RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/Q/FIN/1
24October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4464)
Original: English Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
REPLIES OFLEGISLATION ONCOPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
Finland1
ThepresentdocumentreproducesthequestionsputtothedelegationofFinlandandtheresponses
given inthereview oflegislation oncopyright andrelated rights attheCouncil 'smeeting of
22to25July19962.
_______________
REPLIES TOQUESTIONS POSED BYTHE UNITED STATES
1. Please explain whether andhowFinnish lawprovides protection forworks, phonograms and
performances fromother WTO Members, andwhether andhowitdoessoonthebasis ofnational
treatment, asrequired byTRIPS Article 3(generally, withrespect toallcopyrights andneighbouring
rights) andArticle 9.1(incorporating Berne Article 5(1)). Inparticular, please explain hownational
treatment isafforded withrespect tothedistribution oflevies forprivate copying under Chapter 2a
oftheFinnish Copyright Act.
(a) Protection forprotected subject matter from other WTO Members.
AstheMarrakeshAgreementEstablishingtheWorldTradeOrganizationandannexedAgreements
included provisions which belong tothefieldoflegislation, theParliament ofFinland hasenacted a
lawonaccepting suchprovisions intheAgreement andannexed Agreements. Thisacceptance included
theTRIPS Agreement. Thelawpronounces thattheprovisions areinforce forFinland. According
totheconstitutional norms therespective substantive lawshavetobebrought intoaccordance prior
totheentering intoforce ofsuchalaw.
Asimilar lawwasenacted bytheParliament when theBerne Convention (1971) wasbrought
intoforce forFinland in1986.
(b) National Treatment
Anunequivocal national treatment isaccorded toallWTO Members asfarascopyright and
neighbouring rights provided forintheTRIPS Agreement areconcerned.
1Finland 'snotification oflawsandregulations intheareaofcopyright andrelated rights under Article 63.2
oftheAgreement hasbeen circulated indocuments IP/N/1/FIN/1 andIP/N/1/FIN/C/1.
2Theminutes ofthemeeting have been circulated indocument IP/C/M/8.IP/Q/FIN/1
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(c) Distribution oflevies under Chapter 2aoftheFinnish Copyright Act
There isnorighttocompensation forprivate copying intheFinnish Copyright Act. Noone
canmake aclaim toreceive remuneration, asnorights areinvolved. TheActprovides foranobligation
tothemanufacturers andimporters ofblank recording material topayalevy. Theobligation topay
thelevywasadoptedinaccordancewiththeclauseintheConstitutionofFinlandconcerningtheimposing
payment obligations tothecitizen. Theproceeds ofthelevyareusedtocompensate private copying
according toadecision made yearly bytheMinistry ofEducation andCulture. Thecompensations
arepaidouttothebeneficiariesbyorganizationsrepresentingalargenumberofthem.Nothingprecludes
distribution toforeign beneficiaries. There is,however, noobligation todoso.
[Follow-up question]
Please explain whythelevyforblank recording material under Finnish lawisnotsubject to
thenational treatment requirements oftheTRIPS Agreement. Inaddition, please explain whether and
howthefunds collected areinfactdistributed toanyforeign beneficiaries fromWTO Members.
(a) Whynonational treatment?
TheFinnish levysystem isasuigeneris arrangement. There isnointernational regulation
ofsuchlevies. Thesystem isoutside theintellectual property rights. TheFinnish Government and
Parliament explicitly rejected theideaofrights inthisfield. Thereason wasthatwhen blank recording
media aremanufactured orimported there isnowork, noauthor, nocopying involved. Instead of
acopyright based system averyspecific system wasestablished. Onthelevelofthelegislation there
isanobligation tomanufacturers andimporters topaythelevy. Thisobligation wasenacted in
accordance withtheclause intheConstitution concerning public taxes. TheMinistry ofEducation
issues annually adecision ontherateofthelevy. Noonecanclaim ashare ofthelevy.
(b) Distribution toforeign authors.
Amajor partoftheproceeds ofthelevyisusedforcollective cultural purposes.
TheFinnish Composers 'International Copyright Bureau Teosto includes apartoftheaudio
levyinitsindividual distributions, andallocates some amounts toseven foreign organizations onthe
basis ofreciprocal private agreements between Teosto andthese organizations.
2. DoesFinland apply the“ruleoftheshorter term”tophonograms andperformances fromother
WTO Members? Ifso,please explain howyoujustify suchaction under TRIPS Article 4.
Finland doesnotapply any"rule oftheshorter term" tophonograms andperformances from
other WTO Members concerning rights granted intheTRIPS Agreement.
3. PleaseexplainwhetherandhowFinlandprotectsagainstboththedirectandindirectreproduction
ofphonograms asrequired byTRIPS Article 14.2, including bydigital transmission inthecontext of
interactive services.
(a) Direct andindirect reproduction
According toArticle 46oftheFinnish Copyright Act,aphonogram maynotbecopied or
distributed tothepublic until50years haveelapsed from theyearduring which therecording took
place. Thisrightinthesame wayastherightofreproduction ofauthors hasalways beeninterpretedIP/Q/FIN/1
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ascovering bothdirect andindirect reproduction. Thedistance between theplace where theoriginal
exists andtheplace where thecopyisestablished hasnosignificance.
(b) Reproduction bydigital transmission
Thegeneral ruleapplies.
4. PleaseexplainwhetherandhowFinlandprovidesfullretroactiveprotectiontoworks,phonograms
andperformances fromother WTO Members, asrequired byTRIPS Articles 9.1,14.6and70.2, each
ofwhich incorporate byreference orrelyupon Berne Article 18.Please givethedatebacktowhich
suchprotection extends withrespect toeachcategory ofsubject matter.
Wedonotcallgiving fulltermofprotection "retroactive". Itisrather aquestion ofwhether
allexisting subject matter, within thelimits ofthetermofprotection, isprotected. Asregards works,
theprotectionthroughTRIPSArticle9.1isguaranteedbythelawreferredtointhereplytoquestion1(a)
above.Asfarasperformersandproducersofphonogramsareconcerned,theobligationsofArticle14.6,
second sentence, were explicitly metinthecontext oftheenactment oftheActprolonging terms of
protection. TheActentered intoforce 1January 1996.
5. Please explain howtheterms “fewcopies ”and“private use”inArticle 12oftheCopyright
Acthavebeeninterpreted inFinland. Howdoesthisarticle, which seems topermit anyone toreproduce
a“fewcopies ”forprivate use,comply withBerne Article 9(2)andTRIPS Article 13,which require
limitations andexceptions toexclusive rights tobelimited tocertain special cases which donotconflict
withanormal exploitation ofthework anddonotunreasonably prejudice thelegitimate interests of
therightholder.
TheprovisionsofArticle12areinfullconformitywithBerneArticle9(2)andTRIPSArticle13.
Theconcept of"fewcopies" wasnarrowed bytheAmendment of1980tomean "even fewer", single,
copies forprivate use.Themeaning of"private use"wasinFinland already before 1980rather narrow.
In1980 itwasnarrowed further: onlynatural persons mayhavetheadvantage ofmaking copies for
private use.Thefirms, companies, associations andother legalentities wereexcluded fromthose who
maybenefit from thisprovision. Theamendment launched collective management inthefieldof
reprographic copying intheeducational activities, public administration andbusiness life.Furthermore,
noother provisions concerning fairuseorfairdealing openanypossibilities tomake copies without
authorization.
6. Please explain howthecompulsory licence provisions inArticles 13,14,25fand25hofthe
Copyright Act,which giveanyone whohasreceived authorization toreproduce works from an
organization representing alarge number ofFinnish authors therightalsotomake copies oftheworks
ofanauthor whoisnotrepresented bytheorganization, comply withBerne Article 9(2)andTRIPS
Article 13,which require limitations andexceptions toexclusive rights tobelimited tocertain special
cases which donotconflict withanormal exploitation oftheworkanddonotunreasonably prejudice
thelegitimate interests oftherightholder.
Theclauses mentioned inthequestion arenotcompulsory licences butextensions ofagreed
collective licences. Theyconcern always massuseswhich would beimpossible tobelicensed transaction
bytransaction. Thecondition forapplication ofthese clauses isalways anagreement between an
organization representing alarge number ofrightholders andtheuser. Theterms agreed bythe
organization apply totheuseoftherightholders notdirectly represented bytheorganization. Because
thecollective management organizations areprofessional andefficient negotiators, theytryandnormally
succeed inagreeing onterms which arereasonable fortherightholders theyrepresent directly ontheIP/Q/FIN/1
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basisofbinding mandates. Theterms areasreasonable fortheoutsider. Theorganization hasnegotiated
alsoonbehalf oftheoutsider.
Incertain respects therightholders notrepresented bytheorganization areinabetter position
thanthose whowere directly represented onthebasis ofthemandates. Article 26oftheFinnish
Copyright Actcontains general provisions onextended collective licence provisions. Theoutsider
hastobeaccorded thesame treatment which theorganization accords tothose whohadgiven them
mandates. Secondly, theoutsider hasalways arighttoclaim individual remuneration, evenincases
when theorganization doesnotaccord suchaposition totherightholder onbehalf ofwhom itacted
onthebasis ofmandates ortransfers ofrights. Thisclaim isvalid three years fromtherelevant Act
ofuse.
7. Please indicate whether theterms “public display ”and“public performance ”asusedin
Articles20and21oftheCopyrightActincludebroadcast,transmission,rebroadcastandretransmission.
(a) Public display vs.television
Paragraph 2ofArticle 25oftheFinnish Copyright Actdemonstrates thattheexhaustion of
rightofdisplay inArticle 20doesnotextend totelevision broadcasts orrebroadcasting.
(b) Public performance vs.broadcasting
Paragraph 3ofArticle 21excludes television because themostoftheprogramme contents in
television isconsidered tobecinematographic works, notonlyfilms butalsomostofother contents.
Asconcernssoundradiobroadcasts,specialschoolradioprogrammesincludedintheprogramme
flow ofthebroadcaster ofthattime, were mentioned inthe1950'sinthelegislative history of
paragraph 1ofArticle 21.Everything usedinthesound radio broadcasts, evenintheschool radio
programmes hasbeensystematically licensed andagreed.
Paragraph 2ofArticle 21hasnever beeninterpreted tocover broadcasting.
Norebroadcasting orretransmission practices fallunder Article 21.
8. Please indicate whether compilations ofdataorother material areprotected bycopyright,
asrequired byTRIPS Article 10.2, oronlyasasuigeneris right under Article 49oftheCopyright
Act.Please explain howthetentofifteen yeartermofprotection provided fordatabases under Article 49
complies withTRIPS Article 12.
Compilations ofdataorother materials areprotected bycopyright iftheyareworks inthe
copyright sense. Thenormal requirements foreligibility, thecriterion oforiginality, apply.
Thesuigeneris right under Article 49isanadditional specific right. Itdoesnotexclude
copyright inanydatabase. Thecriterion ofeligibility iscompletely different fromthatofcopyright.
Itislower asthesweat ofthebrow principle. Therightisaccorded toanymaker ofcatalogue ifa
large amount ofinformation items arecompiled within theproduct. Thisform ofprotection hasno
relation totheprotection provided fordatabases under TRIPS Article 12.IP/Q/FIN/1
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9. Please explain thedifference inthetypeofuseinvolved between thefirstandsecond sentence
ofArticle 4oftheCopyright Act. Inparticular, please explain:
- themeaning of“using freely”;and
- whether theconcept of“newandindependent work”differs from acopyrightable
adaptation generally.
Thefirstparagraph establishes thecopyright oftranslators andarrangers andother adaptors.
Itisoneofthebasic clauses oftheFinnish Copyright Act. Allaspects ofcopyright apply.
Paragraph 2ofArticle 4isobscure. TheMinistry ofEducation andCulture inFinland isnot
aware ofanypractical caseofapplication ofthesecond paragraph. "Using freely" isnotanaccurate
translation. Thewords intheFinnish Actrefertochanging which goesfarbeyond adaptation. The
newwork hastobeanindependent newwork. Ifsome oftheidentity ofthework usedasbasis or
source isleft,theresult isanormal adaptation andnotanewandindependent work.
10. Please explain howtheoperation ofArticles 15,18and21oftheCopyright Actcomply with
Berne Article 9(2)andTRIPS Article 13,which require limitations andexceptions toexclusive rights
tobelimited tocertain special cases which donotconflict withanormal exploitation oftheworkand
donotunreasonably prejudice thelegitimate interests oftherightholder.
(a) Article 15:Senior citizens 'homes etc.
Thecases arespecial cases. Therecording isdonewhen thepeople sleep inorder towatch
theprogramme thenextmorning.
(b) Article 18:Anthologies
Thecaseisspecial.Therightholderisentitledtoacompensation.Theexceptionmaybeinvoked
onlyfiveyears afterthepublication ofthework. Theclause hasbeenusedinthepublication oftextbooks
foreducational purposes. Theterms havealways beenagreed between therightholders 'associations
andthepublishers. Thecompulsory element hasnotbeenusedinpractice. Thearticle prevents use
ofpartsofworks which werecreated foreducational purposes inanthologies produced foreducational
purposes. Thisrestriction isbased onBerne 9(2).
(c) Article 21:Certain public performances
Thisisthemosttypical example ofuseof"minor reservations" intheFinnish Copyright Act.
Allthearticles in(a)to(c)above areinfullcompliance withBerne 9(2)andTRIPS 13.
[Follow-up question]
Please explain whether andhowtheliteral textsoftheexceptions inArticles 15and21ofthe
Finnish Copyright Lawhavebeenlimited inapplication oroperation.
(a) Article 15
Theprovision inArticle 15means onlytimeshifting. Theuseoftheaudio andvideo recordings
islimited onlytolistening orwatching theprogramme thenextday. After thattherecordings are
meant tobeerased.IP/Q/FIN/1
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(b) Article 21
Paragraph 1
Performing apublished work inconnection witheducation means performing itinordinary
educational events atschool. Ifworks areperformed intheschool building butnotinconnection with
education, e.g.intheevening aftertheschool day,thisprovision shallnotapply.
Performing apublished work atdivine services means performing itatdivine services which
arearranged regularly onSundays orother holydays. Thisprovision shallnotapply inother activities
inparishes.
Paragraph 2
Thecriteria settled inthisprovision arequite detailed andrestrictive. Theevents meant in
thisprovision areunusual inpractice because performing artists rarely perform fornothing.
Wearenotaware, atthistime, ofpractical instances where thisprovision hasbeenapplied.
These provisions contain examples ofminor reservations allowed under theBerne Convention.
Finland considers thatArticles 15and21ofitsCopyright Lawisinfullcompliance withArticles 9(2)
oftheBerne Convention and13oftheTRIPS Agreement.
11. Please explain thecriminal andcivilremedies available forcopyright infringement andthe
extent towhich theyfullyimplement theobligations inTRIPS Articles 41,45,50and61. Inthe
response, please specify, interalia,whether these remedies mayinclude theseizure, forfeiture and
destruction ofinfringing articles andequipment usedtomake theinfringing articles, asrequired by
Articles 46and61,andthemanner inwhich thegrant ofcivilprovisional relief isprovided inaccordance
withTRIPS Article 50.
Theremedies available forcopyright infringement havebeendescribed indetail intheChecklist
ofIssues onEnforcement. Thecriminal andcivilremedies available fulfilthementioned obligations
inTRIPS. Enforcement provisions oftheTRIPS Agreement willbereviewed separately inthesecond
halfof1997.