Transcript Copyright and the Freedom of Accessing Information in the Cyberspace András Szinger copyright expert ARTISJUS, Hungary

Copyright and the Freedom of
Accessing Information in the
Cyberspace
András Szinger
copyright expert
ARTISJUS, Hungary
Aim of the presentation
Giving a brief overview about the
present Hungarian copyright legislation
 Describing the free uses (limitations of
the exclusive rights of the authors) in
the light of the fair use concept

Contents
1. International legal background
 2. Right of communication to the public
in the new Hungarian copyright act
 3. Cases of free uses regarding online
uses
 4. Licensing in practice: collective
administration of authors’ rights
 5. Conclusion

1. International legal
background




Need for harmonized legislation covering
online uses of works
1996: WIPO Treaties (with reference to the
Berne Convention)
right of reproduction: agreed statement: „the
reproduction rights fully applies in the digital
environment”
right of communication to the public
(„umbrella solution”)

limitations:
– freedom to provide new limitations or
exceptions in the national legislation
– in cases where there is no conflict with a
normal exploitation of the work, and the
legitimate interests of the author are not
unreasonably prejudiced.
2. Right of communication to
the public in the new
Hungarian Copyright Act
uploading: communication to the public,
exclusive right: licensing mainly via
collective administration of rights (joint
licensing)
 downloading (displaying): for
private/scientific/educational purposes:
free use

3. Cases of free uses
regarding online uses

Private copies:
– home copies
– internal (institution) copies (eg. for
scientific research or supply for a public
library)
– educational copies

Temporary reproduction:
– with the exclusive purpose to permit the
realization of the use of the work
authorized by the author
– if an integral part of the technological
process aiming to achieve the said use
– without any economic significance of its
own
– eg. browsing, search engines, automatic
caching
4. Licensing in practice:
collective administration
collective managing society appointed
by the Ministry of Culture (regarding
music and literature: Artisjus, civil law
society of authors and composers)
 joint licensing: licensing agreements
with the users based on tariff chart as
general terms and conditions

the tariff chart is determined by the
licensing society and approved by the
Ministry of Culture each year, and
published in the Official Gazette
 the tariff announcement for the year
2000 includes special rates for:

–
–
–
–
independent streaming,
simulcasting,
offering works for downloading
both music and literature
5. Conclusion

Required balance between the interest
of
– users (to access more and more
information)
– producers of intellectual property (to get
an equitable remuneration)

The present Hungarian legislation
seems to be capable to handle the
problem via the system of free uses
based on international standards