Directive 93/98/EEC
Title:	Directive harmonizing the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights
Made by:	European Council
Made under:	Arts. 57(2), 66 & 100a
Official Journal reference:	L290, 1993-11-24, pp. 9–13
Dates
Made:	29 October 1993
Came into force:	24 November 1993
Implementation date:	1 July 1995
Preparative texts
Proposal from the Commission:	C92, 1992-04-11, p. 6 C27, 1993-01-30, p. 7
Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee:	C287, 1992-11-04, p. 53
Opinion of the European Parliament:	C337, 1992-12-22, p. 205
Reports:
Other legislation
Replaces:	—
Amends:	91/250/EEC, 92/100/EEC
Amended by:	2001/29/EC
Replaced by:	—
Status: Unknown

Council Directive 93/98/EEC of 29 October 1993 harmonizing the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights^[1] is a European Union directive in the field of copyright law, made under the internal market provisions of the Treaty of Rome. Image File history File links European_flag. ... A directive is a legislative act of the European Union which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. ... The European Council, informally called the European summit, is a meeting of the heads of state or government of the European Union, and the President of the European Commission. ... The Official Journal of the European Communities is the gazette of record for the European Union. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... November 24 is the 328th day (329th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive body of the European Union. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The European Unions Economic and Social Committee is the consultative assembly of European social and economic partners. This phrase refers mainly to representatives of business, employers and trade unions. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 57 days remaining. ... Sign in the entrance of the European Parliament building in Brussels, written in all the official languages used in the European Union as of July 2006 The European Parliament building in Strasbourg The debating chamber, or hemicycle, in Strasbourg The European Parliament building in Brussels The European Parliament (formerly European... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... A directive is a legislative act of the European Union which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. ... Copyright symbol Copyright is a set of exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular expression of an idea or information. ... The Treaty of Rome signing ceremony Signatures in the Treaty The Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community (EEC) and was signed by France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (the latter three as part of the Benelux) on March 25, 1957. ...

Duration of protection

The principal goal was to ensure that there was a single duration for copyright and related rights across the entire European Union. The chosen term was 70 years from the death of the author (post mortem auctoris, pma) for authors' rights (Art. 1), longer than the 50 year post mortem auctoris term required by the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Art. 7.1 Berne Convention). The directive notes that the original goal of the Berne Convention was to protect works for two generations after the death of the author, and that fifty years was no longer sufficient for this purpose (para. 5 of the preamble). It is often stated that 70 years pma was the longest copyright term of any Member State at the time: this is not strictly correct,^[2] and is not quoted as the reason for the choice in the directive. Where a Member State protected a work for a longer period at the time the directive came into force, the copyright term is not reduced [Art. 10(1)], but other Member States will not respect the longer period. Related rights is a term in copyright law, used in opposition to the term authors rights. The term neighbouring rights is exactly equivalent, and a more literal translation of the original French droits voisins. ... The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, sometimes called the Berne Union or Berne Convention, adopted at Berne in 1986, first established the recognition of copyrights between sovereign nations. ...

The duration of protection of related rights (those of performers, phonogram and film producers and broadcasting organisations was set at fifty years with the following rules for calculating the starting date (Art. 3). This fifty year period was in reflexion of the negotiating position of the European Community at the negotiations which led to the Marrakech Agreements, including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Related rights is a term in copyright law, used in opposition to the term authors rights. The term neighbouring rights is exactly equivalent, and a more literal translation of the original French droits voisins. ... Manufacturers put records inside protective and decorative cardboard jackets and an inner paper sleeve to protect the grooves from dust and scratches. ... The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) is a treaty administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) which sets down minimum standards for forms of intellectual property (IP) regulation. ...

Retroactivity

The new copyright terms applied retroactively to works which were already in existence when it came into force, as was held by the European Court of Justice in the Butterfly case,^[4] even if they had previously entered the public domain. Strictly, they applied to works which were protected in at least one Member State on 1995-07-01, although most Member States chose to apply them to all works which would qualify on the basis of the protection terms, regardless of protection elsewhere: this approach is much simpler for national courts to apply, as they do not have to consider foreign laws. Retroactive is an album by British band Def Leppard released in 1993. ... The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is formally known as the Court of Justice of the European Communities, i. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ...

The wisdom of the approach was shown by the judgment of the European Court of Justice in the Puccini case,^[5] which covered facts arising before the directive entered force. The State of Hesse in Germany had staged the opera La Bohème by Puccini during the 1993/94 season without the permission of the copyright holder. The opera was first published in Italy and Puccini died on 1924-11-29. At the time, Italy applied a copyright period of 56 years pma, so Italian protection had expired at the end of 1980: Germany, however, applied a 70 years pma period to works of German authors and the "rule of the shorter term" (Art. 7.8 Berne Convention) to foreign works. The Court ruled that the application of the rule of the shorter term between Member States was a breach of the principle of non-discrimination enshrined in Article 12 of the Treaty instituting the European Community: hence the work should have been protected in Germany even if it was no longer protected in Italy. Such cases should no longer arise with the implementation of the directive. Hesse (German: Hessen) is a state of Germany with an area of 21,110 km² and just over six million inhabitants. ... La bohème[1] is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de Bohème by Henri Murger. ... Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (December 22, 1858 – November 29, 1924) was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire[1]. Some of his melodies, such as O mio babbino caro... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Films and photographs

The directive also harmonizes the copyright treatment of films ("cinematographic and other audiovisual works") and photographs throughout the European Union. Films are protected for 70 years from the death of the last of the following people to die [Art. 2(2)]: the principal director, the author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogue and the composer of music specifically created for use in the cinematographic or audiovisual work. This applies regardless of the provisions of national law regarding the authorship of the film, ensuring a common duration of copyright between Member States. The principal director of the film is always considered as an author of the film, although national legislations may provide for other co-authors [Art. 2(1)].

Before the directive, different Member States had applied widely different criteria of originality and creativity to the copyright protection of photographs. These were harmonized by article 6, which states that the only permissible criterion for full protection (70 years pma) is that the photograph is "the author's own intellectual creation". Member States may protect photographs which do not meet this criterion by sui generis related rights. Related rights is a term in copyright law, used in opposition to the term authors rights. The term neighbouring rights is exactly equivalent, and a more literal translation of the original French droits voisins. ...

Previously unpublished works

The directive accords copyright to the publisher of a public domain work which was previously unpublished, for 25 years after the date of publication (Art. 4). The work must have been "legally published": in some countries (e.g. France), authors and their heirs have a perpetual right to authorize (or not) the publication of a work and so, in these cases, publication must be with the consent of the holders of the moral rights in the work. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Moral rights are rights of creators of copyrighted works generally recognized in civil law jurisdictions and first recognized in France and Germany, before they were included in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1928. ...

Other provisions

As is normal in the field of copyright law, all periods of protection run until the end of the calendar yer in which they would otherwise expire (Art. 8). Member states may protect "critical and scientific publications of works which have come into the public domain" for a maximum of thirty years (Art. 5). The protection of moral rights is left to national legislation (Art. 9). Moral rights are rights of creators of copyrighted works generally recognized in civil law jurisdictions and first recognized in France and Germany, before they were included in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1928. ...

Implementation

Implementation of the Directive by Member States
	Austria	Urheberrechtsgesetznovelle 1996
	Belgium	unknown
	Cyprus	unknown
	Czech Republic	Law No. 121/2000 Coll. of 7 April 2000 on Copyright, Rights Related to Copyright and on the Amendment of Certain Laws
	Denmark	Act on Copyright 1995 No. 395
	Estonia	unknown
	Finland	Asetus tekijänoikeuslain soveltamisesta eräissä tapauksissa Euroopan talousalueeseen kuuluvista valtioista peräisin oleviin suojan kohteisiin
	France	unknown
	Germany	unknown
	Greece	Law No. 2557/1997, Official Journal A271/1997
	Hungary	unknown
	Ireland	European Communities (Term of Protection of Copyright) Regulations, 1995 (S.I. No. 158 of 1995)
	Italy	Law No. 52 of 1996-02-06
	Latvia	Autortiesību likums (2000-04-06)
	Lithuania	Autorių teisių ir gretutinių teisių įstatimas N. VIII-1185 (1999-05-18)
	Luxemburg	Loi du 8 septembre 1997 portant modification de la loi modifiée du 29 mars 1972 sur le droit d'auteur et de la loi du 23 septembre 1975 sur la protection des artistes interprètes ou exécutants, des producteurs de phonogrammes et des organismes de radiodiffusion ("droits voisins") en ce qui concerne la durée de protection
	Malta	Copyright Act, 2000
	Netherlands	Wet van 21 december 1995 tot wijziging van de voorstellen van wet tot wijziging van de Auteurswet 1912 en de Wet op de naburige rechten in verband met de richtlijn nr. 93/98/EEG van de Raad van de Europese Gemeenschappen van 29 oktober 1993, betreffende de harmonisatie van de beschermingstermijn van het auteursrecht en van bepaalde naburige rechten (PbEG L290) en in verband met de richtlijn van 19 november 1992, PbEG 1992, L346/61 betreffende het verhuurrecht, het uitleenrecht en bepaalde naburige rechten op het gebied van intellectuele eigendom Wet van 21 december 1995 tot wijziging van de Auteurswet 1912 en de Wet op de naburige rechten in verband met de richtlijn, nr. 93/98/EEC van de raad van de Europese Gemeenschappen van 29 oktober 1993, betreffende de harmonisatie van de beschermingstermijn van het auteursrecht en van bepaalde naburige rechten (PbEG L290)
	Poland	unknown
	Portugal	Decreto-Lei n. 334/97, de 27 de Novembro de 1997, transposição da Directiva 93/98/EEC de Outubro 1993, relativa à harmonização do prazo de protecção dos direitos de autor e de certos direitos conexos
	Slovakia	Copyright Act of 1997-12-05 (No. 383/1997)
	Slovenia	Zakon o avtorskih in sorodnih pravicah (1995-03-30)
	Spain	Ley 27/1995 de 11 de octubre, de incorporación al Derecho español de la Directiva 93/98/CEE del Consejo, de 29 de octubre de 1993, relativa a la armonización del plazo de protección del derecho de autor y de determinados derechos afines
	Sweden	unknown
	United Kingdom	Duration of Copyright and Rights in Performnces Regulations 1995

Image File history File links Flag_of_Austria. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Cyprus. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Estonia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Greece. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Hungary. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Latvia. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Lithuania. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Old Farts by the Sometimes-United Nations. ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Luxembourg. ... Luxembourg - a small country in west Europe Luxembourg (city) - the capital city of the country Luxembourg (district) - a district in the country Luxembourg, province of Belgium Luxemburg, Iowa - a city in the USA Luxemburg, Wisconsin - a village in the USA Luxembourg Garden, Paris, France Luxemburg Township, Minnesota - a township in... Image File history File links Flag_of_Malta. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Portugal. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Slovakia. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Slovenia. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in leap years). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ...

See also

• Copyright law of the European Union
• Restored copyright
• Grandfather clause
• Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act

The European Union has made various directives on copyright law which member states are obliged to implement. ... In American English, a Grandfather clause is an exception that allows an old rule to continue to apply to some existing situations, when a new rule will apply to all future situations. ... The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 extended copyright terms in the United States by 20 years. ...

Citations and footnotes

1. ^ OJ no. L290 of 24 November 1993, pp. 9–13. Text
2. ^ At the time of the directive, France protected the works of authors who had died in active service ("mort pour la France") for eighty years pma. Spain had also had an 80 years pma term until 1987, and these copyrights were still in force at the time of the directive.
3. ^ This paragraph has been modified by Article 11(2) of Directive 2001/29/EC so that phonograms which are communicated to the public before publication are protected for fifty years from the date of publication: the change is retrospective but does not reprotect works which had fallen into the public domain under the wording of Directive 93/98/EEC.
4. ^ Butterfly Music Srl v Carosello Edizioni Musicali e Discografiche Srl (CEMED) (Case C-60/98), OJ no. C246 of 28 August 1999, p. 5; ECR (1999) I-03939. This case was also the first test of the legality of the measure to restore copyright to public domain works.
5. ^ Land Hessen v G. Ricordi & Co. Bühnen- und Musikverlag GmbH (Case C-360/00), OJ no. C180 of 27 July 2002, p. 6.

External links

• Geller, P. (2000). "Zombie and Once-Dead Works: Copyright Retroactivity After the E.C. Term Directive", Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, 18(2), pp. 7ff (ABA Forum on Entertainment Industries, 2000).

	Copyright law of the European Union
Directives	Computer programs (91/250/EEC) • Rental & related rights (92/100/EEC) • Satellite & cable (93/83/EEC) • Duration (93/98/EEC) • Databases (96/9/EC) • Conditional access (98/84/EC) • Copyright (2001/29/EC) • Resale right (2001/84/EC) • Civil enforcement (2004/48/EC) Also: Regulation (EC) No 1383/2003 (Customs enforcement)
Treaties	Berne Convetion • Rome Convention • TRIPS • WCT • WPPT
National laws	Austria • Belgium • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Malta • Netherlands • Poland • Portugal • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • United Kingdom
EEA Countries	Iceland • Liechtenstein • Norway