L 372/12 Official Journal of the European Union 27.12.2006 DIRECTIVE 2006/116/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 12 December 2006 on the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights (codified version) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu- nity, and in particular Articles 47(2), 55 and 95 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (3, Whereas: 1 Council Directive 93/98/EEC of 29 October 1993 harmo- nising the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights (°) has been substantially amended (¥). In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be codified. The Berne Convention for the protection of literary and artistic works and the International Convention for the protection of performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organisations (Rome Convention) lay down only minimum terms of protection of the rights they refer to, leaving the Contracting States free to grant longer terms. Certain Member States have exercised this entitlement. In addition, some Member States have not yet become party to the Rome Convention. There are consequently differences between the national laws governing the terms of protection of copyright and related rights, which are liable to impede the free movement of goods and freedom to provide services and to distort competition in the common market. Therefore, with a view to the smooth operation of the internal market, the laws of the Member States should be harmonised so as to make terms of protection identical throughout the Community. It is important to lay down not only the terms of protection as such, but also certain implementing arrangements, such as the date from which each term of protection is calculated. The provisions of this Directive should not affect the application by the Member States of the provisions of Opinion of 26 October 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal). Opinion of the European Parliament of 12 October 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 30 November 2006. OJ L 290, 24.11.1993, p. 9. Directive as amended by Directive 2001/ 29[EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (O] L 167, 22.6.2001, p. 10). See Annex I, Part A. (11) Article 14 bis (2)(b), (¢) and (d) and (3) of the Berne Convention. The minimum term of protection laid down by the Berne Convention, namely the life of the author and 50 years after his death, was intended to provide protection for the author and the first two generations of his descendants. The average lifespan in the Community has grown longer, to the point where this term is no longer sufficient to cover two generations. Certain Member States have granted a term longer than 50 years after the death of the author in order to offset the effects of the world wars on the exploitation of authors’ works. For the protection of related rights certain Member States have introduced a term of 50 years after lawful publication or lawful communication to the public. The Diplomatic Conference held in December 1996, under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organiza- tion (WIPO), led to the adoption of the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, which deals with the protection of performers and producers of phonograms. This Treaty took the form of a substantial up-date of the international protection of related rights. Due regard for established rights is one of the general principles of law protected by the Community legal order. Therefore, the terms of protection of copyright and related rights established by Community law cannot have the effect of reducing the protection enjoyed by rightholders in the Community before the entry into force of Directive 93/98/ EEC. In order to keep the effects of transitional measures to a minimum and to allow the internal market to function smoothly, those terms of protection should be applied for long periods. The level of protection of copyright and related rights should be high, since those rights are fundamental to intellectual creation. Their protection ensures the main- tenance and development of creativity in the interest of authors, cultural industries, consumers and society as a whole.