The CR essentially adheres to the standard continental model of copyright regulation (the droit d’auteur tradition). As regards moral rights, the Ministry of Culture has not registered any debate on this in recent years in the CR. In conformity with binding international and EC regulations the Copyright Act establishes a number of exceptions and limitations to copyright and copyright-related rights on the condition that the rules of the three-step test are adhered to. In the year 2000 a significant change was made to copyright legislation in response to technological developments when Copyright Act No. 121/2000 Coll. was introduced. This Act reflected the content of the 1996 ‘Internet Treaty’ of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and implemented the majority of directives of the European Community. An amendment to the Copyright Act, No. 216/2006 Coll., completed the implementation of European directives dating from between 2001 and 2004.
In 2014 an amendment to the Copyright Act, No. 50/2019 Coll., came into effect that transposed two new copyright directives of the European Union into national law: namely, Directive No. 2011/77/EU, which amends Directive No. 2006/116/ES on the duration of copyright and related rights, and Directive No. 2012/28/EU on some permitted uses of orphan works.
In 2017 an extensive amendment, No. 102/2017 Coll., was adopted and came into effect on 20 April 2017. It relates primarily to the legal regulation of the collective management of rights. This amendment transposed the European Parliament and Council Directive No. 2014/26/EU on the collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use in the internal market.
In 2019 an amendment to the Copyright Act, No. 50/2019 Coll., was adopted that came into effect on 15 February 2019 that implemented the directives and orders of the EU on the performance of the international ‘Marrakesh Treaty’ of the World Intellectual Property Organization on enabling easier access to published works for people who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled. The Marrakesh Treaty was negotiated in 2013 and in the CR and the EU it became binding on 1 January 2019.
In 2019, the drafting of a new amendment to the law began, but it is still in a state of discussion. The amendment is primarily intended to ensure the implementation of the (EU) Directive No. 2019/790 on copyright in a single digital market and (EU) Directive No. 2019/789. Member States were obliged to implement the Directive into national legislation by 7 June 2021 at the latest. The amendment is intended to ensure the protection and licensing of copyright on the internet, as well as fair remuneration for authors. The amendment is also intended to facilitate the use of copyrighted content in research or education and in making digitised cultural heritage accessible.
Comments are closed.