WRITTEN QUESTION No. 841/98 by Anne-Marie SCHAFFNER to the Commission. Harmonization of copyright
Date: 1998-05-05
Institutions: European Parliament, SCHAFFNER
Subjects: approximation of laws, copyright

C 323/82

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

21. 10. 98

In almost all Member States, the various levels of the NUTS reflect the administrative division of the Member
State. Ireland has always been a single NUTS 2 region, while Portugal has consisted of five NUTS 2 regions on
the mainland, plus the Azores and Madeira. The NUTS system is generally stable over time, as changes only arise
from the alteration of the administrative structure of a Member State. In the absence of such developments, the
Commission has no plans to propose changes to the NUTS structure of either Member State.

(98/C 323/109)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0841/98

by Anne-Marie Schaffner (UPE) to the Commission

(11 March 1998)

Subject: Harmonistion of copyright

The directive on the harmonistion of copyright stipulates that this right is to run for 70 years after the death of the
author (see Article 1 of Council Directive 93/98/EEC (1)).

Is this Community provision, which should be extended to related rights including resale rights, binding law in
the sense that the Member States cannot extend this time limit or, conversely, may they unilaterally extend it for
certain reasons? If the second alternative were the case, the result would be a lack of harmonisation and differing
charges in the various Member States, which would seem to run counter to the stated objectives.

Could the Commission provide information on this subject?

(1)  OJ L 290, 24.11.1993, p. 9.

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(5 May 1998)

Directive 93/98/EEC harmonising the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights entered into force
on 1 July 1995. As the Honourable Member points out, it stipulates that copyright protection is to run for 70 years
after the death of the author.

In its amended proposal for a Directive on the harmonisation of national legislation governing the resale right
that was adopted on 12 March 1998 (1), the Commission amended Article 8 in the light of Parliament(cid:146)s opinion so
as to make it even clearer that copyright protection is indeed to run for 70 years after the death of the author.

Article  10(2)  of  Directive  93/98/EEC  stipulates  that  the  Directive  is  to  apply  immediately  to  all  works  and
subject-matter protected in at least one Member State on the date of the Directive(cid:146)s entry into force, and this has
led to a resurrection of rights in some Member States. The Directive must therefore be strictly applied, along the
lines indicated by the Honourable Member. However, it should be pointed out that, under that same Article 10,
Member States are to adopt (cid:145)the necessary provisions to protect in particular acquired rights of third parties(cid:146). This
provision  thus  allows  Member  States  to  adopt  transitional  provisions  that  respect  legal  tradition,  notably  as
regards observation of acquired rights and legitimate expectations. Recital 26 to the Directive refers in particular
to existing contracts, while recital 27 demarcates Member States(cid:146) scope of action. At any event, this provision
has to be regarded as a derogation from the general principle of immediate application of the Directive and, to
that extent, has to be interpreted strictly and to be limited over time.

(1)  COM(98) 78.