A story of copyright in adaptations

German substantive copyright law applies both to a testamentarydisposition of copyright and to the scope and character of copyrightlicensing agreements.     

版权法上的公共领域研究

Public domain is a core rule of copyright law, under which various creative materials are available for an author to use without charge or liability for infringement, hence ensuring the effective implementation of copyright law. Public domain is characterized by openness, public ownership, irrevocability and formality. Based on the premise that the author’s work will not be interfered, public domain ultimately aims at the enlargement of its own universe and prosperity of the culture of human society. Its introduction into copyright law satisfies both historical and logical demands. Without its acknowledgement, copyright cannot be justified. In that sense, public domain and copyright can be deemed as twins. Public domain is not only an existing institution, but also an ideological tendency or a methodology. It has evaluative and inspective values towards copyright. It is an important precondition of copy-rights, and what is more, an important measure for controlling the expansion and realizing the purpose of copyright. Huang Hui, Ph.D, is a lecturer of civil law at Southwest University of Political Science and Law. Till now, he has released over 20 research articles in academic journals in China, such as Modern Law Science, Legal Forum, Academic Forum, etc. His magnum opus includes: Legal Philosophy Exposition of Unreasonable Outstretch in Intellectual Property Rights, Interpretation & Transfer: An exposition of de-intelligence of intellectual property rights, research on the protection of works in public domain, etc.     

The role of standardization and interoperability in copyright protection of computer software

Copyright protection for computer software often presents a contradiction between law and the desired public policy that is the law's inspiration. The law provides incentives to individuals to create intellectual property by protecting authors through monopolistic controls on copying and distributing the authors' work. Conferring too much protection, however, may reduce incentives to create competitive products in the same market, defeating the law's constitutional purpose of encouraging the “Progress of Science and the useful Arts.” Two characteristics of computer software, technical standards and interoperability, compound this contradiction. Using economic literature on standards and the recent line of Lotus v. Borland cases, this article examines the role of standardization and interoperability in copyright protection of computer software, and suggests a part for the fair‐use defense in such cases.     

Links and copyright law

For at least 15 years, there have been question marks over the legal permissibility of connecting one web resource to another by means of links. The purpose of this paper is to assess where we stand in terms of the legal state on the threshold of the new decade. The substantive argument in this paper is that, fundamentally, there are only two sorts of links. ‘Normal’ links facilitate access to subject matter that has been made available to the public and are visible to users as ‘activatable’ references. ‘Embedding’ links, by contrast, automatically incorporate online material and cause it to become a part of the embedding document. On the grounds of the cumulative judicial custom in the member states of the European Union, this paper proposes that normal links as such should invariably be deemed not to create a state of interference with copyright law. Embedding links, however, may constitute an infringement of the exclusive right of alteration, communication or reproduction enjoyed by the copyright holder, depending on the facts and circumstances.     

Software copyright part II: The new German legislation

The amendments of the French and German Copyright Acts discussed above and in my previous article (1986–1987) 1 CLSR confirm the established opinion of the world that copyright law is the most suitable means for protecting computer programs. The United States changed their law about five years ago and now the big industrial central European countries are following suit. The European market for software deserves it, as the turnover is now $1.6 billion and it is expected to be five times as much by 1989. The States Commissions in the respective countries of Scandinavia are ready with their proposals to change the copyright law too, probably during 1986. If not, Scandinavian software might suffer from inadequate protection abroad.     

Digital media and copyright law in Asia

‘A book may be good for nothing; or there may be onlyone thing in it worth knowing; are we to read it all through?’(Samuel Johnson) This section is dedicated to the review of ideas, articles,books, films and other media. It will include replies (and rejoinders)to articles, the evaluation of new ideas or proposals, and reviewsof books and articles both directly and indirectly related tointellectual property law.     

The legal regime for application of the precautionary principle in India: future directions for the GM regulatory regime

The precautionary principle is one of the most contentious principles in contemporary international legal developments. The very fact that it is a principle of international environmental law has been questioned by many legal scholars. However, this does not take away the fact that the precautionary principle continues to be applied widely across sectors both internationally and nationally. The nature and scope of its application has varied widely according to the context and sector within which it has been applied. The central issue which this article seeks to address is the regulatory and the policy making space that is available to the Government of India in the context of the obligations as undertaken under the Cartagena Protocol and under various other international treaties. The regulatory space would also be affected by the domestic legal developments across sectors in which the principle has been applied. India’s recent decision on the large-scale commercialisation of Bt-Cotton has already created much debate regarding its appropriateness given the realities of Indian farm practices. More specifically, it has also led to a rethinking of the role and application of the precautionary principle in addressing these realities. Considering that the Indian policy on biotechnology is currently being drafted, it is important to look into the scope of applying the precautionary principle in taking any decision on genetically modified organisms (GMO) in terms of their distribution of risks, incorporating the social and equity impacts of such decisions.

Commercial activities and copyright in Australian universities

With government funding for most Australian universities below 60% and falling a major strategic emphasis for universities has been on securing other sources of operating revenue, including commercial opportunities and partnerships. The implication of increasing commercial activities such as non-award and tailored professional programmes, contract research and consultancies within a university environment raises a number of issues in relation to copyright. This paper will discuss whether the educational provisions (including section 200AB introduced in the 2006 amendments) or the fair dealing provisions within the Copyright Act could be applied if copyright material is reproduced as part of a commercial activity undertaken by a university.     

Piracy of copyright in Pakistan and its effects

This article analyses the copyright piracy in Pakistan through International Intellectual Property Alliance Reports. Copyright piracy ratio is very high in Pakistan in last fifteen years. The article discusses the piracy situation year wise and its effects on Pakistan economy. In this way, it tries to improve the implementation of intellectual property rights. In the end, the article recommends some suggestions to improve the enforcement situation in Pakistan.     

加大著作权犯罪惩治力度的思考

著作权是知识产权的重要组成部分。中国加入WTO,履行TRIPS协议,意味着要对著作权进行更为广泛的保护。反映在刑事法领域,应降低刑事起诉门槛,划定更大的犯罪圈,以加大对著作权犯罪的惩治力度。由于我国刑法对著作权犯罪规定的罪名较少,适用的范围相对较窄,客观上限制了对著作权犯罪的打击,难以适应保护著作权的需要,为此,需要时刑法进行相应的完善。     

视频网站再试版权合作

“正版化”无疑是视频网站行业发展的必由之路。为此,视频网站有必要认真思考与探索解决知识产权风险的方法,合作或为上策。     

Lost opera, lost copyright

This decision of the Regional High Court of Düsseldorfhighlights the strict rules applicable to the rights ownersburden of proof under section 71 Urheberrechtsgesetz (GermanAuthors' Act).     

临摹品的著作权问题探析

我国2001年新修订的<著作权法>第1 0条规定:"复制权,即以印刷、复印、拓印、录音、录像、翻录、翻拍等方式将作品制作一份或多份的权利".这一表述中删去了临摹这一传统手段.为什么删去,目前未有明确的理论说明,然而这一修改再次触及到理论界一直存有争议的关于临摹这一行为的性质,以及临摹品是否享有著作权的问题.     

谈广告作品版权的保护问题——由一起广告作品侵权案例引发的争议说起

自我国广告市场重开以来,我国广告业以年平均40％以上的递增率持续增长,如今广告是知名度最高、出现最频繁的经济现象之一;无论是企业家,还是消费者,抑或是广告人、广告传媒,都需要和离不开广告。然而,在广告业取得长足发展的同时,由广告作品引发的侵权纠纷也渐渐多了起来。本文试图就一起广告作品侵权案例谈谈广告作品的法律保护问题,以期为广告市场的健康