ORGANISATION MONDIALE 
DU COMMERCE 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété 
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce IP/N/1/EEC/C/1 
11 mars 1996 
(96-0864) 
Original: anglais/ 
français/ 
espagnol 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET REGLEMENTATIONS CONSACREES A LA 
PROPRIETE INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIEES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63.2 DE L'ACCORD 
Communautés européennes 
Le présent document reproduit les lois et réglementations ci-après qui ont été notifiées par les 
Communautés européennes au titre de l'article 63.2 del' Accord (voir le document IP/N/l/EEC/1/Rev .1): 
Directive 91 /250/CEE du Conseil du 14 mai 1991 concernant la 
protection juridique des programmes d'ordinateur 
Directive 92/100/CEE du Conseil du 19 novembre 1992 relative 
au droit de location et de prêt et à certains droits voisins du 
droit d'auteur dans le domaine de la propriété intellectuelle 
Directive 93/83/CEE du Conseil du 27 septembre 1993 relative 
à la coordination de certaines règles du droit d'auteur et des 
droits voisins du droit d'auteur applicables à la radiodiffusion 
par satellite et à la retransmission par câble 
Directive 93/98/CEE du Conseil du 29 octobre 1993 relative 
à l'harmonisation de la durée de protection du droit d'auteur 
et de certains droits voisins 
Résolution du Conseil du 14 mai 1992 visant le renforcement 
de la protection du droit d'auteur et des droits voisins 2 
7 
13 
20 
25 IP/NIl/EEC/CI 1 
Page 2 
No L 122/42 Official Journal of the European Communities 17. 5. 91 
II 
(Acts wbose publication is not obligatory) 
COUNCIL 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 
of 14 May 1991 
on the legal protection of computer programs 
(91/250/EEC) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES. 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community and in particular Article 100a 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission n. 
In cooperation with the European Parliament (Z), 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social 
Committee 0, 
Whereas' computer programs are at present not clearly 
protected in all Member States by existing legislation and 
such protection, where it exists, has different attributes; 
Whereas the development of computer programs requires 
the investment of considerable human, technical and 
financial resources while computer programs can be 
copied at a fraction of the cost needed to develop them 
independently; 
Whereas computer programs are playing an increasingly 
important role in a broad range of industries and 
computer program technology can accordingly be consi­
dered as being of fundamental importance for the 
Community's industrial development; 
(I) 0) No C 91, 12. 4. 1989, p. 4; and 
0) No C 320, 20. 12. 1990, p. 22. 
(!) 0) No C 231, 17. 9. 1990, p. 78; and Decision of 17 April 
1991. yet published in the Official )ournal). 
(3) 0) No C 329, 30. 12. 1989, p. 4. Whereas certain differences in the legal protection of 
computer programs offered by the laws of the Member 
States have direct and negative effects on the functioning 
of the common market as regards computer programs and 
such differences could well become greater as Member 
States introduce new legislation on this subject; 
Whereas existing differences having such effects need to 
be removed and new ones prevented from arising, while 
differences not adversely affecting the functioning of the 
common market to a substantial degree need not be 
removed or prevented from arising; 
Whereas the Community's legal framework on the 
protection of computer programs can accordingly in the 
first instance be limited to establishing that Member 
States should accord protection to computer programs 
under copyright law as literary works and, further, to esta­
blishing who and what should be protected, the exclusive 
rights on which protected persons should be able to rely 
in order to authorize or prohibit certain acts and for how 
long the protection should apply; 
Whereas, for the purpose of this Directive, the term 
'computer program' shall include programs in any form, 
including those which are incorporated into hardware; 
whereas this term also includes preparatory design work 
leading to the development of a computer program 
provided that the nature of the preparatory work is such 
that a computer program can result from it at a later 
stage; 
Whereas, in respect of the criteria to be applied in deter­
mining whether or not a computer program is an original 
work, no tests as to the qualitative or aesthetic merits of 
the prog~am should be applied; IP/N/I/EEC/C/l 
Page 3 
17. 5. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 122/43 
Whereas the Community is fully committed to the 
promotion of international standardization; 
Whereas the function of a computer program is to 
communicate and work together with other components 
of a computer system and with users and, for this purpose, 
a logical and, where appropriate, physical interconnection 
and interaction is required to permit all elements of soft­
ware and hardware to work with other software and hard­
ware and with users in all the ways in which they are 
intended to function; 
Whereas the parts of the program which provide for such 
interconnection and interaction between elements of soft­
ware and hardware are generally known as 'interfaces'; 
. Whereas this functional interconnection and interaction 
is generally known as 'interoperability'; whereas such 
interoperability can be defined as the ability to exchange 
information and mutually to use the information which 
has been exchanged; 
Whereas, for the avoidance of doubt, it has to be made 
clear that only the expression of a computer program is 
protected and that ideas and principles which underlie 
any element of a program, including those which underlie 
its interfaces, are not protected by copyright under this 
Directive; 
Whereas, in accordance with this principle of copyright, 
to the extent that logic, algorithms and programming 
languages comprise ideas and principles, those ideas and 
principles are not protected under this Directive; 
Whereas, in accordance with the legislation and jurispru­
dence of the Member States and the international copy­
light conventions, the expression of those ideas and prin­
~iples is to be protected by copyright; 
Whereas, for the purposes of this Directive, the term 
'rental' means the making available for use, for a limited 
period of time and for profit-making purposes, of a 
computer program or a copy thereof; whereas this term 
does not include public lending, which, accordingly, 
remains outside the scope of this Directive; 
Whereas the exclusive rights of the author to prevent the 
unauthorized reproduction of his work have to be subject 
to a limited exception in the case of a computer program 
to allow the reproduction technically necessary for the use 
of that program by the lawful acquirer; 
Whereas this means that the acts of loading and running 
necessary for the use of a copy of a program which has 
been lawfully acquired, and the act of correction of its 
errors, may not be prohibited by contract; whereas, in the 
absence of specific contractual provisions, including when 
a copy of the program has been sold, any other act neces­
sary for the use of the copy of a program may be performed in accordance with its intended purpose by a 
lawful acquirer of that copy; 
Whereas a person having a right to use a computer 
program should not be prevented from performing acts 
necessary to observe, study or test the functioning of the 
program, provided that these acts do not infringe the 
copyright in the program; 
Whereas the unauthorized reproduction, translation, adap­
tation or transformation of the form of the code in which 
a copy of a computer program has been made available 
constitutes an infringement of the exclusive rights of the 
author; 
Whereas, nevertheless, circumstances may exist when 
such a reproduction of the code and translation of its 
form within the meaning of Article 4 (a) and (b) are indis­
pensable to obtain the necessary information to achieve 
the interoperability of an independently created program 
with other programs; 
Whereas it has therefore to be considered that in these 
limited circumstances only, performance of the acts of 
reproduction and translation by or on behalf of a person 
having a right to use a copy of the program is legitimate 
and compatible with fair practice and must therefore be 
deemed not to require the authorization of the right­
holder; 
Whereas an objective of this exception is to inake it 
possible to connect all components of a computer system, 
including those of different manufacturers, so that they 
can work together; 
Whereas such an exception to the author's exclusive 
rights may not be used in a way which prejudices the 
legitimate interests of the rightholder or which conflicts 
with a normal exploitation of the program; 
Whereas, in order to remain in accordance with the provi­
sions of the Berne Convention for the Protection of 
Literary and Artistic Works, the term of protection should 
be the life of the author and fifty years from the first of 
January of the year following the year of his death or, in 
the case of an anonymous or pseudonymous work, 50 
years from the first of January of the year following the 
year in which the work is first published; 
Whereas protection of computer programs under copy­
right laws should be without prejudice to the application, 
in appropriate cases, of other forms of protection; 
whereas, however, any contractual provisions contrary to 
Article 6 or to the exceptions provided for in Article 5 (2) 
and (3) should be null and void; 
Whereas the provisions of this Directive are without 
prejudice to the application of the competition rules 
under Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty if a dominant 
supplier refuses to make information available which is 
necessary for interoperability as defined in this Directive; IP/NI 1 IEEC/CI 1 
Page 4 
No L 122/44 Official Journal of the European Communities 17. 5. 91 
Whereas the provIsions of this Directive should be 
without prejudice to specific requirements of Community 
law already enacted in respect of the publication of inter­
faces in the telecommunications sector or Council Deci­
sions relating to standardization in the field of informa­
tion technology and telecommunication; 
Whereas this Directive does not affect derogations 
provided for under national legislation in accordance with 
the Berne Convention on points not covered by this 
Directive, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
Object of protection 
1. In accordance with the provisions of this Directive, 
Member States shall protect computer programs, by copy­
right, as literary works within the meaning of the Berne 
Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic 
Works. For the purposes of this Directive, the term 
'computer programs' shall include their preparatory 
design material. 
2. Protection in accordance with this Directive shall 
apply to the expression in any form of a computer 
program. Ideas and principles which underlie any 
element of a computer program, including those which 
underlie its interfaces, are not protected by copyright 
under this Directive. 
3. A computer program shall be protected if it is 
original in the sense that it is the author's own intellec­
tual creation. No other criteria shall be applied to deter­
mine its eligibility for protection. 
Article 2 
Authorship of computer programs 
1. The author of a computer program shall be the 
natural person or group of natural persons who has 
created the program or, where the legislation of the 
Member State permits, the legal person designated as the 
rightholder by that legislation. Where collective works are 
recognized by the legislation of a Member State, the 
person considered by the legislation of the Member State 
to have created the work shall be deemed to be its author. 
2. In respect of a computer program created by a group 
of natural persons jointly, the exclusive rights shall be 
owned jointly. 3. Where a computer program is created by an 
employee in the execution of his duties or following the 
instructions given by his employer, the employer exclusi­
vely shall be entitled to exercise all economic rights in 
the program so created, unless otherwise provided by 
contract. 
Article 3 
Beneficiaries of protection 
Protection shall be granted to all natural or legal persons 
eligible under national copyright legislation as applied to 
literary works. 
Article 4 
Restricted Acts 
Subject to the provisions of Articles 5 and 6, the exclusive 
rights of the rightholder within the meaning of Article 2, 
shall include the right to d~ or to authorize: 
(a) the permanent or temporary reproduction of a 
computer program by any means and in any form, in 
part or in whole. Insofar as loading, displaying, 
running, transmision or storage of the computer 
program necessitate such reproduction, such acts shall 
be subject to a~thorization by the rightholder; 
(b) the translation, adaptation, arrangement and ariy other 
alteration of a computer program and the reproduc­
tion of the results thereof, without prejudice to the 
rights of the person who alters the program; 
(c) any form of distribution to the public, including the 
rental, of the original computer program or of copies 
thereof. The first sale in the Community of a copy of 
a program by the rightholder or with his consent shall 
exhaust the distribution right within the Community 
of that copy, with the exception of the right to control 
further rental of the program or a copy thereof. 
Article 5 
Exceptions to the restricted acts 
1. In the absence of specific contractual provisions, the 
acts referred to in Article 4 (a) and (b) shall not require 
authorization by the rightholder where they are necessary 
for the use of the computer program by the lawful 
acquirer in accordance with its intended purpose, inclu­
ding for error correction. 
2. The making of a back-up copy by a person having a 
right to use the computer program may not be prevented 
by contract insofar as it is necessary for that use. IP/NIl/EEC/CI 1 
Page 5 
17. 5. 91 Official Journal of the E':Iropean Communities No L 122/45 
3. The person having a right to use a copy of a 
computer program shall be entitled, without the authori­
zation of the rightholder, to observe, study or test the 
functioning of the program in order to determine the 
ideas and principles which underlie any element of the 
program if he does so while performing any of the acts of 
loading, displaying, running, transmitting or storing the 
program which he is entitled to do. 
Article 6 
Decompilation 
1. The authorization of the rightholder shall not be 
required where reproduction of the code and translation 
~f its form within the meaning of Article 4 (a) and (b) are 
indispensable to obtain the information necessary to 
achieve the interoperability of an independently created 
computer program with other programs, provided that the 
following conditions are met: 
(a) these acts are performed by the licensee or by another 
person having a right to use a copy of a program, or 
on their behalf by a person authorized to to so; 
(b) the information necessary to achieve interoperability 
has not previously been readily available to the 
persons referred to in subparagraph (a); and 
(c) these acts are confined to the parts of the original 
program which are necessary to achieve interoperabi­
lity. 
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not permit the 
information obtained through its application: 
(a) to be used for goals other than to achieve the intero­
perability of the independently created computer 
program; 
,b) to be given to others, except when necessary for the 
interoperability of the independently created 
computer program; or 
(c) to be used for the development, production or market­
ing of a computer program substantially similar in its 
expression, or for any other act which infringes copy­
right. 
3. In accordance with the provisions of the Berne 
Convention for the protection of Literary and Artistic 
Works, the provisions of this Article may not be inter­
preted in such a way as to allow its application to be lIsed 
in a manner which unreasonably prejudices the right 
holder's legitimate interests or conflicts with a normal 
exploitation of the computer program. 
Article 7 
Special measures of protection 
1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 4, 5 
and 6, Member States shall provide, in accordance with their national legislation, appropriate remedies against a 
person committing any of the acts listed in subparagraphs 
(a), (b) and (c) below: 
(a) any act of putting into circulation a copy of a 
computer program knowing, or having reason to 
believe, that it is an infringing copy; 
(b) the possession, for commercial purposes, of a copy of 
a computer program knowing, or having reason to 
believe, that it is an infringing copy; 
(c) any act of putting into circulation, or the possession 
for commercial purposes of, any means the sole 
intended purpose of which is to facilitate the unautho­
rized removal or circumvention of any technical 
device which may have been applied to protect a 
computer program. 
2. Any infringing copy of a computer program shall be 
liable to seizure in aq:ordance with the legislation of the 
Member State concerned. 
3. Member States may provide for the seizure of any 
means referred to in paragraph 1 (c). 
Article 8 
Term of protection 
1. Protection shall be granted for the life of the author 
and for fifty years after his death or after the death of the 
last surviving author; where the computer program is an 
anonymous or pseudonymous work, or where a legal 
person is designated as the author by national legislation 
in accordance with Article 2 (1), the term of protection 
shall be fifty years from the' time that the computer 
program is first lawfully made available to the public. The 
term of protection shall be deemed to begin on the first 
of January of the, year following the abovementioned 
events. 
2. Member States which already have a term of protec­
tion longer than that provided for in paragraph 1 are 
allowed to maintain their present term until such time as 
the term of protection for copyright works is harmonized 
by Community law in a more general way. 
Article 9 
Continued application of other legal provisions 
1. The provisions of this Directive shall be without 
prejudice to any other legal provisions such as those 
concerning patent rights, trade-marks, unfair competition, 
trade secrets, protection of st!mi-conductor products or 
the law of contract. Any contractual provisions contrary to 
Article 6 or to the exceptions provided for in Article 5 (2) 
and (3) shall be null and void. 
2. The provisions of this Directive shall apply also to 
programs created before 1 January 1993 without prejudice 
to any acts concluded and rights acquired before that date. IP/NI1 IEEC/CI1 
Page 6 
No L 122/46 Official Journal of the European Communities 17. 5. 91 
Article 10 
Final provisions 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regu­
lations and administrative provisions necessary to comply 
with this Directive before 1 January 1993. 
When Member States adopt these measures, the latter 
shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be 
accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their 
official publication. The methods of making such a 
reference shall be laid down by the Member States. 2. Member States shall communicate to the Commis­
sion the provisions of national law which they adopt in 
the field governed by this Directive. 
Article 11 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
Done at Brussels, 14 May 1991. 
For the Council 
The President 
J. F. PO OS IP/N/l IEEC/CI 1 
Page 7 
27. 11. 92 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 346161 
II 
(Acts whose publication is not obligatory) 
COUNCIL 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/100/EEC 
of 19 November 1992 
on rental right and lending right and on certain rights related to copyright in 
the field of intellectual property 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 57 (2), 
66 and 100a thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission C), 
In cooperation with the European Parliament (1), 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social 
Committee (3), 
Whereas differences exist in the legal protection provided 
~y the laws and practices of the Member States for copy­
right works and subject matter of related rights protection 
as regards rental and lending; whereas such differences 
are sources of barriers to trade and distortions of competi­
tion which impede the achievement and proper func­
tioning of the internal market; 
Whereas such differences in legal protection could well 
become greater as Member States adopt new and different 
legislation or as national case-law interpreting such legis­
lation develops differently; 
Whereas such differences should therefore be eliminated 
in accordance with the objective of introducing an area 
without internal frontiers as set out in Article 8a of the 
(') OJ No C 53, 28. 2. 1991, p. 35 and 
OJ No C 128, 20. 5. 1992, p. 8. 
e} OJ No C 67, 16. 3. 1992, p. 92 and Decision of 28 October 
1992 (not yet published in the Official Journal). 
C) OJ No C 269, 14. 10. 1991, p. 54. Treaty so as to institute, pursuant to Article 3 (f) of the 
Treaty, a system ensuring that competition in the 
common market is not distorted; 
Whereas rental and lending of copyright works and the 
subject matter of related rights protection is playing an 
increasingly important role in particular for authors, 
performers and producers of phonograms and films; 
whereas piracy is becoming an increasing threat; 
Whereas the adequate protection of copyright works and 
subject matter of related rights protection by rental and 
lending rights as well as the protection of the subject 
matter of related rights protection by the fixation right, 
reproduction right, distribution right, right to broadcast 
and communication to the public can accordingly be 
considered as being of fundamental importance for the 
Community's economic and cultural development; 
Whereas copyright and related rights protection must 
adapt to new economic developments such as new forms 
of exploitation; 
Whereas the creative and artistic work of authors and 
pei-fprmers necessitates an adequate income as a basis for 
further creative and artistic work, and the investments 
required particularly for the production of phonograms 
and films are especially high and risky; whereas the 
possibility for securing that income and recouping that 
investment can only effectively be guaranteed through 
adequate legal protection of the rightholders concerned; IP IN 11 IEECICI 1 
Page 8 
No L 346/62 Official Journal of the European Communities 27. 11. 92 
Whereas these creative, artistic and entrepreneurial activ­
ities are, to a large extent, activities of self-employed 
persons; whereas the pursuit of such activities must be 
made easier by providing a harmonized legal protection 
within the Community; 
Whereas, to the extent that these activities principally 
constitute services, their provision must equally be facil­
itated by the establishment in the Community of a har­
monized legal framework; 
Whereas the legislation of the Member States should be 
approximated in such a way so as not to conflict with the 
international conventions on which many Member States' 
copyright and related rights laws are based; 
Whereas the Community's legal framework on the rental 
right and lending right and on certain rights related to 
copyright can be limited to establishing that Member 
States provide rights with respect to rental and lending for 
certain groups of rightholders and further to establishing 
the rights of fixation, reproduction, distribution, broad­
casting and communication to the public for certain 
groups of rightholders in the field of related rights protec­
tion; 
Whereas it is necessary to define the concepts of rental 
and lending for the purposes of this Directive; 
Whereas it is desirable, with a view to clarity, to exclude 
from rental and lending within the meaning of this 
Directive certain forms of making available, as for 
instance making available phonograms or films (cinema­
tographic or audiovisual works or moving images, whether 
or not accompanied by sound) for the purpose of public 
performance or broadcasting, making available for the 
purpose of exhibition, or making available for on-the-spot 
reference use; whereas lending within the meaning of 
this Directive does not include making available between 
establishments which are accessible to the public; 
Whereas, where lending by an establishment accessible to 
the public gives rise to a payment the amount of which 
does not go beyond what is necessary to cover the operat­
ing costs of the establishment, there is no direct or in­
direct economic or commercial advantage within the 
meaning of this Directive; 
Whereas it is necessary to introduce arrangements ensur­
ing that an unwaivable equitable remuneration is obtained 
by authors and performers who must retain the possibility 
to entrust the administration of this right to collecting 
societies representing them; 
Whereas the equitable remuneration may be paid on the 
basis of one or several payments an any time on or after 
the conclusion of the contract; Whereas the equitable remuneration must take account of 
the importance of the contribution of the authors and 
performers concerned to the phonogram or film; 
Whereas it is also necessary to protect the rights at least 
of authors as regards public lending by providing for 
specific arrangements; whereas, however, any measures 
based on Article 5 of this Directive have to comply with 
Community law, in particular with Article 7 of the 
Treaty ; 
Whereas the provlSlons of Chapter II do not prevent 
Member States from extending the presumption set out in 
Article 2 (5) to the exclusive rights included in that 
chapter; whereas furthermore the provisions of Chapter 11 
do not prevent Member States from providing for a rebut­
table presumption of the authorization of exploitation in 
respect of the exclusive rights of performers provided for 
in those articles, in so far as such presumption is com­
patible with the International Convention for the Protec­
tion of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broad­
casting Organizations (hereinafter referred to as the Rome 
Convention) ; 
Whereas Member States may provide for more far­
reaching protection for owners of rights related to copy­
right than that required by Article 8 of this Directive; 
Whereas the harmonized rental and lending rights and 
the harmonized protection in the field of rights related to 
copyright should not be exercised in a way which consti­
tutes a disguised restriction on trade between Member 
States or in a way which is contrary to the rule of media 
exploitation chronology, as recognized in the Judgment 
handed down in Societe Cinetheque v. FNCF ('), 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
CHAPTER I 
RENTAL AND LENDING RIGHT 
Article 1 
Object of harmonization 
1. In accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, 
Member States shall provide, subject to Article 5, a right 
to authorize or prohibit the rental and lending of originals 
and copies of copyright works, and other subject matter as 
set out in Article 2 (1). 
C) Cases 60/84 and 61184, ECR 1985, p. 2605. IP/NI 1 IEEC/CI 1 
P~ge 9 
27. 11. 92 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 346/63 
2. For the purposes of this Directive, 'rental' means 
making available for use, for a limited period of time and 
for direct or indirect economic or commercial advantage. 
3. . For the purposes of this Directive, 'lending' means 
making available for use, for a limited period of time and 
not for direct or indirect economic or commercial advan­
tage, when it is made through establishments which are 
accessible to the public. 
4. The rights referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be 
exhausted by any sale or other act of distribution of origi­
nals and copies of copyright works and other subject 
matter as set out in Article 2 (1). 
Article 2 
Rightholders and subject matter of rental and 
lending right 
1. The exclusive right to authorize or prohibit rental 
and lending shall belong: 
-to the author in respect of the original and copies of 
his work, 
to the performer in respect of fixations of his perfor­
mance, 
to the phonogram producer in respect of his phono­
grams, and 
-to the producer of the first fixation of a film in respect 
of the original and copies of his film. For the purposes 
of this Directive, the term 'film' shall designate a cine­
matographic or audiovisual work or moving images, 
whether or not accompanied by sound. 
2. For the purposes of this Directive the principal 
director of a cinematographic or audiovisual work shall be 
considered as its author or one of its authors. Member 
States may provide for others to be considered as its 
co-authors. 
3. This Directive does not cover rental and lending 
rights in relation to buildings and to works of applied art. 
4. The rights referred to in paragraph 1 may be trans­
ferred, assigned or subjet to the granting of contractual 
licences. 
5. Without prejudice to paragraph 7, when a contract 
concerning film production is concluded, individually or 
collectively, by performers with a film producer, the 
performer covered by this contract shall be presumed, 
subject to contractual clauses to the contrary, to have 
transferred his rental right, subject to Article 4. 
6. Member States may provide for a similar presump­
tion as set out in paragraph 5 with respect to authors. 
7. Member States may provide that the signing of a 
contract concluded between a performer and a film producer concerning the production of a film has -the 
effect of authorizing rental, provided that such contract 
provides for an equitable remuneration within the 
meaning of Article 4. Member States may also provide 
that this paragraph shall apply mutatis mutandis to the 
rights included in Chapter n. 
Article 3 
Rental of computer programs 
This Directive shall be without prejudice to Article 4 (c) 
of Council Directive 91/250/EEC of 14 May 1991 on the 
legal protection of computer programs (I). 
Article 4 
Unwaivable right to equitable remuneration 
1. Where an author or performer has transferred. or 
assigned his rental right concerning a phonogram or an 
original or copy of a film to a phonogram or film 
producer, that author or performer shall retain the right to 
obtain an equitable remuneration for the rental. 
2. The right to obtain an equitable remuneration for 
rental cannot be waived by authors or performers. 
3. The administration of this right to obtain ari equi­
table remuneration may be entrusted to collecting socie­
ties representing authors or performers. 
4. Member States may regulate whether and to what 
extent administration by collecting societies of the right 
to obtain an equitable remuneration may be imposed, as 
well as the question from whom this remuneration may 
be claimed or collected. 
Article 5 
Derogation from the exclusive public lending right 
1. Member States may derogate from the exclusive 
right provided for in Article 1 in respect of public 
lending, provided that at least authors obtain a remunera­
tion for such lending. Member States shall be free to 
determine this remuneration taking account of their 
cultural promotion objectives. 
2. When Member States do not apply the exclusive 
lending right provided for in Article 1 as regards phorio­
grams, films and computer programs, they shall introduce, 
at least for authors, a remuneration. 
(1) DJ No L 122, 17. 5. 1991, p. 42. IP/N/1/EEC/C/1 
Page 10 
No L 346/64 Official Journal of the European Communities 27. 11. 92 
3. Member States may exempt certain categories of 
establishments from the payment of the remuneration 
referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2. 
4. The Commission, in cooperation with the Member 
States, shall draw up before 1 July 1997 a report on public 
lending in the Community. It shall forward this report to 
the European Parliament and to the Council. 
CHAPTER II 
RIGHTS RELATED TO COPYRIGHT 
Art£cle 6 
Fixation right 
1. Member States shall provide for performers the 
exclusive right to authorize or prohibit the fixation of 
their performances. 
2. Member States shall provide for broadcasting organi­
zations the exclusive right to authorize or prohibit the 
fixation of their broadcasts, whether these broadcasts are 
transmitted by wire or over the air, including by cable or 
satellite. 
3. A cable distributor shall not have the right provided 
for in paragraph 2 where it merely retransmits by cable 
the broadcasts of broadcasting organizations. 
Art£cle 7 
Reproduction right 
1. Member States shall provide the exclusive right to 
authorize or prohibit the direct or indirect reproduction : 
for performers, of fixations of their performances, 
for phonogram producers, of their phonograms, 
for producers of the first fixations of films, in respect 
of the original and copies of their films, and 
for broadcasting organizations, of fixations of their 
broadcasts, as set out in Article 6 (2). 
2. The reproduction right referred to in paragraph 1 
may be transferred, assigned or subject to the granting of 
contractual licences. 
Art£cle 8 
Broadcasting and communication to the public 
1. Member States shall provide for performers the 
exclusive right to authorize or prohibit the broadcasting 
by wireless means and the communication to the public of their performances, except where the performance is 
itself already a broadcast performance or is made from a 
fixation. 
2. Member States shall provide a right in order to 
ensure that a single equitable remuneration is paid by the 
user, if a phonogram published for commercial purposes, 
or a reproduction of such phonogram, is used for broad­
casting by wireless means or for any communication to 
the public, and to ensure that this remuneration is shared 
between the relevant performers and phonogram pro­
ducers. Member States may, in the absence of agreement 
between the performers and phonogram producers, lay 
down the conditions as to the sharing of this remunera­
tion between them. 
3. Member States shall provide for broadcasting organi­
zations the exclusive right to authorize or prohibit the 
rebroadcasting of their broadcasts by wireless means, as 
well as the communication to the public of their 
broadcasts if such communication is made in place 
accessible to the public against payment of an entrance 
fee. 
Art£cle 9 
Distribution right 
1. Member States shall provide 
for performers, in respect of fixations of their perfor­
mances, 
for phonogram producers, in respect of their phono­
grams, 
for producers of the first fixations of films, in respect 
of the original and copies of their films, 
for broadcasting organizations, in respect of fixation 
of their broadcast as set' out in Article 6 (2), 
the exclusive right to make available these objects, in­
cluding copies thereof, to the public by sale or otherwise, 
hereafter referred to as the 'distribution right'. 
2. The distribution right shall not be exhausted within 
the Community in respect of an object as referred to in 
paragraph 1, except where the first sale in the Com­
munity of that object is made by the rightholder or with 
his consent. 
3. The distribution right shall be without prejudice to 
the specific provisions of Chapter I, in particular Article 1 
(4). 
4. The distribution right may be transferred, assigned 
or subject to the granting of contractual licences. IP/NI 1/EECICI 1 
Page 11 
27. 11. 92 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 346/65 
Article 10 
Limitations to rights 
1. Member States may provide for limitations to the 
rights referred to in Chapter 11 in respect of: 
(a) private use; 
(b) use of short excerpts in connection with the reporting 
of current events; 
(c) ephemeral fixation by a broadcasting organization by 
means of its own facilities and for its own broadcasts; 
(d) use solely for the purposes of teaching or scientific 
research. 
2. Irrespective of paragraph 1, any Member State may 
provide for the same kinds of limitations with regard to 
the protection of performers, producers of phonograms, 
broadcasting organizations and of producers of the first 
"fixations of films, as it provides for in connection with the 
protection of copyright in literary and artistic works. 
However, corn pulsory licences may be provided for only 
to the extent to which they are compatible with the Rome 
Convention. 
3. Paragraph 1 (a) shall be without prejudice to any 
existing or future legi"slation on remuneration for repro­
duction for private use. 
CHAPTER In 
DURATION 
Article 11 
Duration of authors' rights 
Without prejudice to further harmonization, the authors' 
rights referred to in this Directive shall not expire before 
the end of the term provided by the Berne Convention 
for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. 
Article 12 
Duration of related rights 
Without prejudice to. further harmonization, the rights 
referred to in this Directive of performers, phonogram 
producers and broadcasting organizations shall not expire 
before the end of the respective terms provided by the 
Rome Convention. The rights referred to in this Directive 
for producers of the first fixations of films shall not expire 
before the end of a period of 20 years computed from the 
end of the year in which the fixation was made. CHAPTER IV 
COMMON PROVISIONS 
Article 13 
Application in time 
1. This Directive shall apply in respect of all copyright 
works, performances, phonograms, broadcasts and first 
fixations of films referred to in this Directive which are, 
on 1 July 1994, still protected by the legislation of the 
Member States in the field of copyright and related rights 
or meet the criteria for protection under the provisions of 
this Directive on that date. 
2. This Directive shall apply without prejudice to any 
acts of exploitation performed before 1 July 1994. 
3. Member States may provide that the rightholders are 
deemed to have given their authorization to the rental or 
lending of an object referred to in Article 2 (1) which is 
proven to have been made available to third parties for 
this purpose or to have been acquired before 1 July 1994. 
However, in particular where such an object is a digital 
recording, Member States may provide that rightholders 
shall have a right to obtain an adequate remuneration for 
the rental or lending of that object. 
4. Member States need not apply the provisions of 
Article 2 (2) to cinematographic or audiovisuaf works 
created before 1 July 1994. 
5. Member States may determine the date as from 
which the Article 2 (2) shall apply, provided that that date 
is no later than 1 July 1997. 
6. This Directive shall, without prejudice to paragraph 
3 and subject to paragraphs 8 and 9, not affect any 
contracts concluded before the date of its adoption. 
7. Member States may provide, subject to the provi~ 
sions of paragraphs 8 and 9, that when rightholders who 
acquire new rights under the national provisions adopted 
in implementation of this Directive have, before 1 July 
1994, given their consent for exploitation, they shall be 
presumed to have transferred the new exclusive rights. 
8. Member States may determine the date as from 
which the unwaivable right to an equitable remuneration 
referred to in Article 4 exists, provided that that date is no 
later than 1 July 1997. 
9. For contracts concluded before 1 July 1994, the 
unwaivable right to an equitable remuneration provided 
for in Article 4 shall apply only where authors or per­
formers or those representing them have submitted a 
request to that effect before 1 January 1997. In the 
absence of agreement between rightholders concerning 
the level of remuneration, Member States may fix the 
level of equitable remuneration. IP/N/l IEEC/CI 1 
Page 12 
No L 346/66 Official Journal of the European Communities 27. 11. 92 
Article 14 
Relation between copyright and related rights 
Protection of copyright-related rights under this Directive 
shall leave intact and shall in no way affect the protection 
of copyright. 
Article 15 
Final provisions 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regu­
lations and administrative provisions necessary to comply 
with this Directive not later than 1 July 1994. They shall 
forthwith inform the Commission thereof. 
When Member States adopt these measures, they shall 
contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accom­
panied by such reference at the time of their official pub-lication. The methods of making such a reference shall be 
laid down by the Member States. 
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commis­
sion the main provisions of domestic law which they 
adopt in the field covered by this Directive. 
Article 16 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
Done at Brussels, 19 November 1992. 
For the Council 
The President 
E. LEIGH IP/N/1/EEC/C/1 
Page 13 
6. 10. 93 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 248/15 
11 
(Acts whose publication is not obligatory) 
COUNCIL 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 93/83/EEC 
of 27 September 1993 
on the coordination of certain rules concerning copyright and rights related to 
copyright applicable to satellite broadcasting and cable retransmission 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 57 (2) 
and 66 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1), 
In cooperation with the European Parliament (2), 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social 
Committee (3), 
(1) Whereas the' objectives of the Community as laid 
down in the Treaty include establishing an ever 
closer union among the peoples of Europe, foster­
ing closer relations between the ,States belonging to 
the Community and ensuring the economic and 
social progress of the Community countries by 
common action to eliminate the barriers which 
divide Europe; 
(2) Whereas, to that end, the Treaty provides for the 
establishment of a common market and an area 
without internal frontiers; whereas measures to 
achieve 'this include the abolition of obstacles to 
the free movement of services and the institution of 
a system ensuring that competition in the common 
market is not distorted; whereas, to that end, the 
Council may adopt dire~tives for the coordination 
of the provisi'ons laid down by law, regulation or 
(I) OJ No C 255, 1. 10. 1991, p. 3 and 
OJ No C 25, 28. 1. 1993, p. 43. 
(l) OJ No C 305, 23. 11. 1992, p. 129 and 
OJ No C 255, 20. 9. 1993. 
(3) OJ No C 98, 21. 4. 1992, p. 44. (3) administrative action in Member States concerning 
the taking up and pursuit of activities as self­
employed persons; 
Whereas broadcasts transmitted across frontiers 
within the Community, in particular by satellite 
and cable, are one of the most important ways of 
pursuing these Community objectives, which are at 
the same time political, economic, social, cultural 
and legal; 
(4) Whereas the Council has already adopted Directive 
89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordina­
tion of certain provisions laid down by law, regula­
tion or administrative action in Member States 
concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting 
activities (4), which makes provision for the promo­
tion of the distribution and production of European 
television programmes and 'for advertising and 
sponsorship, the protection of minors and the right 
of reply; 
(5) Whereas, however, the achievement of these objec­
~ives in respect of cross-border satellite broadcast­
ing and the cable re transmission of programmes 
from other Member States is currently still 
obstructed by a series of differences between 
national rules of copyright and some degree of 
legal uncertainty; whereas this means that holders 
of rights are exposed to the threat of seeing their 
works exploited without payment of remuneration 
or that the individual holders of exclusive rights in 
various Member States block the exploitation of 
their rights; whereas the legal uncertainty in par­
ticular constitutes a direct obstacle in the free 
circulation of programmes within the Community ; 
(4) OJ No L 298, 17. 10. 1989, p. 23. IP/NI 1 IEEC/CI 1 
Page 14 
No L 248/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 10. 93 
(6) 
(7) 
(8) Whereas a distinction is currently drawn for copy­
right purposes between communication to the 
public by direct satellite and communication to the 
public by communications satellite; whereas, since 
individual reception is possible and affordable 
nowadays with both types of satellite, there is 
no longer any justification for this differing legal 
treatment; 
Whereas the free broadcasting of programmes is 
further impeded by the current legal uncertainty 
over whether broadcastsing by a satellite whose 
signals can be received directly affects the rights in 
the country of transmission only or in all countries 
of reception together; whereas, since communica­
tions satellites and direct satellites are treated alike 
for copyright purposes, this legal uncertainty now 
affects almost all programmes broadcast in the 
Community by satellite; 
Whereas, furthermore, legal certainty, which is a 
prerequisite for the free movement" of broadcasts 
within the Community, is missing where 
programmes transmitted across frontiers are fed 
into and retransmitted through cable networks; 
(9) Whereas the development of the acqulsltlOn of 
rights on a contractual basis by authorization is 
already making a vigorous contribution to the crea­
tion of the desired European audiovisual area; 
whereas the continuation of such contractual agree­
ments should be ensured and their smooth applica­
tion in practice should be promoted wherever 
possible; 
(10) Whereas at present cable operators in particular 
cannot be sure that they have actually acquired all 
the programme rights covered by such an agree­
ment; 
(11) Whereas, lastly, parties in different Member States 
are not all similarly bound by obligations which 
prevent them from refusing without valid reason to 
negotiate on the acquisition of the rights necessary 
for cable distribution or allowing such negotiations 
to fail; 
(12) Whereas the legal framework for the creation of a 
single audiovisual area laid down in Directive 
89/SS2/EEC must, therefore, be supplemented with 
reference to copyright; 
(13) Whereas, therefore, an end should be put to the 
differences of treatment of the transmission of 
programmes by communications satellite which 
exist in the Member States, so that the vital distinc-tion throughout the Community becomes whether 
works and other protected subject matter are 
communicated to the public; whereas this will also 
ensure equal treatment of the suppliers of cross­
border broadcasts, regardless of whether they use a 
direct broadcasting satellite or a communications 
satellite; 
(14) Whereas the legal uncertainty regarding the rights 
to be acquired which impedes cross-border satellite 
broadcasting should be overcome by defining the 
notion of communication to the public by satellite 
at a Community level; whereas this definition 
should at the same time specify where the act of 
communication takes place; whereas such a defini­
tion is necessary to avoid the cumulative applica­
tion of several national laws to one single act of 
broadcasting; whereas communication to the 
public by satellite occurs only when, and in the 
Member State where, the programme-carryi 
signals are introduced under the control ana 
responsibility of the broadcasting organization into 
an uninterrupted chain of communication leading 
to . the satellite and down towards the earth; 
whereas normal technical procedures relating to the 
programme-carrying signals should not be con­
sidered as interruptions to the chain of broadcas­
ting; 
(15) Whereas the acqUlsltlon on a contractual basis of 
exclusive broadcasting rights should comply with 
any legislation on copyright and rights related to 
copyright in the Member State in which communi­
cation to the public by satellite occurs; 
(16) Whereas the principle of contractual freedom on 
which this Directive is based will make it possible 
to continue limiting the exploitation of th 
rights, especially as far as certain technical means 
of transmission or certain language versions are 
concerned; 
(17) Whereas, in ariving at the amount of the payment 
to be made for the rights acquired, the parties 
should take account of all aspects of the broadcast, 
such as the actual audience, the potential audience 
and the language version; 
(18) Whereas the application of the country-of-origin 
principle contained in this Directive could pose a 
problem with regard to existing contracts ;' whereas 
this Directive should provide for a period of five 
years for existing contracts to be adapted, where 
necessary, in the light of the Directive; whereas the 
said country-of-origin principle should not, there­
fore, apply to existing contracts which expire before IP IN I lIEEC/CI 1 
Page 15 
6. 10. 93 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 248/17 
1 January 2000 ; whereas if by that date parties still 
have an interest in the contract, the same parties 
should be entitled to renegotiate the conditions of 
the contract; 
(19) Whereas eXIstmg international co-production 
agreements must be interpreted in the light of the 
economic purpose and scope envisaged by the 
parties upon signature; whereas in the past interna­
tional co-production agreements have often not 
expressly and specifically addressed communication 
to the public by satellite within the meaning of this 
Directive a particular form of exploitation; whereas 
the underlying philosophy of many existing 
international co-production agreements is that the 
rights in the co-production are exercised separately 
and independently by each co-producer, by divi­
ding the exploitation rights between them along 
territorial lines; whereas, as a general rule, in the 
situation where a communication to the public by 
satellite authorized by one co-producer would 
prejudice the value of the exploitation rights of 
another co-producer, the interpretation of such an 
existing agreement would normally suggest that the 
latter co-producer would have to give his consent 
to the authorization, by the former co-producer, of 
the communication to the public by satellite; 
whereas the language exclusivity of the latter 
co-producer will be prejudiced where the language 
version or versions of the communication to the 
public, including where the version is dubbed or 
subtitled, coincide(s) with the language or the 
languages widely understood in the territory 
allotted by the agreement to the latter co-producer; 
whereas the notion of exclusivity should be under­
stood in a wider sense where the communication to 
the public by satellite concerns a work which 
consists merely of images and contains no dialogue 
or subtitles; whereas a clear rule is necessary in 
cases where the international co-production agree­
ment does not expressly regulate the division of 
rights in the specific case of communication to the 
public by satellite within the meaning of this 
Directive; 
(20) Whereas communications to the public by satellite 
from non-member countries will under certain 
conditions be deemed to occur within a Member 
State of the Community; 
(21) Whereas it is necessary to ensure that protection 
for authors, performers, producers of phonograms 
and broadcasting organizations is accorded in all 
Member States and that this protection is not 
subject to a statutory licence system; whereas only 
in this way is it possible to ensure that any differ­
ence in the level of protection within the common 
market will not create distortions of competition; 
(22) Whereas the advent of new technologies is likely to 
have an impact on both the quality and the quan-tity of the exploitation of works and other subject 
matter; 
(23) Whereas in the light of these developments the 
level of protection granted pursuant to this Direc­
tive to all rightholders in the areas covered by this 
Directive should remain under consideration; 
(24) Whereas the harmonization of legislation envisaged 
in this Directive entails the harmonization of the 
provisions ensuring a high level of protection of 
authors, performers, phonogram producers and 
broadcasting organizations; whereas this harmoni­
zation should not allow a broadcasting organization 
to take advantage of differences in levels of protec­
tion by relocating activities, to the detriment of 
audiovisual productions; 
(25) Wheres the protection provided for rights related to 
copyright should be aligned on that contained in 
Council Directive 92/100/EEC of 19 November 
1992 on rental right and lending right and on 
certain rights related to copyright in the field of 
intellectual property (1) for the purposes of commu­
nication to the public by satellite; whereas, in 
particular, this will ensure that peformers and 
phonogram producers are guaranteed an appro­
priate remuneration for the communication to the 
public by satellite of their performances or phono­
grams; 
(26) Whereas the provisions of Article 4 do not prevent 
Member States from extending the presumption set 
out in Article 2 (5) of Directive 92/100/EEC to the 
exclusive rights referred to in Article 4; whereas, 
furthermore, the provisions of Article 4 do not 
prevent Member States from providing for a rebut­
table presumption of the authoriztion of exploita­
tion in respect of the exclusive rights of performers 
referred to in that Article, in so far as such 
presumption is compatible with the International 
Convention for the Protection of Performers, 
Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Orga­
nizations; 
(27) Whereas the cable retransmISSIon of programmes 
from other Member States is an act subject to copy­
right and, as the case may be, rights related to 
copyright; whereas the cable operator must, there­
fore, obtain the authorization from every holder of 
rights in each part of the programme retrans­
mitted; whereas, pursuant to this Directive, the 
authorizations should be granted contractually 
unless a temporary exception is provided for in the 
case of existing legal licence schemes; 
(I) OJ No L 346, 27. 11. 1992, p. 61. IP/N/lIEEC/C/1 
Page 16 
No L 248118 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 10. 93 
(28) Whereas, in order to ensure that the smooth opera­
tion of contractual arrangements is not called into 
question by the intervention of outsiders holding 
rights in individual parts of the programme, provi­
sion should be made, through the obligation to 
have recourse to a collecting society, for the exclu­
sive collective exercise of the authorization right to 
the extent that this is required by the special 
features of cable retransmission; whereas the 
authorization right as such remains intact and only 
the exercise of this right is regulated to some 
extent, so that the right to authorize a cable retrans­
mission can still be assigned; whereas this Direc­
tive does not affect the exercise of moral rights; 
(29) Whereas the exemption provided for in Article 10 
should not limit the choice. of holders of rights to 
transfer their rights to a collecting society and 
thereby have a direct share in the remuneration 
paid by the cable distributor for cable retransmis­
si on ; 
(30) Whereas contractual arrangements regarding the 
authorization of cable retransmission should be 
promoted by additional measures; whereas a party 
seeking the conclusion of a general contract 
should, for its part, be obliged to submit collective 
proposals for an agreement; whereas, furthermore, 
any party shall be entitled, at any moment, to call 
upon the assistance of impartial mediators whose 
task is to assist negotiations and who may submit 
proposals; whereas any such proposals and any 
opposition thereto should be served on the parties 
concerned in accordance with the applicable rules 
concerning the service of legal documents, in par­
ticular as set out in existing international conven­
tions ; whereas, finally, it is necessary to ensure that 
the negotiations are not blocked without valid justi­
fication or that individual holders are not prevented 
without valid justification from taking part in the 
negotiations; whereas none of these measures for 
the promotion of the acquisition of rights calls into 
question the contractual nature of the acquisition 
of cable retransmission rights; 
(31) Whereas for a transitional period Member States 
should be allowed to retain existing bodies with 
jurisdiction in their territory over cases where the 
right to retransmit a programme by cabl~ to the 
public has been unreasonably refused or offered on 
unreasonable terms by a broadcasting organization; 
whereas it is understood that the right of parties 
concerned to be heard by the body should be 
guaranteed and that the existence of the body 
should not prevent the parties concerned from 
having normal access to the courts; (32) Whereas, however, Community rules are not 
needed to deal with all of those matters, the effects 
of which perhaps with some commercially insigni­
ficant exceptions, are felt only inside the borders of 
a single Member State; 
(33) Whereas minimum rules should be laid down in 
order to establish and guarantee free and uninter­
rupted cross-border broadcasting by satellite and 
simultaneous, unaltered cable retransmission of 
programmes broadcast from other Member States, 
on an essentially contractual basis; 
(34) Whereas this Directive should not prejudice further 
harmonization in the field of copyright and rights 
related to copyright and the collective administra­
tion of such rights; whereas the possibility for 
Member States to regulate the activities of collect­
ing societies should not prejudice the freedom of 
contractual negotiation of the rights provided for .;n 
this Directive, on the understanding that sue 
negotiation takes place within the framework ot 
general or specific national rules with regard to 
competition law or the prevention of abuse of 
monopolies; 
(35) Whereas it should, therefore, be for the Member 
States to supplement the general provisions needed 
to achieve the objectives of this Directive by taking 
legislative and administrative measures in their 
domestic law, provided that these do not run 
counter to the objectives of this Directive and are 
compatible with Community law; 
(36) Whereas this Directive does not affect the applica­
bility of the competition rules in Articles 85 and 86 
of the Treaty, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECfIVE: 
CHAPTER I 
DEFINITIONS 
Article 1 
Definitions 
1. For the purpose of this Directive, 'satellite' means 
any satellilte operating on frequency bands which, under 
telecommunications law, are reserved for the broadcast of 
signals for reception by the public or which are reserved IP/NI 1 IEECICI 1 
Page 17 
6. 10. 93 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 248/19 
for closed, point-to-point communication. In the latter 
case, however, the circumstances in which individual 
reception of the signals takes place must be comparable 
to those which apply in the first case. 
2. (a) For the purpose of this Directive, 'communication 
to the public by satellite' means the act of intro­
ducing, under the control and responsibility of the 
broadcasting organization, the programme-carrying 
signals intended for reception by the public into an 
uninterrupted chain of communication leading to 
the satellite and down towards the earth. 
(b) The act of communication to the public by satellite 
occurs solely in the Member State where, under the 
control and responsibility of the broadcasting orga­
nization, the programme-carrying signals are intro­
duced into an uninterrupted chain of communica­
tion leading to the satellite and down towards the 
earth. 
(c) If the programme-carrying signals are encrypted, 
then there is communication to the public by 
satellite on condition that the means for decrypting 
the broadcast are provided to the public by the 
broadcasting organization or with its consent. 
(d) Where an act of communication to the public by 
satellite occurs in a non-Community State which 
does not provide the level of protection provided 
for under Chapter 11, 
(i) if the programme-carrying signals are trans­
mitted to the satellite from an up link situation 
situated in a Member State, that act of commu­
nication to the public by satellite shall be 
deemed to have occurred in that Member State 
and the rights provided for under Chapter 11 
shall be exercisable against the person opera­
ting the uplink station; or 
(ii) if there is no use of an uplink station situated 
in a Member State but a broadcasting organiza­
tion established in a Member State has 
commissioned the act of communication to the 
public by satellite, that act shall be deemed to 
have occured in the Member State in which the 
broadcasting organization has its principal 
establishment in the Community arid the rights 
provided for under Chapter 11 shall be 
exercisable against the broadcasting organiza­
tion. 
3. For the purposes of this Directive, 'cable retransmis­
sion' means the simultaneous, unaltered and unabridged 
retransmission by a cable or microwave system for recep­
tion by the public of an initial transmission from another 
Member State, by wire or over the air, including that by 
satellite, of television or radio programmes intended for 
reception by the public. 4. For the purposes of this Directive 'collecting society' 
means any organization which manages or administers 
copyright or rights related to copyright as its sole purpose 
or as one of its main purposes. 
5. For the purposes of this Directive, the principal 
director of a cinematographic or audiovisual work shall be 
considered as its author or one of its authors. Member 
States may provide for others to be considered as its 
co-authors. 
CHAPTER II 
BROADCASTING OF PROGRAMMES BY SATELLITE 
Article 2 
Broadcasting right 
Member States shall provide an exclusive right for the 
author to authorize the communication to the public by 
satellite of copyright works, subject to the provisions set 
out in this chapter. 
Article 3 
Acquisition of broadcasting rights 
1. Member States shall ensure that the authorization 
referred to in Article 2 may be acquired only be agree­
ment. 
2. A Member State. may provide that a collective agree­
ment between a collecting society and a broadcasting 
organization concerning a given category of works may be 
extended to rightholders of the same category who are not 
represented by the collecting society, provided that: 
-the communication to the public by satellite simul­
casts a terrestrial broadcast by the same broadcaster, 
and 
-the unrepresented rightholder shall, at any time, have 
the possibility of excluding the extension of the 
collective agreement to his works and of exercising his 
rights either individually or collectively. 
3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to cinematographic 
works, including works created by a process analogous to 
cinematography. 
4. Where the law of a Member State provides for the 
extension of a collective agreement in accordance with 
the provisions of paragraph 2, that Member States shall 
inform the Commission which broadcasting organizations 
are entitled to avail themselves of that law. The Commis­
sion shall publish this information in the Official 
Journal of the European Communities (C series). IP/N/l/EEC/C/l 
Page 18 
No L 248/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 10. 93 
Article 4 
Rights of performers, phonogram producers and 
broadcasting organizations 
1. For the purposes of communication to the public by 
satellite, the rights of performers, phonogram producers 
and broadcasting organizations shall be protected in 
accordance with the provisions of Articles 6, 7, 8 and 10 
of Directive 92/100/EEC. 
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, 'broadcasting by 
wireless means' in Directive 92/100/EEC shall be under­
stood as including communication to the public by satel­
lite. 
3. With regard to the exercise of the rights referred to 
in paragraph 1, Articles 2 (7) and 12 of Directive 
92/100/EEC shall apply. 
Article 5 
Relation between copyright and related rights 
Protection of copyright-related rights under this Directive 
shall leave intact and shall in no way affect the protection 
of copyright. 
Article 6 
Minimum protection 
1. Member States may provide for more far-reaching 
protection for holders of rights related to copyright than 
that required by Article 8 of Directive 92/100/EEC. 
2. In applying paragraph 1 Member States shall observe 
the definitions contained in Article 1 (1) and (2). 
Article 7 
Transitional provisions 
1. With regard to the application in time of the rights 
referred to in Article 4 (1) of this Directive, Article 13 (1), 
(2), (6) and (7) of Directive 92/100/EEC shall apply. 
Article 13 (4) and (5) of Directive 92/l00/EEC shall apply 
mutatis mutandis. 
2. Agreements concerning the exploitation of works 
and other protected subject matter which ~re in force on 
the date mentioned in Article 14 (1) shall be subject to 
the provisions of Articles 1 (2), 2 and 3 as from 1 January 
2000 if they expire after that date. 
3. When an international co-production agreement 
concluded before the date mentioned in Article 14 (1) 
between a co-producer from a Member State and one or 
more co-producers from other Member States or third 
countries expressly provides for a system of division of exploitation rights between the co-producers by 
geographical areas for all means of communication to the 
public, without distinguishing the arrangement applicable 
to communication to the public by satellite from the 
provisions applicable to the other means of communica­
tion, and where communication to the public by satellite 
of the co-production would prejudice the exclusivity, in 
particular the language exclusivity, of one of the 
co-producers or his assignees in a given territory, the 
authorization by one of the co-producers or his assignees 
for a communication to the public by satellite shall 
require the prior consent of the holder of that exclusivity, 
whether co-producer or assignee. 
CHAPTER III 
CABLE RETRANSMISSION 
Article 8 
Cable retransmission right 
1. Member States shall ensure that when programmes 
from other Member States are retransmitted by cable in 
their territory the applicable copyright and related rights 
are observed and that such retransmission takes place on 
the basis of individual or collective contractual agree­
ments between copyright owners, holders of related rights 
and cable operators. 
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, Member States may 
retain until 31 December 1997 such statutory licence 
systems which are in operation or expressly provided for 
by national law on 31 July 1991. 
Article 9 
Exercise of the cable retransmission right 
1. Member States shall ensure that the right of copy­
right owners and holders or related rights to grant or 
refuse authorization to a cable operator for a cable retrans­
mission may be exercised only through a collecting 
society. 
2. Where a rightholder has not transferred the manage­
ment of his rights to a collecting society, the collecting 
society which manages rights of the same category shall 
be deemed to be mandated to manage his rights. Where 
more than one collecting society manages rights of that 
category, the rightholder shall be free to choose which of 
those collecting societies is deemed to be mandated to 
manage his rights. A rightholder referred to in this para­
graph shall have the same rights and obligations resulting 
from the agreement between the cable operator and the 
collecting society which is deemed to be mandated to 
manage his rights as the rightholders who have mandated 
that collecting society and he shall be able to claim those IP/N/1/EEC/C/1 
Page 19 
6. 10. 93 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 248/21 
rightS within a period, to be fixed by the Member State 
concerned, which shall not be shorter than three years 
from the date of the cable retransmission which includes 
his work or other protected subject matter. 
3. A Member State may provide that, when a right­
holder authorizes the initial transmission within its terri­
tory of a work or other protected subject matter, he shall 
be deemed to have agreed not to exercise his cable 
retransmission rights on an individual basis but to exer­
cise them in accordance with the provisions of this Direc­
tive. 
Article 10 
Exercise of the cable retransmission right by broad­
casting organizations 
Member States shall ensure that Article 9 does not apply 
to the rights exercised by a broadcasting organization in 
respect of its own transmission, irrespective of whether 
the rights concerned are its own or have been transferred 
to it by other copyright owners and/or holders of related 
rights. 
Article 11 
Mediators 
1. Where no agreement is concluded regarding autho­
rization of the cable retransmission of a broadcast. 
Member States shall ensure that either party may call 
upon the assistance of one or more mediators. 
2. The task of the mediators shall be to provide assis-
tance with negotiation. They may also submit proposals to 
the parties. 
3. It shall be assumed that all the parties accept a 
proposal as referred to in paragraph 2 if none of them 
expresses its opposition within a period of three months. 
Notice of the proposal and of any opposition thereto shall 
be served on the parties concerned in accordance with the 
applicable rules concerning the service of legal docu­
ments. 
4. The mediators shall be so selected that their inde-
pendence and impartiality are beyond reasonable doubt. 
Article 12 
Prevention of the abuse of negotiating positions 
1. Member States shall ensure by means of civil or 
administrative law, as appropriate, that the parties enter 
and conduct negotiations regarding authorization for 
cable retransmission in good faith and do not prevent or 
hinder negotiation without valid justification. 2. A Member State which, on the date mentioned in 
Article 14 (I), has a body with jurisdiction in its territory 
over cases where the right to retransmit a programme by 
cable to the public in that Member State has been 
unreasonably refused or offered on unreasonable terms by 
a broadcasting organization may retain that body. 
3. Paragraph 2 shall apply for a transitional period of 
eight years from the date mentioned in Article 14 (1). 
CHAPTER IV 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Article 13 
Collective administration of rights 
This Directive shall be without prejudice to the regulation 
of the activities of collecting societies by the Member 
States. 
Article 14. 
Final provisions 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regu­
lations and administrative provisions necessary to comply 
with this Directive before 1 January 1995. They shall 
immediately inform the Commission thereof. 
When Member States adopt these measures, the latter 
shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be 
accompanied by such reference at the time of their offi­
cial publication. The methods of making such a reference 
shall be laid down by the Member States. 
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commis­
sion the provisions of national law which they adopt in 
the field covered by this Directive. 
3. Not later than 1 January 2000, the Commission 
shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council and 
the Economic and Social Committee a report on the 
application of this Directive and, if necessary, make 
further proposals to adapt it to developments in the audio 
and audiovisual sector. 
Article 15 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
Done at Brussels, 27 September 1993. 
For the Council 
The President 
R. URBAIN IP/N/lIEEC/C/l 
Page 20 
24. 11. 93 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 290/9 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 93/98/EEC 
of 29 October 1993 
harmonizing the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 57 (2), 
66 and 100a thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission C), 
In cooperation with the European Parliament C), 
Having regard to the OpInIOn of the Economic and 
Social Committee C), 
(1) Whereas the Berne Convention for the protection 
of literary and artistic works and the International 
Convention for the protection of performers, 
producers of phonograms and broadcasting organ­
izations (Rome Convention) lay down only 
minimum terms of protection of the rights they. 
refer to, leaving the Contracting States free to grant 
longer terms; whereas certain Member States have 
exercised this entitlement; whereas in addition 
certain Member States have not become party to 
the Rome Convention; 
(2) Whereas there are consequently differences 
between the national laws governing the terms of 
protection of copyright and related rights, which 
are liable to impede the free movement of goods 
and freedom to provide services, and to distort 
competition in the common market; whereas 
therefore with a view to the smooth operation of 
the internal market, the laws of the Member States 
shou1d be harmonized so as to make terms of 
protection identical throughout the Community; 
(3) Whereas harmonization must cover not only the 
terms of protection as such, but also certain 
implementing arrangements such as the date from 
which each term of protection is calculated; 
( 4) Whereas the prOVlSlons of this Directive do not 
affect the application by the Member States of the 
(I) OJ No C 92, 11. 4. 1992, p. 6 and 
OJ No C 27, 30.1. 1993, p. 7. 
(2) OJ No C 337, 21. 12. 1992, p. 205 and 
Decision of 27 October 1993 (not yet published in the 
Official Journal). 
C) OJ No C 287, 4. 11. 1992, p. 53. provisions of Article 14a (2) (b), (c) and (d) and (3) 
of the Berne Convention; 
(5) Whereas the mmlmum term of protection laid 
down by the Berne Convention, namely the life of 
the author and 50 years after his death, was 
intended to provide protection for the author and 
the first two generations of his descendants; 
whereas the average lifespan in the Community has 
grown longer, to the point where this term is no 
longer sufficient to cover two generations; 
(6) Whereas certain Member States have granted a 
term longer than 50 years after the death of the 
author in order to offset the effects of the world 
wars on the exploitation of authors' works; 
(7) Whereas for the protection of related· rights certain 
Member States have introduced a term of 50 years 
after lawful publication or lawful communication to 
the public; 
(8) Whereas under the Community posItIon adopted 
for the Uruguay Round negotiations under the 
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 
the term of protection for producers of phonograms 
should be 50 years after first publication; 
(9) Whereas due regard for established rights is one of 
the general principles of law protected by the 
Community legal order; whereas, therefore, a 
harmonization of the terms of protection of 
copyright and related rights cannot have the effect 
of reducing the protection currently enjoyed by 
rightholders in the Community; whereas in order to 
keep the effects of transitional measures to a 
minimum and to allow the internal market to 
operate in practice, the harmonization of the term 
of protection should take place on a long term 
basis; 
(10) Whereas in its communication of 17 January 1991 
'Follow-up to the Green Paper -Working 
programme of the Commission in the field of 
copyright and neighbouring rights' the Commission 
stresses the need to . harmonize copyright and 
neighbouring rights at a high level of protection 
since these rights are fundamental to intellectual 
creation and stresses that their protection ensures 
the maintenance and development of creativity in IP/N/1/EEC/C/1 
Page 21 
No L 290110 Official Journal of the European Communities 24. 11. 93 
the interest of authors, cultural industries, 
consumers and society as a whole; 
(11) Whereas in order to establish a high level of 
protection which at the same time meets the 
requirements of the internal market and the need to 
establish a legal environment conducive to the 
harmonious development of literary and artistic 
creation in the Community, the term of protection 
for copyright should be harmonized at 70 years 
after the death of the author or 70 years after the 
work is lawfully made available to the public, and 
for related rights at 50 years after the event which 
sets the term running; 
(12) Whereas collections are protected according to 
Article 2 (5) of the Berne Convention when, by 
reason of the selection and arrangement of their 
content, they constitute intellectual creations; 
whereas those works are protected as such, without 
prejudice to the copyright in each of the works 
forming part of such collections, whereas in conse­
quence specific terms of protection may apply to 
works included in collections; 
(13) Whereas in all cases where one or more physical 
persons are identified as authors the term of 
protection should be calculated after their death; 
whereas the question of authorship in the whole or 
a part of a work is a question of fact which the 
national courts may have to decide; 
(14) 
(15) 
(16) Whereas terms of protection should be calculated 
from the first day of January of the year following 
the relevant event, as they are in the Berne and 
Rome Conventions; 
Whereas Article 1 of Council Directive 
911250/EEC of 14 May 1991 on the legal 
protection of computer programs (1) provides that 
Member States are to protect computer programs, 
by copyright, as literary works within the meaning 
of the Berne Convention; whereas this Directive 
harmonizes the term of protection of literary works 
in the Community; whereas Article 8 of Directive 
911250/EEC, which merely makes provisional 
arrangements governing the term of protection of 
computer programs, should accordingly be 
repealed; 
Whereas Articles 11 and 12 of Council Directive 
92/100/EEC of 19 November 1992 on rental right 
and lending right and on certain rights related to 
copyright in the field of intellectual property C) 
make provision for minimum terms of protection 
only, subject to any further harmonization; whereas 
this Directive provides such further harmonization; 
e) OJ No L 122, 17. S. 1991, p. 42. 
(2) OJ No L 346,27.11. 1992, p. 61. whereas these Articles should accordingly be 
repealed; 
(17) Whereas the protection of photographs in the 
Member States is the subject of varying regimes; 
whereas in order to achieve a sufficient harmon­
ization of the term of protection of photographic 
works, in particular of those which, due to their 
artistic or professional character, are of importance 
within the internal market, it is necessary to define 
the level of originality required in this Directive; 
whereas a photographic work within the meaning 
of the Berne Convention is to be considered 
original if it is the author's own inteilectual creation 
reflecting his personality, no other criteria such as 
merit or purpose being taken into account; whereas 
the protection of other photographs should be left 
to national law; 
(18) Whereas, in order to avoid differences in the term 
of protection as regards related rights it is necessary 
to provide the same starting point for the calcu­
lation of the term throughout the Community; 
whereas the performance, fixation, transmission, 
lawful publication, and lawful communication to 
the public, that is to say the means of making a 
subject of a related right perceptible in all appro­
priate ways to persons in general, should be taken 
into account for the calculation of the term of 
protection regardless of the country where this 
performance, fixation, transmission, lawful publi­
cation, or lawful communication to the public takes 
place; 
(19) Whereas the rights of broadcasting organizations in 
their broadcasts, whether these broadcasts are 
transmitted by wire or over the air, including by 
cable or satellite, should not be perpetual; whereas 
it is therefore necessan' to have the term of 
protection running from ~he first transmission of a 
particular broadcast only; whereas this provision is 
understood to avoid a new term running in cases 
where a broadcast is identical to a previous one; 
(20) Whereas the Member States should remain free to 
maintain or introduce other rights related to 
copyright in particular in relation to the protection 
of critical and scientific publications; whereas, in 
order to ensure transparency at Community level, it 
is however necessary for Member States which 
introduce new related rights to notify the 
Commission; 
(21) Whereas it is useful to make clear that the harmon­
ization brought about by this Directive does not 
apply to moral rights; 
(22) Whereas, for works whose country of origin within 
the meaning of the Berne Convention is a third 
country and whose author is not a Community 
national, comparison of terms of protection should IP/N/I/EEC/C/l 
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24. 1l. 93 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 290111 
be applied, provided that the term accorded in the 
Community does not exceed the term laid down in 
this Directive; 
(23) Whereas where a rightholder who is not a 
Community national qualifies for protection under 
an international agreement the term of protection 
of related rights should be the same as that laid 
down in this Directive, except that it should not 
exceed that fixed in the country of which the right­
holder is a national; 
(24) Whereas comparison of terms should not result in 
Member States being brought into conflict with 
their international obligations; 
(25) Whereas, for the smooth functioning of the internal 
market this Directive should be applied as from 
1 July 1995; 
(26) Whereas Member States should remam free to 
adopt provisions on the interpretation, adaptation 
and funher execution of contracts on the exploi­
tation of protected works and other subject matter 
which were concluded before the extension of the 
term of protection resulting from this Directive; 
(27) Whereas respect of acquired rights and legitimate 
expectations is pan of the Community legal order; 
whereas Member States may provide in panicular 
that in cenain circumstances the copyright and 
related rights which are revived pursuant to this 
Directive may not give rise to payments by persons 
who undenook in good faith the exploitation of the 
works at the time when such works lay within the 
public domain, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
Duration of authors' rights 
1. The rights of an author of a literary or anlStlC 
work within the meaning of Anicle 2 of the Berne 
Convention shall run for the life of the author and for 70 
years after his death, irrespective of the date when the 
work is lawfully made available to the public. 
2. In the case of a work of joint authorship the term 
referred to in paragraph 1 shall be calculated from the 
death of the last surviving author. 
3. In the case of anonymous or pseudonymous works, 
the term of protection shall run for seventy years after 
the work is lawfully made available to the public. 
However, when the pseudonym adopted by the author 
leaves no doubt as to his identity, or if the author discloses his identity during the period referred to in the 
first sentence, the term of protection applicable shall be 
that laid down in paragraph 1. 
4. Where a Member State provides for particular 
provisions on copyright in respect of collective works or 
for a legal person to be designated as the rightholder, the 
term of protection shall be calculated according to the 
provisions of paragraph 3, except if the natural persons 
who have created the work as such are identified as such 
in the versions of the work which are made available to 
the public. This paragraph is without prejudice to the 
rights of identified authors whose identifiable contri­
butions are included in such works, to which contri­
butions paragraph 1 or 2 shall apply. 
S. Where a work is published in volumes, pans, 
instalments, issues or episodes and the term of protection 
runs from the time when the work was lawfully made 
available to the public, the term of protection shall run 
for each such item separately. 
6. In the case of works for which the term of 
protection is not calculated from the death of the author 
or authors and which have not been lawfully made 
a\'ailable to the public within seventy years from their 
creation, the protection shall terminate. 
Article 2 
Cinematographic or audiovisual works 
1. The principal director of a cinematographic or 
audiovisual work shall be considered as its author or one 
of its authors. Member States shall be free to designate 
other co-authors. 
2. The term of protection of cinematographic or 
audiovisual works shall expire 70 years after the death of 
the last of the following persons to survive, whether or 
not these persons are designated as co-authors: 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. 
Article 3 
Duration of related rights 
1. The rights of performers shall expire 50 years after 
the date of the performance. However, if a fixation of 
the performance is lawfully published or lawfully 
communicated to the public within this period, the rights 
shall expire 50 years from the date of the first such 
publication or the first such communication to the 
public, whichever is the earlier. 
2. The rights of producers of phonograms shall expire 
SO years after the fixation is made. However, if the IP/N/I/EEC/C/l 
Page 23 
No L 290112 Official Journal of the European Communities 24. 11. 93 
phonogram is lawfully published or lawfully 
communicated to the public during this period, the rights 
shall expire 50 years from the date of the first such 
publication or the first such communication to the 
public, whichever is the earlier. 
3. The rights of producers of the first fixation of a 
film shall expire 50 years after the fixation is made. 
However, if the film is lawfully published or lawfully 
communicated to the public during this period, the rights 
shall expire 50 years from the date of the first such 
publication or the first such communication to the 
public, whichever is the earlier. The term 'film' shall 
designate a cinematographic or audiovisual work or 
moving images, whether or not accompanied by sound. 
4. The rights of broadcasting organizations shall 
expire 50 years after the first transmission of a broadcast, 
whether this broadcast is transmitted by wire or over the 
air, including by cable or satellite. 
Article 4 
Protection of previously unpublished works 
Any person who, after the expiry of copyright 
protection, for the first time lawfully publishes or 
lawfully communicates to the public a previously unpub­
lished work, shall benefit from a protection equivalent to 
the economic rights of the author. The term of 
protection of such rights shall be 25 years from the time 
when the work was first lawfully published or lawfully 
communicated to the public. 
Article 5 
Critical and scientific publications 
Member States may protect critical and scientific publi­
cations of works which have come into the public 
domain. The maximum term of protection of such rights 
shall be 30 years from the time when the publication was 
first lawfully published. 
Article 6 
Protection of photographs 
Photographs which are original in the sense that they are 
the author's own intellectual creation shall be protected 
in accordance with Anicle 1. No other criteria shall be 
applied to determine their eligibility for protection. 
Member States may provide for the protection of other 
photographs. 
Article 7 
Protection vis-a-vis third countries 
1. Where the country of origin of a work, within the 
meaning of the Berne Convention,is a third country, and the author of the work is not a Community national, 
the term of protection granted by the Member States 
shall expire on the date of expiry of the protection 
granted in the country of origin of the work, but may 
not exceed the term laid down in Anicle 1. 
2. The terms of protection laid down in Article 3 shall 
also apply in the case of rightholders who are not 
Community nationals, provided Member States grant 
them protection. However, without prejudice to the 
international obligations of the Member States, the term 
of protection granted by I-.1ember States shall expire no 
later than the date of expi~' of the protection granted in 
the country of which the rightholder is a national and 
may not exceed the term laid down in Article 3. 
3. Member States which~ at the date of adoption of 
this Directive, in particular pursuant to their inter­
national obligations, granted a longer term of protection 
than that which would result from the provisions, 
referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 may maintain this 
protection until the conclusion of international 
agreements on the term of protection by copyright or 
related rights. 
Article 8 
Calculation of terms 
The terms laid down in this Directive are calculated 
from the first day of January of the year following the 
event which gives rise to them. 
Article 9 
Moral rights 
This Directive shall be without prejudice to the 
provisions of the 11ember States regulating moral rights. 
Article 10 
Application in time 
1. Where a term of protection, which is longer than 
the corresponding term provided for by this Directive, is 
already running in a Member State on the date referred 
to in Article 13 (1), this Directive shall not have the 
effect of shortening that term of protection in that 
!V1ember State. 
2. The terms of protection provided for in this 
Directive shall apply to all works and subject matter 
which are protected in at least one Member State, on the 
date referred to in Article 13 (1), pursuant to national 
provisions on copyright or related rights or which meet 
the criteria for protection under Directive 92/100/EEC. 
3. This Directive shall be without prejudice to any 
acts of exploitation performed before the date referred to IP IN /l/EEC/C/l 
Page 24 
24. 11. 93 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 290/13 
m Article 13 (1). Member States shall adopt the 
necessary provisions to protect in panicular acquired 
rights of third panies. 
4. Member States need not apply the prOVISIons of 
Anicle 2 (1) to cinematographic or audiovisual works 
created before 1 July 1994. 
5. Member States may determine the date as from 
which Anicle 2 (1) shall apply, provided that date is no 
later than 1 July 1997. 
Article 11 
Technical adaptation 
1. Article 8 of Directive 911250/EEC IS hereby 
repealed. 
2. Anicles 11 and 12 of Directive 92/100/EEC are 
hereby repealed. 
Article 12 
Notification procedure 
Member States shall immediately notify the Commission 
of any governmental plan to grant new related rights, 
including the basic reasons for their introduction and the 
term of protection envisaged. Article 13 
General provisions 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws 
regulations and administrative provisions necessary t~ 
comply with Articles 1 to 11 of this Directive before 
1 July 1995. 
Whe~ Member States adopt these provisions, they shall 
contam a reference to this Directive or shall be ac­
companied by such reference at the time of their official 
publication. The methods of making such a reference 
shall be laid down by the Member States. 
Member States shall communicate to the Commission 
the texts of the provisions of national law which they 
adopt in the field governed by this Directive. 
2. Member States shall apply Anicle 12 from the date 
of notification of this Directive. 
Article 14 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
Done at Brussels, 29 October 1993. 
For the Council 
The President 
R. URBAIN IP/NIlIEEC/CI 1 
Page 25 
28. 5. 92 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 138/1 
I 
(biformation) 
COUNCIL 
COUNCIL RESOLUTION 
of 14 May 1992 
on increased protection for copyright and neighbouring rights 
(921C 138/01) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CO~l~iUNITIES, 
\'fhereas advances in technology hlve encour:tged the 
exploitation of literary and artistic works throughout the 
world; whereas the protection of copyright and neigh­
bouring rights should therefore be consolid:tted at 
l1ation::d, Community and international level; 
Whereas, because of the level of prOtection they 
guarantee for liter:uy lnd artistic works, rights of 
performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting 
org:tniz::ltions, the Berne Convention for the Protection 
of Literary :lnd Artistic works enshrined in the Paris An 
of 24 July 1971 (Paris Act of the Berne Convcntion), and 
the International COn\'cntion for the Protection of 
Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting 
Organizltions (Rome Convention) of 26 October 1961 
enjo)' a wide and increasing international acccpt:l.I1ce; 
whereas it is necessary that all the l\lcmbcr Statcs of the 
Community become parties to these COlwentions; 
Whereas, given the problem of pirlc)" it is in the 
interests of rightholders in the Community protected by 
these instruments th:n they should be ensured the 
minimum level of protection afforded by the I:mcr in the 
maximum possible number of third countries, without 
prejudice to more detailed provisions in bilateral or multilateral agreements; whereas it is desirable that third 
countries become parties to these instruments, 
HEREBY ADOPTS THIS RESOLUTIO~: 
1. The Council notes that the l\lembcr States of the 
Community, in so far as they ha\·e not alreldy done 
so, undertake, subject to their constitutionll 
provisions, to become by 1 J:ll1U:lC")' 1995 pJ.rtics to 
the Paris Act of the Berne Convention :lnd the Rome 
Convention, and to introduce n:Hional legisl:ttion co 
ensure effeCtive compliance therewith. 
2. The Council considers th:n it is in the interests of 
Community copyright-holders and holders of neigh­
bouring rights in the Community that third countries 
should ratify the Paris Act of the Berne Convention 
and the Rome Convention or accede thereto. It 
accordingly invites the Commission, when ncgotiJ.ting 
agreements between the Community :lnd third 
countries, to pay particular attention, within the terms 
of the mandates gi\·en to them for the purpose, to the 
ratificJ.tion of these instruments bv the third countries 
concerned, or to the accession l;f the buer thereto, 
and to the effective compliance of such countries v:ith 
these instruments. 