“Tank Man II”

Authors: Copyright Act 2003 Secs 57 7 17 35 56d Copyright Act 1965 Secs 21 and 2 InfoSoc Directive Arts 2 5e 5d Enforcement Directive Art 8 Copyright Term Directive Art 6 Constitution of the Slovak Republic Arts 20 26 43 European Convention on Human Rights Art 10

Publish Date: 2015/09/03

Volume: 46, Issue: 6, Pages: 729-734

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Abstract

The Copyright Act grants authors various exclusive rights with respect to certain uses of their works by third parties for a limited time Since the author hereby acquires a right to prohibit the dissemination of his work by others the rights that are granted to him have to be viewed as a form of limitation of the general freedom of expressionCopyright law aims at creating the legal framework for formation of conditions for artistic photographers by temporarily lending them certain rights in their creations A necessity of their consent in the use of the works then helps to secure their livelihood Thanks to this the authors do not have to rely on the support of powerful interests but can create their creations freely and then exploit them at their discretion on the marketThe reason why copyright law does not include subjects such as daily news under its protection has its basis in freedom of expression The aim is to exclude an exclusive right of a single person in the kinds of subjects that by their nature could unreasonably stifle public discussion Freedom of expression here extends into the ordinary law of copyrightSince the exception on reporting on current events is a point where freedom of expression extends into the copyright law the interpretation used does not have to be in anyway restrictive on the contrary it must follow the societal aim it is supposed to serveThe Constitution in its Art 431 creates a framework for freedom of scientific research and freedom of art The Constitution binds the state to create certain material conditions for inventors and creations in order to promote freedom of art and scientific research It does so by lending them various rights in the results of their intellectual creations in the public interest It is up to the state to decide how it will materialize this obligation Copyright law is just one of the possible means In any case any provided protection is not the aim in itself but only means to achieve the societal goal of progress of science and artArticle 432 of the Constitution limits the means of protection provided by guaranteeing the right of the public to access the cultural heritage The public interest is thus not only the reason for creation but also a source of limitation of the protection provided to inventors and creators The legislative formulation of this principle in copyright law is time limitation of the rights of the author their clear scope and also exceptions and limitationsAn interference is of a different systematic intensity if it occurs “only” by the situational grant of constitutionally nonconforming remedies than in the case of repeated grant of protection in the subject which constitutionally unacceptably limits the freedom of expression in every circumstance A multilayered construction of copyright law suitably allows balancing of the individual cases of constitutional unreasonableness on its several levels

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