Copyright is essentially the right of the rightsholder of an original work to prohibit others from making or distributing unauthorised copies of his or her work. More specifically for this dissertation, when an end user deals with digital content, one of the aims of copyright becomes the balancing of the conflicting interests in ‘exclusivity’ on the one hand, and in ‘access to information’ on the other. Exclusivity is achieved by the rightsholders through technological protection measures to protect their commercial interests. Access to information is achieved where works are available to the general public without payment and technological protection measures and where the digital content is not directly marketed for commercial gain. Exclusivity and access to information are two conflicting cultures surrounding copyright in the digital era. It is submitted that unless we find a socio-economic-legal way for the dynamic coexistence of these two conflicting cultures by means of fair dealing, the culture of exclusivity will eventually dominate fair access to information. The transient nature of digital content means that rightsholders have little or no control over their works once the end user has obtained a legal digital copy of the work. The right ‘to prohibit’ end users from copying and distributing unauthorised copies is, therefore, largely meaningless unless a legal or other solution can be found to discourage end users from the unauthorised reproduction and distribution of unauthorised copies of the work. Currently, technological protection measures are used to manage such digital rights because legal permissions within the doctrine of fair dealing for works in printed (analogue) format are inadequate. It is, however, submitted that a legal solution to discourage end users from copying and distributing unauthorised copies rests on two pillars. Firstly, the solution must be embedded in state-of-the-art digital rights management systems and secondly the business model used by publishers, and academic publishers in particular, should change fundamentally from a business-to-consumer model to a business-to-business model. Empirical evidence shows that the printing of e-content will continue to be relevant far into the future. Therefore, the management of fair dealing to allow for the printing of digital content will become increasingly important at educational institutions that use e-books as prescribed course material. It is submitted that although the origination cost of print editions and e-books correspond, the relatively high retail price of e-books appears to be based on the fact that academic publishers of digital content do not have the legal or digital rights management tools to manage the challenges arising from the fair dealing doctrine. The observation that academic publishers are reluctant to grant collecting societies mandates to manage the distribution of digital content, and/or the right to manage the authorised reproduction (printing) of the digital content, supports this hypothesis. Ultimately, with technologies at our disposal, the fair use of content in digital and print format can be achieved because it should simply be cheaper to comply with copyright laws than to make unauthorised digital or printed copies of content that our society desperately needs to make South Africa a winning nation. / Mercantile Law / LL. M.

The introduction of a regulatory framework in the area of collective management of rights in Nigeria must have been intended to strengthen the creative industry. Unfortunately, it has thrown this industry and in particular the music and film industries into a battle of a regulated against a non-regulated collective administration sector for upward of twenty (20) years. My choice of research on this topic could be attributed to the interest I developed while administering the collective administration desk at the Nigerian Copyright Commission. Serving on that desk afforded the opportunity to see the frustration of right owners who were being deprived the fruit of their labor, as the societies meant to collect and distribute royalties on their behalf were enmeshed in litigations and in the process, rarely paid any royalties to authors. Within this context, this research seeks to explore whether there is any merit in the continued existence of the current regulatory framework for collective management in Nigeria, and what the best operational framework for collective administration in Nigeria would be. A methodological approach entailing literature review of books, articles, journals, legislation, cases, reports of committees and interviews with experts was adopted, with critical analysis carried out on particularly the Nigerian Copyright Act, the Nigerian Copyright (collective management organisation) regulation, the South African Copyright Act, the South African Performers’ Protection Act, the South African Collecting Societies Regulation, as well as judicial decisions challenging certain provisions in the Nigerian legislation. It is hoped that this research will spur a desire for the need for supervisory and regulatory agencies of government to seek the national interest above all others in taking and making decisions that affect the collective administration of copyright and related rights. / Mercantile law / LL.M. (Intellectual Property)

The introduction of a regulatory framework in the area of collective management of rights in Nigeria must have been intended to strengthen the creative industry. Unfortunately, it has thrown this industry and in particular the music and film industries into a battle of a regulated against a non-regulated collective administration sector for upward of twenty (20) years. My choice of research on this topic could be attributed to the interest I developed while administering the collective administration desk at the Nigerian Copyright Commission. Serving on that desk afforded the opportunity to see the frustration of right owners who were being deprived the fruit of their labor, as the societies meant to collect and distribute royalties on their behalf were enmeshed in litigations and in the process, rarely paid any royalties to authors. Within this context, this research seeks to explore whether there is any merit in the continued existence of the current regulatory framework for collective management in Nigeria, and what the best operational framework for collective administration in Nigeria would be. A methodological approach entailing literature review of books, articles, journals, legislation, cases, reports of committees and interviews with experts was adopted, with critical analysis carried out on particularly the Nigerian Copyright Act, the Nigerian Copyright (collective management organisation) regulation, the South African Copyright Act, the South African Performers’ Protection Act, the South African Collecting Societies Regulation, as well as judicial decisions challenging certain provisions in the Nigerian legislation. It is hoped that this research will spur a desire for the need for supervisory and regulatory agencies of government to seek the national interest above all others in taking and making decisions that affect the collective administration of copyright and related rights. / Mercantile law / LL.M. (Intellectual Property)

MAAS / Department of Music

MAAS / Department of of Music

Jusqu'à l'arrêt CCH Canadienne Ltée c Barreau du Haut-Canada, rendu par la Cour suprême en 2004, la doctrine canadienne opposait deux exceptions générales au droit d’auteur : l'utilisation équitable (fair dealing), existant surtout dans les pays du Commonwealth (dont le Canada), et l’usage loyal (fair use), exception présente aux États-Unis. Alors que le premier modèle serait restrictif et conservateur, le second se voudrait plus libéral et soucieux des droits des utilisateurs. Il va sans dire que certains auteurs contestaient le statu quo juridique et souhaitaient plutôt l'adoption d'une approche libérale, voire étatsunienne, en matière d'utilisation équitable au Canada. Or, depuis l'arrêt CCH et la pentalogie du droit d’auteur de 2012, un important changement conceptuel de cette dichotomie s’est opéré. Certains auteurs décrivent une réduction significative des différences entre les deux approches, rendant les distinctions futiles. Ainsi, nous sommes amenés à nous poser la question suivante : suite à la jurisprudence canadienne contemporaine, existe-t-il toujours une différence significative entre l'utilisation équitable et l’usage loyal ? Ce mémoire se veut une analyse de l’état du droit en 2019 afin de répondre à cette question. Au terme de son raisonnement, l’auteur arrive à la conclusion que même si les deux régimes se ressemblent plus que jamais, les différences entre ceux-ci sont suffisamment importantes pour ne pas les assimiler à une unique approche avec des variations mineures. / Until the Supreme Court of Canada decision CCH Canadian Ltd v Law Society of Upper Canada in 2004, the legal literature in Canada acknowledged two competing general exceptions to copyright: fair dealing, which exists especially in Commonwealth countries (including Canada), and fair use, an exception in the United States. While the former was seen as restrictive and conservative, the second was viewed as intending to be liberal and more concerned with user rights. Needless to say, some writers contested the legal status quo and wanted a liberal, even American, approach to fair dealing in Canada. However, since the CCH decision and the copyright pentalogy of 2012, there has been a significant conceptual shift with regard to this dichotomy. Some authors describe a significant reduction in the differences between the two approaches, making the distinctions of little consequence. As such, we are led to ask the following question: given the contemporary Canadian jurisprudence, is there still a significant difference between fair dealing and fair use? This dissertation is an analysis of the state of the law in 2019 for the purpose of answering this question. At the end of his examination of the issue, the author comes to the conclusion that even if the two regimes are more similar than ever, the differences between them are sufficiently important to not assimilate them into a single approach with minor variations.

No description available.

Pas de résumé / Doctorat en droit / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Habilitacijai teikiami mokslo darbai, susiję su dviem tyrimų sritimi – autorių teisių ir kitų intelektinės nuosavybės teisių apsaugos ir gynimo teoriniais ir praktiniais aspektais. Teikiamuose mokslo darbuose, remiantis kitų valstybių, Lietuvos doktrina ir teismų praktika analizuojama ir aiškinama teisinio reguliavimo novelų esmė, pateikiamos tam tikro instituto ar dalyko fundamentalios žinios ir vertinimai. Atsižvelgiant į tai, kad, ypač intelektinės nuosavybės teisės srityje, dauguma analizuotų klausimų susiję su Europos Sąjungos ar tarptautinės teisės aktų nuostatų įgyvendinimu vidaus teisėje, analizuojami šio įgyvendinimo rezultatai, nagrinėjamos atitinkamų nuostatų turinys ir taikymo galimybės, atskleidžiamos tinkamo ir netinkamo teisės taikymo atvejai, doktrininiu aiškinimu šalinamos esamos teisinio reguliavimo ar teisės taikymo spragos arba klaidos. Taip pat iškeliamos tam tikros teisės politikos formavimo, vystymo ir strategijos kryptys bei problemos, orientuojantis į racionalumo ir apsaugos funkcionalumo kriterijus. Tyrimuose didelę reikšmę turi istorinis, lyginamasis, teleologinis tyrimų metodai. Didelę reikšmę teikiamuose darbuose turi monografija apie autorių teisę, kurioje sistemiškai nagrinėjami pagrindiniai principai, šaltiniai, objektai, subjektai, asmeninės neturtinės teisės ir turtinės teisės bei jų apribojimai. Remiantis droit d‘ auteure tradicija, autorių teisės paskirtis ir pagrindinė funkcija yra reguliuoti trejopo pobūdžio interesų konfliktus ir rasti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The subject matter of the scientific studies comprises a study of key issues of the protection of copyright as well as enforcement of other intellectual property rights. The basic methods of study used in the works are comparative, historical and teleological. The model of legal regulation of the protection of intellectual property rights chosen is the one existing in the states of droit d’ auteur and copyright systems, and based on this model the key issues of copyright protection are analysed by way of comparing and assessing the aspects provided for in the Lithuanian legislation. Lithuania follows the droit d’ auteur system. In general, the Lithuanian copyright law does not reflect any unique tradition. The development of intellectual property rights protection in Lithuania essentially coincided with the accession to international and regional organisations and to international agreements. When Lithuania decisively implemented one of its foreign policy aims — to become a member of the European Union — the approximation of its national law to the European Union legislation commenced in the field of intellectual property law as well as in the whole legal system. The scientific monograph and the few scientific articles analyse the main aspects of the protection of copyright: main principles of copyright, legal sources, subject matter of the protections, the author or other copyright owner, contents of protection (economic rights and moral rights), limitations and exceptions... [to full text]

Resume The thesis is focused mainly on the rights of phonogram and audiovisual fixation producers. Choosing this topic came as a result of my own personal interest in music, as well as the constantly active public debate regarding the protection of rights of the producers in relation to the expantion of internet and related transmission of digital data. Part one is followed by establishing main terms, specifically the phonograms and their producers, and audiovisual fixations and their producers. The history of copyright protection and related rights is discussed in the third part. Despite the long history of intelectual property protection, copyright and related rights were not included into the Czech legal system until 1953. The historical excursion into copyright and related rights leads to exploration of the rights of phonograms and audiovisual fixations producers, especially in the light of how easy their worldwide distribution in today`s world is. Copyright is based on the quasidual concept of personal and property rights. Producers of phonograms or audiovisual fixations are granted solely property rights. The last two chapters are devoted to the explanation of individual rights and their potential civil or public protection under the valid Czech legal system.