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

Aim of the presentation n Giving a brief overview about the present Hungarian copyright legislation n Describing the free uses (limitations of the exclusive rights of the authors) in the light of the fair use concept

Contents n 1. International legal background n 2. Right of communication to the public in the new Hungarian copyright act n 3. Cases of free uses regarding online uses n 4. Licensing in practice: collective administration of authors’ rights n 5. Conclusion

1. International legal background n Need for harmonized legislation covering online uses of works n 1996: WIPO Treaties (with reference to the Berne Convention) n right of reproduction: agreed statement: „the reproduction rights fully applies in the digital environment” n right of communication to the public („umbrella solution”)

n 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 n uploading: communication to the public, exclusive right: licensing mainly via collective administration of rights (joint licensing) n downloading (displaying): for private/scientific/educational purposes: free use

3. Cases of free uses regarding online uses n Private copies: –home copies –internal (institution) copies (eg. for scientific research or supply for a public library) –educational copies

n 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 n collective managing society appointed by the Ministry of Culture (regarding music and literature: Artisjus, civil law society of authors and composers) n joint licensing: licensing agreements with the users based on tariff chart as general terms and conditions

n the tariff chart is determined by the licensing society and approved by the Ministry of Culture each year, and published in the Official Gazette n the tariff announcement for the year 2000 includes special rates for: –independent streaming, –simulcasting, –offering works for downloading –both music and literature

5. Conclusion n Required balance between the interest of –users (to access more and more information) –producers of intellectual property (to get an equitable remuneration) n The present Hungarian legislation seems to be capable to handle the problem via the system of free uses based on international standards