Vrins, Olivier --- "THE EU POLICIES AND ACTIONS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST PIRACY" [2014] ELECD 386; in Stamatoudi, A. Irini; Torremans, Paul (eds), "EU Copyright Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014) 799

Book Title: EU Copyright Law

Editor(s): Stamatoudi, A. Irini; Torremans, Paul

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781952429

Section: Chapter 15

Section Title: THE EU POLICIES AND ACTIONS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST PIRACY

Author(s): Vrins, Olivier

Number of pages: 147

Abstract/Description:

'Used as a noun, any child would be able to describe the archetypal pirate just by listing his most characteristic features: the wooden leg, the hook for a hand, the unkempt beard and the eye patch, which are the inevitable price of choosing such a risky way of life, full of adventures and dangers. […] The noun is used, by extension, as an adjective, particularly in conjunction with goods, referring to their lack of authenticity or the unorthodox means used to put them on the market. But this definition contrasts with the real spoils obtained by these characters, because the riches that they stole were never considered illegal, only their seizure by force from the rightful owners [were]. One poet, in an ode to rebellion typical of that era, wrote that his ship was the pirate's most valued possession, prized above all the fabulous stolen treasures.' It was thus that the late lamented Damaso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, who was visibly in a good mood on 8 April 2008, tried to define the concept of 'piracy' - in a case which, in passing, was not only nothing to do with copyright law but was, furthermore, to do with genuine goods. Even for intellectual property law specialists, the concept of 'piracy' is not without ambiguity. It is generally applied to goods produced by infringing copyright or related rights.