Spring.

Combines successfully with International Copyright Law (JUS277-2-B)

Course teacher: Professor II Bernt Hugenholtz

Copyright law protects the products of human creativity (´works of authorship´) against unauthorised uses. Copyright plays an important role in fostering cultural development, and serves as an incentive for authors and the creative industries (film, music, publishing, software, games, etc.). The emerging information age poses great challenges to the system of copyright law. As the economic value of creative content increases, the possibilities of effectively enforcing copyright protection have diminished. This Introduction to Copyright Law introduces students without a background in the law of intellectual property to the main features of the copyright system. While the course will not focus on a single national law, the harmonised rules of European copyright law will serve as points of reference.

Schedule of Classes

The course will be taught in 4 classes of 2 hours each (total 8) hours, in the beginning of the second semester, following this schedule:

Class # 1. Copyright basics

• Copyright in a nutshell
• Literary and artistic works
• Authorship and ownership

Class # 2. Copyright basics (continued)

• Economic rights
• Moral rights
• Exceptions and limitations
• Neighbouring rights

Class # 3. Purpose of copyright

• History of copyright
• Rationales of copyright
• Copyright v. author´s right

Class # 4. Harmonization of copyright in the EU

• European legal framework
• Overview of harmonization directives
• EU Software Directive, Database Directive, InfoSoc Directive

Class Participation and Preparation

All students are expected to prepare in advance for class and to participate in class discussions. Homework assignments are posted on the course page on UiB Mi side (My space).

After successful completion of this course students will:

• have basic knowledge of and insight in the structure and norms of national and European copyright law, including the law of neighbouring rights;
• be able to detect problems and to relatively solve simple cases involving copyright law in the national and European context;
• be able to apply rules from different levels to the same set of facts.

Exam only in semesters with teaching.

Three hour school exam. A - E for passed, F for fail.

Exam language:

• Question paper: English
• Answer paper: English

Support materials allowed during school exam:

See section 3-5 of the Supplementary Regulations for Studies at the Faculty of Law at the University of Bergen.

Special regulations about dictionaries:

• According to the Regulations for Studies, one dictionary is permitted support material during the examination. Bilingual dictionaries containing for example both Norwegian-English and English-Norwegian are considered as one dictionary.
• Bilingual dictionaries to/from the same two languages - for example Norwegian-English/English-Norwegian - in two different volumes are also considered as one dictionary (irrespective of publisher or edition).
• Dictionaries as described above cannot be combined with any other types of dictionaries.
• Any kind of combination which makes up more than two physical volumes is forbidden.
• In case a student has a special need for any other combination than the above mentioned, such combination has to be clarified with/approved by the course coordinator minimum two weeks before the exam. Students who have not been granted permission to have a special combination minimum two weeks before the exam will be subject to the usual regulations (Section 3-5) about examination support materials.

According to guidelines for evaluation of courses at the Law Faculty

Course teacher: Professor P. Bernt Hugenholtz

Administrative contact: elective-courses@jurfa.uib.no