WRITTEN QUESTION No. 841/98 by Anne-Marie SCHAFFNER to the Commission. Harmonization of copyright
C 323/82 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 10. 98 In almost all Member States, the various levels of the NUTS reflect the administrative division of the Member State. Ireland has always been a single NUTS 2 region, while Portugal has consisted of five NUTS 2 regions on the mainland, plus the Azores and Madeira. The NUTS system is generally stable over time, as changes only arise from the alteration of the administrative structure of a Member State. In the absence of such developments, the Commission has no plans to propose changes to the NUTS structure of either Member State. (98/C 323/109) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0841/98 by Anne-Marie Schaffner (UPE) to the Commission (11 March 1998) Subject: Harmonistion of copyright The directive on the harmonistion of copyright stipulates that this right is to run for 70 years after the death of the author (see Article 1 of Council Directive 93/98/EEC (1)). Is this Community provision, which should be extended to related rights including resale rights, binding law in the sense that the Member States cannot extend this time limit or, conversely, may they unilaterally extend it for certain reasons? If the second alternative were the case, the result would be a lack of harmonisation and differing charges in the various Member States, which would seem to run counter to the stated objectives. Could the Commission provide information on this subject? (1) OJ L 290, 24. 11. 1993, p. 9. Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (5 May 1998) Directive 93/98/EEC harmonising the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights entered into force on 1 July 1995. As the Honourable Member points out, it stipulates that copyright protection is to run for 70 years after the death of the author. In its amended proposal for a Directive on the harmonisation of national legislation governing the resale right that was adopted on 12 March 1998 (1), the Commission amended Article 8 in the light of Parliamentís opinion so as to make it even clearer that copyright protection is indeed to run for 70 years after the death of the author. Article 10(2) of Directive 93/98/EEC stipulates that the Directive is to apply immediately to all works and subject-matter protected in at least one Member State on the date of the Directiveís entry into force, and this has led to a resurrection of rights in some Member States. The Directive must therefore be strictly applied, along the lines indicated by the Honourable Member. However, it should be pointed out that, under that same Article 10, Member States are to adopt áthe necessary provisions to protect in particular acquired rights of third partiesí. This provision thus allows Member States to adopt transitional provisions that respect legal tradition, notably as regards observation of acquired rights and legitimate expectations. Recital 26 to the Directive refers in particular to existing contracts, while recital 27 demarcates Member Statesí scope of action. At any event, this provision has to be regarded as a derogation from the general principle of immediate application of the Directive and, to that extent, has to be interpreted strictly and to be limited over time. (1) COM(98) 78