Subsistence Negating Claims

2020 ◽  
pp. 31-67
Author(s):  
Stavroula Karapapa
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Copyright Protection ◽  
Digital Processing ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Raster Graphics ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Way

One of the main defences against allegations of copyright infringement is that no infringement took place because copyright does not subsist in the subject matter at issue. This could be because the subject matter is not a ‘work’ in the copyright sense, or is not protected by copyright because it is not original or fixed in a tangible form. Digital technologies exacerbate this controversy. For instance, does a copy of a public domain image qualify for a new copyright by virtue of its digital processing (using, for instance, a raster graphics editor such as Photoshop)? Does a short sentence such as a tweet attract copyright and can strings of characters such as hashtags and hyperlinks be ‘copyright works’ in their own right? What about works created through artificial intelligence such as a search engine’s automatic translations? Or cases where more than one author contributes facts or pieces of information to a work that is subject to constant modification such as Wikipedia entries? The rationale for excluding subject matter from protection rests on the principle that mere ideas, facts, or commonplace elements should remain free to use, ensuring a robust public domain. In this regard, requesting the negation of copyright subsistence can serve as a defence against allegations for infringement and, in a broader sense, it can also help innovation and creativity through the re-use of subject matter that does not attract copyright protection. This chapter examines the way in which a negation of copyright subsistence can form a defence against allegations of infringement by making specific references to new technological uses. Significant reference is made to the doctrinal interpretation of the concepts ‘work’ and ‘originality’ as developed by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the national courts of EU Member States, and the way in which these doctrines impact on the scope of permissible use.

scholarly journals Briefly Noted

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 240-242
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Copyright Protection ◽  
Food Product ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Cream Cheese ◽  
Mathematical Concepts ◽  
Food Retailer ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Methods Of Operation ◽  
Sufficient Precision

On November 13, 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in Levola Hengelo BV v. Smilde Foods BV that the taste of food cannot be classified as a “work” as referred to in Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament in order to be eligible for copyright protection. The case concerns Dutch food retailer Levola, which brought suit against a rival company, Smilde, when they began making a spreadable cream cheese dip with fresh herbs similar to their own and argued that Smilde infringed its copyright in the taste of the dip because the rival dip is a reproduction of their work. The Court noted that to be protected by copyright, the taste must be able to be classified as a “work,” which requires that the subject matter is an original intellectual creation and that there be an “expression” of the intellectual creation. The Court stated that “copyright protection may be granted to expressions, but not to ideas, procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such,” and that “the subject matter protected by copyright must be expressed in a manner which makes it identifiable with sufficient precision and objectivity.” The Court held that taste cannot be identified with precision and objectivity and “will be identified essentially on the basis of taste sensations and experiences, which are subjective and variable,” and so the taste of a food product cannot be classified as a “work” and is consequently not eligible for copyright protection under the Directive.

Obywatele Unii Europejskiej – wyborcy Parlamentu Europejskiego – parlamentu ponadnarodowego

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-162
Author(s):  
Stefan Marek Grochalski
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Legal Regulations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Direct Elections

Parliament – an institution of a democratic state – a member of the Union – is not only an authority but also, as in the case of the European Union, the only directly and universally elected representative body of the European Union. The article presents questions related to the essence of parliament and that of a supranational parliament which are vital while dealing with the subject matter. It proves that the growth of the European Parliament’s powers was the direct reason for departing from the system of delegating representatives to the Parliament for the benefit of direct elections. It presents direct and universal elections to the European Parliament in the context of presenting legal regulations applicable in this respect. It describes a new legal category – citizenship of the European Union – primarily in terms of active and passive suffrage to the European Parliament, as a political entitlement of a citizen of the European Union.

Polityka klimatyczno-energetyczna Unii Europejskiej

2014 ◽  
pp. 104-121
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kułaga
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy System ◽  
The Other ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Climate Protection ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Climate And Energy Policy

The article is devoted to the subject of the goals of the climate and energy policy of the European Union, which can have both a positive, and a negative impact on the environmental and energy policies. Positive aspects are the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, diversification of energy supplies, which should improve Europe independence from energy imports, and increasing the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in the national energy system structures. On the other hand, overly ambitious targets and actions can lead to large losses for the economies of EU Member States. The article also highlights the realities prevailing in the international arena and noncompliance of international actors with global agreements on climate protection.

The Palingenesis of De rerum natura

1994 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 81-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Schiesaro
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
De Rerum Natura ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Way

1. If I had to sum up as concisely as I possibly can the subject matter of this paper, I would probably say that it was originally stimulated by the attempt to understand how Lucretius articulated his didactic plot. What is the plot of a poem that presents itself as analysing nothing less than ‘the nature of things’? It is safe to assume as a starting-point that a didactic poem which intends to revolutionize each and every principle of perception and evaluation of reality cannot remain unaffected by the theoretical views it tries to prove, and that the persuasive impact of those theories on the reader will inevitably be strengthened or weakened by the way the text situates itself in respect to those theories: the poem itself will be the most effective or the most damning example of its own theories.

Geographical Indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs in the EU: to what extent does the protection level match the scope of the subject matter?

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 270-294
Author(s):  
Kim Van der Borght ◽  
Jianmei Gao ◽  
Xiaoting Song
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Production Model ◽  
Geographical Indication ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Protection Level ◽  
Protected Designation Of Origin ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Eu

To recognize an origin-linked production model and the typicity of the products, the European Union (EU) has introduced the Geographical Indication (GI) protection regime. By requiring that relevant production steps must take place in the defined locale, the regime confers exclusive production rights on the local producers. There are two GI categories in the EU. The first is Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), covering products with a qualitative link to both natural and human factors in the designated region. The second is Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), the scope of which overlaps with PDO and covers products that have a qualitative or reputational link with their regional origin. This article examines whether exclusive rights are necessary and appropriate to fulfil their objectives and argues that these rights, when extended to human factors and reputation, cannot always be justified. It is argued that the overlapping scope of the subject matter undermines the ability of these two GI protection categories to provide transparent and trustworthy information for consumers. Finally, this article proposes to redefine the scope of the subject matter and the protection level for PDO and PGI by approaching the product/origin link from a resource utilization, integration and sustainability perspective. *Corresponding author: [email protected]. The research for this article was partially funded by Vrije Universiteit Brussel/China Scholarship Council Joint Scholarship and the National Social Science Fund of China (Grant No. 16 ZDA236).

Signs and sentiment in British wildlife art

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Welstead
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Affective Response ◽  
Level Of Abstraction ◽  
Critical Attention ◽  
Close Observation ◽  
Human World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Visual Clues ◽  
The Way

Wildlife art does not receive the critical attention that it deserves. In this chapter, William Welstead considers how the images made after close observation in the field incorporate the signs and visual clues that enable us to identify the species, have some idea of what the individuals are doing and how they relate to the wider environment. These are all important factors in building an informed view of the non-human world and establishing how we feel about it. Wildlife artists tread a difficult path between serving science and catering for the affective response of viewers and between the representational and the abstract in depicting their subject matter. Welstead suggests that the way we recognise wildlife by its overall look or ‘jizz’ means that drawings and paintings can capture in a few lines and shapes the essence of the creature. This economical application of lines and colour therefore allows for at least some level of abstraction. The subject would merit further attention from ecocritics.

Various Aspects of Material Handling

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Material Handling ◽  
Intelligent Vehicles ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Way

This chapter presents various aspects of material handling devices. At first, brief guidelines about the way to select various material handling devices is provided, followed by various material handling tasks and equipment. Based on the subject matter of this book, this chapter provides an overview of various intelligent techniques which have been applied to various aspects of intelligent vehicles. The last section provides overviews of all the subsequent chapters.

Part V Judicial Review before the Court of Justice of the European Union, 2 Direct Actions and Judicial Review before the Union Courts

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kreuschitz Viktor ◽  
Nehl Hanns Peter
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
State Aid ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
The Subject

This chapter addresses access to justice in the context of centralized enforcement of EU State aid law and judicial review before the Union courts. The subject matter of litigation is State aid measures adopted in particular by the European Commission as the main supervisory body in this field pursuant to Article 108 TFEU. The term ‘access to justice’ is meant to comprise both the various conditions of standing for bringing direct actions against such measures before the General Court (GC), which essentially comprise actions for annulment (Article 263 TFEU), actions for failure to act (Article 265 TFEU), and actions for damages (Article 268 in combination with Article 340(2) TFEU). The chapter also looks at the nature and the types of acts that are possibly subject to judicial review before the GC.

3. Copyright 2: subject matter, first ownership, and term

2019 ◽  
pp. 51-114
Author(s):  
Abbe Brown ◽  
Smita Kheria ◽  
Jane Cornwell ◽  
Marta Iljadica
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Copyright Protection ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Sound Recordings ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Joint Authorship

This chapter first examines the subject matter in which copyright subsists and the criteria for copyright protection as set out in the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). This centres on the concept of the ‘protected work’ and makes use of a distinction between what are sometimes known as ‘author works’ (literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and film works) and ‘media works’ (typographical arrangements, sound recordings, broadcasts, and adaptations). It then considers the identification of the first owner of copyright when it comes into existence. It discusses the concept of joint authorship and ownership of copyright works when created in the course of employment. The final section discusses the duration of copyright.

CJEU Judgment in Case C-284/16 Achmea: Single Decision and Its Multi-Faceted Fallout

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-32
Author(s):  
Bartosz Soloch
Keyword(s):  
International Investment ◽  
The European Union ◽  
International Investments ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
National Courts ◽  
International Investment Agreements ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Investment Agreements ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Recent decisions of European and national courts, as well as those of arbitral tribunals, concerning the Achmea saga seem to be plentiful enough to draw preliminary conclusions as to the relationship between EU law, intra-EU international investment agreements (IIAs) and the national laws of EU-Member States. In order to get the proper picture of the situation, however, it is necessary not only to analyse the recent decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and their consequences from these three perspectives, but, equally, to understand how they interact with each other. Such an analysis indicates the real possibility of the emergence of a rift between the practice of the EU and national courts rejecting the validity of investment arbitration agreements, on the one hand, and investment tribunals, on the other. In any case, such a divergence would put into question the IIAs’ claim to provide a stable regulatory framework for international investments in the EU, which, in turn, would strengthen the argument for termination of intra-EU IIAs.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document