Page 100 - Law and the Media

Copyright
There is another exclusion for works produced for newspapers or magazines. Editors and
sub-editors need not worry about the author’s rights as they cut stories or crop photographs.
In such circumstances, there is no right for the author to maintain the integrity of such
work.

Damages are available. There are no guidelines as to the appropriate amount. There is no
specific exclusion of damages for hurt feelings. The court may order an injunction to prevent
the use of an unjustified modified work unless a disclaimer is made at the same time,
dissociating the author or director from the modified work.

3.11 The European Copyright Directive

In 2001, the European Union passed a directive aimed at harmonizing certain aspects of
copyright and related rights in today’s ‘information society’ and ensuring that all works
protected by copyright are adequately protected throughout the European Union (the
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‘Copyright Directive’) (2001/29/EC).
The Government and each other Member State of the European Union is required under
European Union law to give domestic effect to the Copyright Directive by 22 December
2002. The Copyright Directive will automatically amend the CDPA.

The Copyright Directive gives effect to the World Intellectual Property Organization
Copyright Treaty 1996. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a
specialized agency of the United Nations, which has taken a leading role in developing
global policy and co-ordinates and administers international treaties relating to intellectual
property.

3.11.1 Articles 2 and 3

The Copyright Directive extends core copyright concepts to digital media:

The authorization or prohibition of dealing with copyrighted material is defined in
Article 2 of the Directive as the ‘reproduction right’ and covers ‘direct or indirect,
temporary or permanent reproduction by any means and in any form, in whole or
in part’
Article 3 of the Directive deals with the right to authorize or prohibit distribution
or publication of copyrighted works and provides that ‘communication’ to the public
includes ‘making works available to the public in such a way that members of the
public may access them from a place and at a time individually chosen by them’.

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The Copyright Directive can be found at the European Union On-Line web site at www.europa.eu.int at
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/lif/dat/2001/en_301L0029.html.
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