Torremans, Paul --- "Introduction to Part III" [2010] ELECD 517; in Bently, Lionel; Suthersanen, Uma; Torremans, Paul (eds), "Global Copyright" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: Global Copyright

Editor(s): Bently, Lionel; Suthersanen, Uma; Torremans, Paul

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848447660

Section: Chapter 22

Section Title: Introduction to Part III

Author(s): Torremans, Paul

Number of pages: 5

Extract:

22. Introduction to Part III
Paul Torremans*

Modern copyright, that developed from the Statute of Anne onwards, is
essentially territorial in nature and based on national law. This should not
surprise. In those days copyright works were exploited on a national basis
and very few copies of works were traded internationally. Only single copy
works such as sculptures and paintings crossed borders, but books were
printed and exploited on a country by country basis. One (copy-)right per
country, based on national law, and coupled with national treatment was
therefore a very acceptable model.


1 (INTERNATIONAL) EXHAUSTION

That economic reality has changed. More and more copies of books,
CDs, DVDs, and so on are manufactured in one place and exploited
globally, across borders. Does it then still make sense to argue that
an imported copy, sold abroad by the right holder, is an infringing
copy? This is where exhaustion arises. In fact the oldest case in which
the exhaustion doctrine was applied was a case relating to records. In
Deutsche Grammophon v. Metro1 the Court was faced with the following
issue. Deutsche Grammophon sold the same records in Germany and in
France, but its French subsidiary, Polydor, could only charge a lower
price due to market conditions. Metro bought the records in France for
resale in Germany at a price below the price Deutsche Grammophon
charged. Deutsche Grammophon invoked its copyright in the records to
stop this practice. The European Court of Justice ruled that Deutsche
Grammophon had exhausted its ...