This dissertation investigates whether the needs of persons with sensory disabilities are accommodated in South African copyright law. Of the approximately 44,8 million people in South Africa counted in Census 2001, 2,3 million were reported as disabled. Of these, 577 000 (1,3 per cent) had a visual disability, 314 000 (0,7 per cent) a hearing disability, whilst others had physical, intellectual and communication disabilities, some with multiple disabilities too. Persons with sensory disabilities, such as visual, hearing and related impairments, experience barriers to accessing information on a daily basis. The dissertation explores barriers in the copyright law and seeks ways to remedy the situation so as to facilitate access to information, particularly for educational, personal and other purposes. To contextualise this research, international and regional copyright trends are explored to establish whether intellectual property agreements allow copyright limitations and exceptions for persons with sensory disabilities in national laws. In addition, the copyright laws of a large number of countries that have already adopted appropriate limitations and exceptions nationally are reviewed. The dissertation highlights the lack of attention that the access needs of persons with sensory disabilities have been afforded in the Copyright Act 98 of 1978, as well as related inadequacies in the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002. South Africa’s non-compliance with certain international and national obligations relating to human rights and access to information is also highlighted within the context of copyright law. International human rights conventions, the South African Constitution and domestic anti-discriminatory laws all provide the framework for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, yet their rights to access to knowledge have been neglected by government and the legislature. Some recommendations for further research and possible amendments to the copyright law are provided

(EN) Primary focus of this thesis is the copyright protection of databases. This thesis introduce the copyright protection of databases as an essential element of two pillar system of European Union database protection law that is based on the directive no. 69/9/ES on the legal protection of databases. First five chapters of this thesis are concerned with general questions related to the copyright protection of databases. Purpose of these chapters is to introduce roots of legal and other nature from which the copyright protection of databases arises. This part of the thesis thus defines the phenomenon of databases in relation to information society, available means of protection, the purpose of legal protection of databases, the legal framework and relevant legal traditions. Subject of sixth chapter is the definition of database as a specific category of work and compares it with other kinds of works with the emphasis on common and distinctive characteristics. Seventh chapter focuses on elementary features of the copyright protection of databases, ie. structural protection, concept of originality and rights related to the creation and the use of databases. Eight chapter introduces the sui generis regime as a second pillar of database protection based on directive no. 69/9/ES. This chapter further...

Radim Gelner Overview of specific modes of authorial work protection including the comparison with the general mode of protection - Diploma Thesis Summary In this thesis we analyze specific modes of protection of authorial works provided by the Czech Copyright Act 121/2000 Sb. as amended. These specific modes of protection are invoked either by the type of authorial work (for example computer programs) or by legal circumstances at the time the authorial work is created (for example existing employment relationship). In the first part of the thesis we discuss the parties of intellectual property relationships. Although the author is the primary party of such relationships there are other subjects as well such as heirs, employers, licensees, movie producers etc. We briefly describe the natural rights and the property rights of the author relating to the authorial work and modes of their transferral to other subjects of the intellectual property relationships. Then we follow up with the description of authorial work as a subject of intellectual property relationships. The legal definition of authorial work is provided and analyzed as well as specifics of various kinds of authorial works and modes of its creation (such as joint-authorship). In the third part we discuss the content of natural and property rights...

The purpose of this thesis is to deal with copyright law institutes which are applied in a theatre field. It is important to bear in mind that there is not special legal regulation of copyright law when it comes to the theatre field. The reason is most likely because of diversity within art, which is not easy to be covered by legal regulations. Also there is not enough space for theatre field as it is necessary in Czech copyright law. Another goal of this thesis is to provide audience from theatre field with information included in this work. That fact was also taken into account. Besides introduction and conclusion the thesis is devided into ten chapters. Firstly there is a list of theoretical terms which are essential for understanding the thesis and later there is analysis of specific institutes. Introducing chapter number two defines list of theoretical terms from both theatre and copyright law field. Only a few of them are explained for easier understanding of following chapters. Third chapter deals with license agreements, as it is essential term in copyright law field. Fourth chapter introduces contracts of work and consists of two subchapters. First subchapter provides information about contracts of work with intangible result which is base for second subchapter contract of ordered work. It...

80 Abstract The aim of this thesis is to describe various ways of use of works on the Internet and method of their copyright protection in this specific environment. Because without any doubt the Internet interferes with everyday life of today's society and subsequently has a significant effect on further development of a legal system, this topic becomes very relevant. The thesis itself is divided into four chapters. The first chapter is devoted to general description of the Internet and copyright law, and contains explanation of development of this private law area in the territory of the independent Czech Republic, including list of national and international legal sources. The second chapter defines the copyrighted work and its different types according to the Czech Copyright Act, an individual author, use of the work, whether in the form of a contractual or non-contractual disclosure and also important topic of making the work available through the Internet. The third chapter analyzes the copyright protection in the private and public spheres, and technical means of such protection (DRM). The last, and with respect to the discussed topic the most important, fourth chapter deals with various ways of use of works on the Internet, including their detailed description. Downloading and uploading, legislation...

Exercise of copyright by a person other than the author (of author's heirs) This thesis deals with the issue of the exercise of copyright by a person other than the author which is a part of the intellectual property rights. The aim of this thesis is not only to analyze applicable and effective legislation of the Czech Republic but also to compare the recent legislation with the previous one. The thesis is divided into eight chapters. The initial chapter explains the status of the copyright in the legal system, its importance and dynamics. Two following chapters provide with the necessary introduction into the terminology of the copyright and explain the specific division of the copyright into personal and property rights. Chapter Four contains the systematic division of the exercise of copyright by a person other than the author according to the particular categories. Chapter Five discusses the lawful exercise of copyright by a person other than the author according to the previous legislation. Chapter Six deals, on the other hand, with the lawful exercise of copyright by a person other than the author according to the recent legislation, in particular with the employee work. Chapter Seven is dedicated to non-contractual types of use of the copyright work, describes all statutory licenses which...

- Collective administration in Copyright Law (including considerations de lege ferenda). Keywords: collective administration; copyright law. The purpose of my thesis is to analyse the collective administration of copyright and neighbouring rights ("collective administration") in the Czech republic under the Act No. 121/2000 Coll., on Copyright ("Copyright Act"). The thesis is composed of seven chapters. Chapter One is introductory and includes basic definition of collective administration, its goals, models of administration and the current applicable law in the Czech republic. Chapter Two examines the main activities of copyright collecting societies in two parts. The first part focuses on the blanket licensing while the second describes the internal rules according to which the fees collected by copyright collective societies are distributed among the interested parties. Chapter Three is subdivided into three parts and provides an outline of rights that can be collectively administered. The first part describes the mandatory collective administration of rights. The second part focuses on the so-called extended collective licensing. The third part describes the voluntary collective administration. Chapter Four concentrates on the copyright collecting societies in four parts. The first part focuses...

This thesis examines the intersection between authors' moral rights and conflict-of-laws. The research question has been triggered by two important, interlinked factors. The first is that the currently applicable choice-of-law rules to moral rights are the same as those applicable to copyright. The second concerns the fact that moral rights are different from copyright - both in their nature and in the interest they aim to protect. Since these two factors coincide, it is questionable whether it ought to be the case that moral rights are subjected to the same choice-of-law rules as are applicable to copyright. The thesis therefore aims to discover whether the currently applicable choice-oflaw rules available in the context of moral rights are suitable for achieving the goals and objectives of conflict-of-laws. In the course of this thesis, I evaluate the potential validity of detaching moral rights from copyright in conflict-oflaws and instead attaching it to the characterization model of general personality rights. The research question is mainly addressed from the perspective of Rome I and Rome II Regulations. However, as there is no EU harmonization concerning general personality rights in conflict-of-laws, the examination will be directed towards France and England as examples of civil and common law traditions. Moreover, reference will also be made to CLIP and ALI principles by reason of comparison.

License Agreement in copyright - abstract Copyright according to Czech laws is based on dualistic conception that means we distinguish moral rights from property rights of authorship. In the Czech Republic only the property rights are transferable and can be a subject of license agreement. The thesis is dedicated to description of license agreement according to current legislation with regards to modern trends related to internet network. First chapter describes briefly current legislation related to copyright and license agreements concerning domestic laws, international treaties and rules of European law. Second chapter is focused on division of licenses in general and afterwards deals with attributes of the license agreement. The short notice is made about protection of the author as a weaker contracting party. The most important part of the thesis is contained in the third chapter of the thesis. It explains requirements of the license agreement demanded by Act. No. 121/2000 Sb., the copyright act, and focus on the other arrangements which may the license agreement contain, i.e. security, option right. Last but not least the space is dedicated to reward for author and to description of public offer of the license agreement and its unaddressed acceptation. Chapters 4 and 5 focus briefly on publishers...

In this thesis I explain the problematic situation presented by the legal protection of logos in the Czech Republic. I chose this topic because logos are a daily part of everyones' lives helping us make important every day decisions. Yet logo is not a legal term and sometimes it can be difficult to define what logo actually is. This doesn't mean to say that logos do not have legal protection. It always depends on the definition of logo. Usually a logo enjoys the same rights as the brand it represents giving it equal protecton under the law. In many cases logos are a registered trademark giving it full protection under the trademark act. Even unregistered logos enjoy some of the same protections afforded to registered logos and it may be additionally protected by unfair competition laws. Often logos are the work of a single artist and therefore covered by the copyright act. In the opening of the thesis I wrote about the legal protection of logos in view of the copyright act and explained the requirements a logo must meet to qualify for protection under this act. Thustly explaining the rights possessed by the author of the logo, the process of transfering those rights to another person, and finally what measures the author can take to defend his rights. Next, I desribed logo in the terms of a...