In Europe, the need to foster the computer software industry brought attention to the lack of adequate harmonisation among the copyright laws of the various EU nations with respect to such software.[2] Economic pressure spurred the development of the first directive which had two goals (1) the harmonisation of the law and (2) dealing with the problems caused by the need for interoperability.[3]
The first EU Directive on the legal protection of computer programs was Council Directive 91/250/EEC of 14 May 1991. It required (Art. 1) that computer programs and any associated design material be protected under copyright as literary works within the sense of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.[4][5]
The Directive also defined the copyright protection to be applied to computer programs: the owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to authorise (Art 4):
the temporary or permanent copying of the program, including any copying which may be necessary to load, view or run the program;
the translation, adaptation or other alteration to the program;
the distribution of the program to the public by any means, including rental, subject to the first-sale doctrine.
However, these rights are subject to certain limitations (Art. 5). The legal owner of a program is assumed to have a licence to create any copies necessary to use the program and to alter the program within its intended purpose (e.g. for error correction). The legal owner may also make a back-up copy for his or her personal use. The program may also be decompiled if this is necessary to ensure it operates with another program or device (Art. 6), but the results of the decompilation may not be used for any other purpose without infringing the copyright in the program.
The duration of the copyright was originally fixed at the life of the author plus fifty years (Art. 8), in accordance with the Berne Convention standard for literary works (Art. 7.1 Berne Convention). This has since been prolonged to the life of the author plus seventy years by the 1993 Copyright Duration Directive (superseded but confirmed by the 2006 Copyright Term Directive).[6]
Council Directive 91/250/EEC was formally replaced by Directive 2009/24/EC on 25 May 2009,[7] which consolidated "the various minor amendments the original directive had received over the years".[8]
Loi no 94–361 du 10 mai 1994 portant mise en oeuvre de la directive (C. E. E.) no 91–250 du Conseil des communautés européennes en date du 14 mai 1991 concernant la protection juridique des programmes d'ordinateur et modifiant le code de la propriété intellectuelle
^"Directive 2009/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the legal protection of computer programs". Publications Office of the European Union.
^ Preamble to Council Directive 91/250/EEC of 14 May 1991
^Mylly, Ulla-Maija (2009). "Harmonizing Copyright Rules for Computer Program Interface Protection" (PDF). 48. Louisville, Kentucky: University of Louisville Law Review: 877–911, page 878. (PDF) from the original on 5 June 2010. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
^Palenski, Ronald J. (1991). "The EC Software Directive: Meeting the Challenges of the Information Age" (PDF). Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal. 10 (1): 191–276. (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2014.
^Council Directive 93/98/EEC of 29 October 1993 harmonizing the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights, OJ no. L290 of 1993-11-24, p. 9.
^Articles 10 and 11 of the Directive 2009/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the legal protection of computer programs, L 111/16 EN, Official Journal of the European Union, 5 May 2009.
Text of the original directive on the legal protection of computer programs (no longer in force)
Consolidated version of the directive (1993-11-19) no longer in force
Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee on the implementation and effects of directive 91/250/EEC on the legal protection of computer programs, (2000-04-10)
Directive 2009/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the legal protection of computer programs current directive, in force
February 15, 2024
computer, programs, directive, this, article, needs, updated, please, help, update, this, article, reflect, recent, events, newly, available, information, 2012, european, union, controls, legal, protection, computer, programs, under, copyright, european, union. This article needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information May 2012 The European Union Computer Programs Directive controls the legal protection of computer programs under the copyright law of the European Union It was issued under the internal market provisions of the Treaty of Rome The most recent version is Directive 2009 24 EC 1 Directive 91 250 EEC2009 24 ECEuropean Union directiveTitleDirective on the legal protection of computer programsMade byCouncil of the European UnionMade underArt 100aJournal referenceL122 1991 05 17 pp 9 13HistoryDate made14 May 1991Came into force17 May 1991Implementation date1 January 1993 25 May 2009Preparative textsCommission proposalC91 1989 04 12 p 4C320 1990 12 20 p 22EESC opinionC329 1989 12 30 p 4EP opinionC231 1990 09 17 p 78Reports Other legislationReplaces Amends Amended by93 98 EECReplaced byDirective 2009 24 EC on the legal protection of computer programsCurrent legislation Contents 1 History 2 Implementation 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editIn Europe the need to foster the computer software industry brought attention to the lack of adequate harmonisation among the copyright laws of the various EU nations with respect to such software 2 Economic pressure spurred the development of the first directive which had two goals 1 the harmonisation of the law and 2 dealing with the problems caused by the need for interoperability 3 The first EU Directive on the legal protection of computer programs was Council Directive 91 250 EEC of 14 May 1991 It required Art 1 that computer programs and any associated design material be protected under copyright as literary works within the sense of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works 4 5 The Directive also defined the copyright protection to be applied to computer programs the owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to authorise Art 4 the temporary or permanent copying of the program including any copying which may be necessary to load view or run the program the translation adaptation or other alteration to the program the distribution of the program to the public by any means including rental subject to the first sale doctrine However these rights are subject to certain limitations Art 5 The legal owner of a program is assumed to have a licence to create any copies necessary to use the program and to alter the program within its intended purpose e g for error correction The legal owner may also make a back up copy for his or her personal use The program may also be decompiled if this is necessary to ensure it operates with another program or device Art 6 but the results of the decompilation may not be used for any other purpose without infringing the copyright in the program The duration of the copyright was originally fixed at the life of the author plus fifty years Art 8 in accordance with the Berne Convention standard for literary works Art 7 1 Berne Convention This has since been prolonged to the life of the author plus seventy years by the 1993 Copyright Duration Directive superseded but confirmed by the 2006 Copyright Term Directive 6 Council Directive 91 250 EEC was formally replaced by Directive 2009 24 EC on 25 May 2009 7 which consolidated the various minor amendments the original directive had received over the years 8 Implementation editImplementation of the Directive by Member States nbsp Austria Urheberrechtsgesetznovelle 1993 BGBl No 93 1993 p 1166 nbsp Belgium Law of 30 06 1994 French Law of 30 06 1994 Flemish Moniteur Belge du 17 juillet 1994 p 19315 nbsp Bulgaria unknown nbsp Cyprus unknown nbsp Czech Republic Law No 121 2000 Coll of 7 April 2000 on Copyright Rights Related to Copyright and on the Amendment of Certain Laws nbsp Denmark LOV nr 1010 af 19 12 1992 updated by LBK nr 1144 af 23 10 2014 nbsp Estonia unknown nbsp Finland Laws Nos 418 93 and 419 93 Finnish Official Journal of 1993 05 12 p 415 nbsp France Loi no 94 361 du 10 mai 1994 portant mise en oeuvre de la directive C E E no 91 250 du Conseil des communautes europeennes en date du 14 mai 1991 concernant la protection juridique des programmes d ordinateur et modifiant le code de la propriete intellectuelle nbsp Germany Zweites Gesetz zur Anderung des Urheberrechtsgesetzes vom 9 Juni 1993 BGBl I p 910 nbsp Greece Law No 2121 93 Official Journal A No 25 nbsp Hungary unknown nbsp Ireland European Communities Legal Protection of Computer Programs Regulations 1993 S I No 26 of 1993 nbsp Italy Decreto Legislativo No 518 del 29 dicembre 1992 nbsp Latvia Autortiesibu likums 2000 04 06 nbsp Lithuania Autoriu teisiu ir gretutiniu teisiu įstatimas N VIII 1185 1999 05 18 nbsp Luxembourg Loi du 18 avril 2001 sur les droits d auteur les droits voisins et les bases de donnees Section 7 Les programmes d ordinateur nbsp Malta Copyright Act 2000 nbsp Netherlands Wet van 07 07 1994 Stb JS 1994 p 521 nbsp Poland Ustawa z 4 lutego 1994 o prawie autorskim i prawach pokrewnych art 74 77 Dz U 1994 nr 24 poz 83 nbsp Portugal Decreto Lei n 252 94 de 20 de Outubro de 1994 Diario da Republica I Serie A no 243 de 20 de Outubro de 1994 p 6374 nbsp Romania Law No 8 1996 updated November 2014 state authority Romanian Copyright Office see also Intellectual property in Romania nbsp Slovakia Copyright Act of 1997 12 05 No 383 1997 nbsp Slovenia Zakon o avtorskih in sorodnih pravicah 1995 03 30 nbsp Spain Ley 16 1993 de 23 de diciembre de incorporacion al Derecho espanol de la Directiva 91 250 CEE de 14 de mayo sobre la proteccion juridica de programas de ordenador nbsp Sweden Act No 1687 92 nbsp United Kingdom Copyright Computer Programs Regulations 1992 No 3233See also editCopyright law of the European Union Software copyrightReferences edit Directive 2009 24 EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the legal protection of computer programs Publications Office of the European Union Preamble to Council Directive 91 250 EEC of 14 May 1991 Mylly Ulla Maija 2009 Harmonizing Copyright Rules for Computer Program Interface Protection PDF 48 Louisville Kentucky University of Louisville Law Review 877 911 page 878 Archived PDF from the original on 5 June 2010 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Palenski Ronald J 1991 The EC Software Directive Meeting the Challenges of the Information Age PDF Cardozo Arts amp Entertainment Law Journal 10 1 191 276 Archived PDF from the original on 10 May 2014 Council Directive 93 98 EEC of 29 October 1993 harmonizing the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights OJ no L290 of 1993 11 24 p 9 Articles 10 and 11 of the Directive 2009 24 EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the legal protection of computer programs L 111 16 EN Official Journal of the European Union 5 May 2009 Jeremy Phillips Tuesday tiddleywinks IPKat 5 May 2009 Consulted on 5 May 2009 External links editText of the original directive on the legal protection of computer programs no longer in force Consolidated version of the directive 1993 11 19 no longer in force Report from the Commission to the Council the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee on the implementation and effects of directive 91 250 EEC on the legal protection of computer programs 2000 04 10 Directive 2009 24 EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the legal protection of computer programs current directive in force Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Computer Programs Directive amp oldid 1193781707, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
