Publication details
Přímá aplikovatelnost Bernské úmluvy a sdělování díla veřejnosti
| Title in English | Direct Applicability of the Berne Convention and Communication of the Work to the Public |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The author in this paper analyse selected decisions of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic, which are related to the interpretation of § 23 of the Copyright Act. In these decisions the Supreme Court held, that under Art. 10 of the Czech Constitution the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works is directly applicable. The author concludes that the Berne Convention Can be directly applicable only for other authors than authors from the country of origin of the work (i.e. foreign authors) and criticizes the case-law of the Czech Supreme Court. Furthermore, the author finds that the Art. 11bis par. 1 of the Berne Convention cannot be directly applicable at all, since the second paragraph of the Art. 11bis provides that that conditions for the exercise of the right to communication to the public is to be determined by the national law. The author also addresses the issue of “foreign treatment clause” and discusses the permissible forms of discrimination of domestic authors in comparison with foreigners. He concludes that the state can treat its own nationals differently, but the difference in treatment cannot be arbitrary. Unequal treatment of domestic authors, who according to the Berne Convention may have lower level of the protection than foreign authors, can be avoided by the interpretation which takes into account the indirect influence of the Berne Convention. This means that the § 23 of the Copyright Act is interpreted in such a way that fulfils international obligations of the Czech Republic. |