an application for action must include accurate and detailed descriptions of the work in question, information about the nature of the fraud, and the copyright holder’s contact information. The law applicable when deciding whether an intellectual property right has been infringed is that of the Member State where the work was presumably infringed. Member States may also enable the customs authorities to have the infringing work destroyed.

• Helpful Links

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works: http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/trtdocs_wo001.html

Brussels Convention Relating to the Distribution of Program-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite, done at Brussels (May 21, 1974): http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/ip/brussels/pdf/trtdocs_wo025.pdf

Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms (October 29, 1971): http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/ip/phonograms/pdf/trtdocs_wo023.pdf

Copyright Directive Overview in Member States:
http://www.euro-copyrights.org

Directory of National Copyright Offices:
www.wipo.int/directory/en/urls.jsp

European Union Copyright Directive:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32001L0029:EN:HTML

European Union Intellectual Property Enforcement Directive:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004L0048R(01):EN:HTML

International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations done at Rome (October 26, 1961):
http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/ip/rome/pdf/trtdocs_wo024.pdf

List of European Union Directives that Address Copyright: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/copyright/documents/documents_en.htm

Parties to the Berne Convention as of April 13, 2007: http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/documents/pdf/berne.pdf

Regulation concerning customs action against goods suspected of infringing certain intellectual property rights and the measures to be taken against goods found to have infringed such rights: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2003/l_196/l_19620030802en00070014.pdf

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/t_agm0_e.htm

Understanding Copyright & Related Rights: http://www.wipo.int/freepublications/en/intproperty/909/wipo_pub_909.pdf

WIPO Copyright Treaty adopted at Geneva (December 20, 1996): http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/ip/wct/pdf/trtdocs_wo033.pdf

WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, adopted in Geneva (December 20, 1996): http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/ip/wppt/pdf/trtdocs_wo034.pdf