RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/Q/SWE/1
29October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4510)
Original: English Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
REVIEW OFLEGISLATION ONCOPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
Sweden1
Thepresent document reproduces thequestions puttoSweden andtheresponses given inthe
review oflegislation oncopyright andrelated rights attheCouncil 'smeeting of22to25July19962.
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REPLIES TOQUESTIONS POSED BYTHE UNITED STATES
General observation
Infact,asalready indicated inthequestions themselves, those arebased onanoutdated version
oftheSwedishCopyrightActandrelatedRegulationsandnotonthatwhichincorporatestheamendments
made, interalia,withaviewtomeeting theobligations under TRIPS andwhich werenotified tothe
TRIPS Council on30January 1996. Themost important provisions inthisrespect arethose which
arecontained inArticles 18to23oftheInternational Copyright Regulation. Those Articles provide
fortheapplication oftherelevant provisions oftheCopyright Acttocountries Members oftheWorld
Trade Organization (WTO).3
Replies toquestions
1. Please explain whether andhowSweden 'slawprovides 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)). Inthisregard, wereferinparttoArticle 62
ofSweden ’sCopyright Law, which appears tocondition protection ofworks offoreign nationals and
works firstpublished inaforeign country ontheforeign country ’sproviding reciprocal rights toSwedish
nationals andtoworks firstpublished inSweden. Additionally, howisnational treatment afforded
withrespect tothedistribution oflevies forprivate copying under Sweden 'sCopyright Law.
1Sweden 'snotification oflawsandregulations intheareaofcopyright andrelated rights under Article 63.2
oftheAgreement hasbeen circulated indocuments IP/N/1/SWE/1 andIP/N/1/SWE/C/1-3.
2Theminutes ofthemeeting have been circulated indocument IP/C/M/8.
3Seepages 9and10ofdocument IP/N/1/SWE/C/2.IP/Q/SWE/1
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Theapplication oftheSwedish Copyright Acttoworks, phonograms andperformances
originating inother WTO countries flows from Articles 18and19oftheInternational Copyright
Regulation (general application oftheprinciple ofnational treatment inrespect ofauthors 'rights) and
Articles 20to22(application, inrespect ofperformers, producers ofphonograms andbroadcasting
organizations, oftheprinciple ofnational treatment asregards those rights which arecovered bythe
TRIPS Agreement). Those Articles seem tobeself-explanatory. There arepresently noprovisions
intheCopyright Actonlevies forprivate copying.
[Follow-up question]
Does Swedish lawprovide protection forworks firstpublished inaWTO Member country,
evenifthework wasnotcreated byanational orresident ofaWTO Member country?
Thereply is"No". Section 18oftheInternational Copyright Regulation provides that"The
provisions onCopyright intheCopyright Actshallapply alsotoworks ofpersons whoarenationals
of,orhavetheirhabitual residence in,acountry other thanSweden, which isaMember oftheWorld
Trade Organization, etc.".
2. DoesSweden apply the"rule oftheshorter term" tophonograms andperformances fromother
WTO Members? Ifso,please explain howyoujustify suchaction under TRIPS Article 4.
Noprovisions existconcerning "comparison ofterms" asregards performers andphonogram
producers inrelation toStates Members ofWTO.
3. PleaseexplainwhetherandhowSwedenprotectsagainstboththedirectandindirectreproduction
ofphonograms asrequired byTRIPS Article 14.2, including bydigital transmission inthecontext of
subscription orinteractive services.
According toArticle 46oftheCopyright Act"aphonographic record, afilmoranother material
support onwhich sounds ormoving images havebeenrecorded maynotwithout theauthorization of
theproducer bereproduced ormade available tothepublic untilfiftyyears haveelapsed fromtheyear
inwhich therecording wasmade, or,iftherecording waspublished ormade public within fiftyyears
from therecording, aftertheyearinwhich therecording wasfirstpublished ormade public. Asa
reproduction shallalsobeconsidered thetransfer oftherecording fromonesuchsupport toanother".
From thisfollows thattheprotection applies alsotoallforms ofindirect reproduction including where
acopyismade onthebasis ofabroadcast orother transmission.
4. PleaseexplainwhetherandhowSwedenprovidesfullretroactiveprotectiontoworks,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.
Article 24oftheInternational Copyright Regulation provides: "The provisions ofsections
2to11,18and19apply alsotoworks which havebeencreated before thedateonwhich thecountry
became amember oftheBerne Union, party totheUniversal Copyright Convention oradhered to
theWorld Trade Organization." (TherestoftheArticle contains special provisions concerning copies
ofworks which havebeenproduced before thedateinquestion, etc). Furthermore, Article 25ofthe
same Regulation provides that: "The provisions ofsection 24shallapply alsotorights protected on
thebasis ofsections 5,10,13to17and19to23." From these provisions follow that,asamatter
ofprinciple, theprotection forworks, performances andphonograms etc.originating inaWTO Member
State applies inallcases where, on1January 1996, 50years hadnotelapsed from thedeath ofthe
author, ortherecording wasmade, respectively.IP/Q/SWE/1
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5. 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.Please alsoexplain howcivildamages aremeasured inthecaseofcomputer
program infringement andwhen andhowattorney ’sfeesandcourt costs areawarded.
Thevarious remedies available forinfringement forcopyright infringements willbedescribed
indetail intheChecklist ofIssues relating toEnforcement.
6. Article 10ofTRIPS requires thatdatabases based onfactual information thatconstitute
intellectual creations byreason oftheselection orarrangement oftheircontents beprotected. Please
explain howdatabases areprotected under Sweden ’scopyright lawandhowsuchprotection operates
inconjunction withArticle 49oftheCopyright Law,which limits theprotection forcatalogues, tables
andsimilar productions inwhich alarge amount ofinformation hasbeencompiled.
Databases which constitute intellectual creations areprotected asliterary works under the
Copyright Actandareconsequently protected alsoiftheyoriginate inanother WTO country. Quite
adifferent matter istheprotection provided forinArticle 49forcatalogues, tables orother similar
productions inwhich alarge number ofinformation items havebeencompiled. Those maynotbe
reproduced without theauthorization oftheproducer untiltenyears haveelapsed fromtheyearinwhich
theproduction waspublished. Thisisa"related right", thatisaprotection outside copyright which
operates forthebenefit oftheproducer andhasitsmain function incasesuchacompilation (alsoin
theformofadatabase) doesnotmeetthecriteria forcopyright protection. However, theprovisions
alsostatethatifaproduction ofthiskind, orapartthereof, issubject tocopyright, alsocopyright
protection maybeclaimed. Ifsuchacatalogue reaches thelevelofcreativity thatisneeded forprotection
under copyright, alsothisprotection willapply, maybe forthebenefit oftheauthor (who maynot
necessarily bethesame astheproducer).
7. Article 51ofSweden ’sCopyright Lawrefers tothepublic performance orreproduction ofa
workinamanner thatviolates “cultural interests. ”Please explain themeaning oftheterm“cultural
interests ”,describe thenature oftheviolations thatthelawcovers bythisprovision, andexplain how
Article 51complies withArticle 13oftheTRIPS Agreement.
Article 51oftheCopyright Actdeals withwhatmaybereferred toasanextended protection
ofthemoral rights inclassical works. Itaimsatpreventing suchexploitation ofworks (mainly such
where thetermofprotection hasexpired) which would imply agrave prejudice tothemoral oraesthetic
value ofclassical work. Itisunimaginable thatsuchanexploitation would constitute (under theterms
ofArticle 13oftheTRIPS Agreement) anormal exploitation ofthework andwhose prevention would
unreasonably prejudice thelegitimate interests oftherightholder. Itshould beadded thattheprovision
hasnever beenusedinpractice.
[Follow-up question]
Please provide authority orfurther guidance astothemeaning ofArticle 51oftheSwedish
Copyright Act,including whatworks qualify as"classical", andwhattypesofactswould beconsidered
tocause prejudice tothemoral oraesthetic value ofthework.
Asalready indicated inthereply, theaimoftheprovision istoprotect primarily works forming
partofthenational cultural heritage against actsofexploitation which would cause grave prejudice
totheaesthetic orcultural value ofsuchworks. Those actsaresuchwhich violate what isinanIP/Q/SWE/1
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untranslatableSwedishexpressionreferredtoas"denandligaodlingensintressen"(roughlycorresponding
to"vital cultural interests ofageneral nature"). Thesanction isthattheCourt may,uponaction brought
byanyoftheSwedish Academies (theSwedish Academy, etc.)prohibit theexploitation onpenalty
ofafine. More information cannot begiven inviewofthefactthattheprovision -which hasexisted
already before thepresent lawof1960 -hasnever beenused.