Law on Intellectual Rights of 1960

Law on Intellectual Rights of 1960
Popular Assembly
Date passed	29 February 1960
Date commenced	14 March 1960
Summary
Regulates intellectual rights.
Status: Current legislation

The Law on Intellectual Rights of 1960 is a Gylian federal law that defines the framework of intellectual rights. It is complemented and expanded by the Law on Cultural Protection of 1992. Together, both laws have had a significant impact on Gylian society, culture, and foreign reputation.

Background

The first Gylian law regarding authors' rights was passed in Alscia. It largely followed the example of the Cacertian Empire, and was influential in adopting the framework of authors' rights rather than "intellectual property".

The experience of the Free Territories transformed understanding of authors' rights, and led to the emergence of a new approach based on socialist and anarchist principles.

The subsequent introduction of the law reflected these developments, in its efforts to reconcile protection of authors (for a limited time) with the common good, and the framework of the right to science and culture later enshrined in the Constitution.

After the presidency was established in 1961, Eiín Dairyn signed all federal laws passed up to that point as a formality.

Subsequent amendments were passed in 1961 (to update phrasing in line with the Constitution), 1973, and 1988. A planned amendment in the 1990s ultimately became a separate law, the Law on Cultural Protection of 1992.

Text of the law

1. This law shall regulate authors' rights, intellectual rights, and neighbouring rights in Gylias, for the benefit of the people.
2. An author holds moral rights — the right to attribution, the right to integrity of the work, and the right to publish, reproduce, and distribute the work, including anonymously or pseudonymously — and economic rights — the right to benefit from their work.
3. Moral rights are permanent, inalieanable, and non-transferable. Economic rights shall last for 10 years after registration, with the possibility of a renewal, and shall expire after 50 years in total.
4. The same protection applies to the neighbouring rights of performers.
5. A Creative Rights Organisation is established to administer intellectual rights and ensure compliance.
6. Intellectual rights are applied upon registration of the work. They shall be communicated through official notices.
7. Authors' rights shall not apply to free uses and compulsory licenses. Free uses include freedom of translation, creating new derivative works, using works in reporting or broadcasting, and reproducing works as excerpts in publications.
8. Any works for which economic rights have expired shall automatically enter public domain, subject to continued protection of moral rights.
9. Any works for which authors or rightsholders cannot be located shall automatically enter public domain, becoming the responsibility of the Creative Rights Organisation.
10. All arbitration regarding intellectual rights is done by the Creative Rights Organisation, including payment of damages for infringement and prosecuting false claims. If a dispute cannot be resolved by agreement, it shall craft a balanced resolution.

Effects

The law defines intellectual rights mainly in terms of the benefit of the people. It creates the Creative Rights Organisation as the national copyright collective and copyright agency. Notably, the word "copyright" is never used either in the law or the Law on Cultural Protection of 1992, which instead refer to intellectual rights throughout.

Copyright formalities are required, including copyright registration and copyright notices. Intellectual rights are restricted by limitations and exceptions, including explicit protection of derivative works, reproduction, reporting, and broadcasting.

Moral rights are permanent and inalienable, while economic rights are time-limited for a maximum of 50 years. The specification that intellectual rights are applied "for the benefit of the people" influenced the CRO's approach to copyright renewal, by taking into account the author's financial situation and denying renewal for suspected cases of rent-seeking. Similarly, damages for copyright infringement are limited.

The law, together with the Law on Cultural Protection of 1992, has had a significant impact on Gylian society and culture. Its provisions enshrined unprecedented access to culture and protection for fair use and derivative works, creating the foundation that would later birth Gylias' remix culture and sampling — themselves covered by the 1992 law. It provided an impetus for the development of certain cultural economic practices of Gylias, particularly with regards to artists' compensation and distribution of works.

The CRO set the precedent of interpreting "free uses" in a broad manner, and defining "derivative works" similarly generously.

Nora Gunnarsen comments that The Beaties and other Groovy Gylias figures set an important precedent by declining to renew copyright of their works, creating a situation where "beloved classics like Sgt. Pepper, Transmissions, Kites Are Fun and countless more are now in the public domain, free for anyone to interpret and manipulate as they see fit." The limited copyright term and lack of reference to an author's heirs reflects the prevailing view that heirs do not need economic rights to support themselves when social security and public dividends are available.

The law, and its 1992 complement, are credited with contributing significantly to the "Gylian Magnet" phenomenon, reinforcing Gylias' reputation as a "land of musicians and artists" by establishing an artist-friendly legal framework with an effortless and efficient system of licenses administered by the CRO.