Gaubiac, Yves; Lindner, Brigitte; Adams, John N. --- "Duration of Copyright" [2009] ELECD 166; in Derclaye, Estelle (ed), "Research Handbook on the Future of EU Copyright" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009)

Book Title: Research Handbook on the Future of EU Copyright

Editor(s): Derclaye, Estelle

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847203922

Section: Chapter 7

Section Title: Duration of Copyright

Author(s): Gaubiac, Yves; Lindner, Brigitte; Adams, John N.

Number of pages: 45

Extract:

6 From idea to fixation: a view of protected
works
Antoine Latreille*



The protected work needs at first to be expressed. An expression is the only
way for the work to be accessible to the public and then to start potentially an
exploitation life. This requirement means that a form or a mode is needed. This
question is more complicated than it appears. A work could be definite at
many stages. Of course these different stages are not at the same level before
the originality requirement, but a special analysis could be done. From
conception to delivery, literary and artistic works show us many faces and
could be split in many subjects of rights.
Under the terms of the Berne Convention, expression is needed all over the
European Community. Regarding fixation, each State has the choice to
consider it as a requirement or not. Continental countries dealing with author's
rights laws mostly ignore fixation. But under copyright law, especially in
Great Britain, fixation is still required. Whereas every subject of intellectual
property has been explored by the European Community, no European
Directive helps us to understand how these different criteria should be applied.
Nevertheless, this silence certainly means there is no necessity for common
rules because, after all, each state reaches exactly the same solution and a sort
of harmonization in practice is obtained.
The scale from conception to exploitation starts with ideas that, after many
stages, are communicated to the public, for example by means of fixation.
First, ...