Directive on the legal protection of computer programs

EU directive
title=Directive on the legal protection of computer programs
number=91/250/EEC
madeby=European Council
madeunder=Art. 100a
OJref=L122, 1991-05-17, pp. 9–13
made=14 May 1991
commenced=17 May 1991
implementation=1 January 1993
CommProp=C91, 1989-04-12, p. 4 C320, 1990-12-20, p. 22
ESCOpin=C329, 1989-12-30, p. 4
ParlOpin=C231, 1990-09-17, p. 78
Reports=
replaces=—
amends=—
amendedby=93/98/EEC
replacedby=—
status=Current

Council Directive 91/250/EEC of 14 May 1991 on the legal protection of computer programs is a
European Union directive in the field of copyright law, made under the internal market provisions of the Treaty of Rome. It requires (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.ref|Berne

The Directive also defines the copyright protection to be applied to computer programs: the owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to authorize (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 lawful 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 its 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 Directive harmonizing the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights.ref|93-98

Implementation

EU directive implementation
AT= [http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/en/at/at010en.html Urheberrechtsgesetznovelle 1993] , "BGBl." No. 93/1993, p. 1166
BE= [http://www.juridat.be/cgi_loi/loi_F.pl?cn=1994063036 Law of 30.06.1994 (French)] , [http://www.juridat.be/cgi_loi/loi_N.pl?cn=1994063036 Law of 30.06.1994 (Dutch)] , "Moniteur Belge" du 17 juillet 1994, p. 19315
CZ= [http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/en/cz/cz029en.html Law No. 121/2000 Coll. of 7 April 2000 on Copyright, Rights Related to Copyright and on the Amendment of Certain Laws]
DK=Lov No. 1010
FI=Laws Nos. 418/93 and 419/93, "Finnish Official Journal" of 1993-05-12, p. 415
FR=Loi no. 94-361 du 10 mai 1994, "JORF" du 11 mai 1994, p. 6863
DE=Zweites Gesetz zur Änderung des Urheberrechtsgesetzes vom 9. Juni 1993, "BGBl" I p. 910
GR=Law No. 2121/93, "Official Journal" A No. 25
IE= [http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/en/ie/ie019en.html European Communities (Legal Protection of Computer Programs) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 26 of 1993)]
IT=Decreto Legislativo No. 518
LT= [http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/en/lv/lv017en.html Autortiesību likums] (2000-04-06)
LI= [http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/en/lt/lt002en.html Autorių teisių ir gretutinių teisių įstatimas N. VIII-1185] (1999-05-18)
LU=Loi du 24 avril 1995 modifiant la loi du 29 mars 1972 sur le droit d'auteur en ce qui concerne la protection juridique des programmes d'ordinateur, "Mémorial", p. 944
MT= [http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/en/mt/mt001en.html Copyright Act, 2000]
NL= [http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/en/nl/nl006en.html Wet van 07.07.1994] , "Stb." JS-1994, p. 521
PL=Ustawa z 04.02.1994 o prawie autorskim i prawach pokrewnych, art. 74-77, Dz.U. 1994 nr 24 poz. 83
PT= [http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/en/pt/pt009en.html Decreto-Lei n. 252/94, de 20 de Outubro de 1994] , "Diário da República" - I Série A, no. 243 de 20 de Octubro de 1994, p. 6374
SK= [http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/en/sk/sk021en.html Copyright Act] of 1997-12-05 (No. 383/1997)
SI= [http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/en/si/si001en.html Zakon o avtorskih in sorodnih pravicah] (1995-03-30)
ES= [http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs_new/en/es/es018en.html Ley 16/1993, de 23 de diciembre, de incorporación al Derecho español de la Directiva 91/250/CEE, de 14 de mayo, sobre la protección jurídica de programas de ordenador]
SE=Act No. 1687/92
GB= [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1992/Uksi_19923233_en_1.htm Copyright (Computer Programs) Regulations 1992 No. 3233]

See also

*Copyright law of the European Union
*Software copyright

References

# [http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/trtdocs_wo001.html Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works]
# [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31993L0083:EN:HTML 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.

External links

* [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31991L0250:EN:HTML Original text of the directive]
* [http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/copyright/docs/docs/1991-250_en.pdf Consolidated version of the directive]
* [http://europa.eu.int/cgi-bin/eur-lex/udl.pl?REQUEST=Seek-Deliver&COLLECTION=com&SERVICE=eurlex&LANGUAGE=en&DOCID=500PC0199&FORMAT=pdf 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] ] , 10 April 2000.