Freedom Of Panorama: Would It Wound Architects? Survey Amid Italian-Based Architects Says No

Contemporary architecture inward Rome:
the stunning MAXXI museum past times Zaha Hadid

Frm Eleonora Rosati writing on theIPKat 

The (until fairly of late little-known) copyright exception inward Article 5(3)(h) of the InfoSoc Directive allowing Member U.S. to authorize the "use of works, such equally industrial plant of architecture or sculpture, made to live on located permanently inward world places", besides known equally liberty of panorama, has been dependent area to increasingly frequent (and heated) word over the past times few years.

Freedom of panorama: from niche to ubiquitous?

At the European Union level, inward her report MEP Julia Reda proposed to brand the exception mandatory for all Member U.S. to have. At the moment, however, at that spot seems to live on no existent word merely about this issue, nor does it seem that the European Union Commission intends to suggest legislation inward this sense.

At the national levels legislatures as well as courts lead maintain been busy addressing this surface area of copyright [a handy overview of national approaches (both at the European Union as well as non-EU levels) to liberty of panorama is available here].

Examples of the one-time include the recent initiatives inward Belgium [Article XI.190(2/1°) of the here], which lead maintain resulted inward the adoption of specific exceptions allowing liberty of panorama. 

An representative of the latter is the (rather) controversial 2016 here] that arguably interpreted narrowly the relevant exception in section 24(1) of the Swedish Copyright Act. The decision was applied earlier this twelvemonth past times the Swedish Patent as well as Market Court.

As an European Union Member State, Italy occupies a relatively peculiar position. While formally here]. 

As Italy besides expressly includes industrial plant of architecture with protectable subject-matter, it is the perfect candidate to come across how those who would live on harmed past times the introduction of a specific exception allowing liberty of panorama would react to the introduction of a specific exception. 

Santiago Calatrava's Ponte della Costituzione in Venice

The Wikimedia survey

This is indeed what the Wikimedia Foundation sought to notice before this year, when it conducted a survey among architects based inward dissimilar parts of Italy, obtaining over 600 responses.

The results [available here] are really interesting.

First, the facts: exclusively i respondent stated to lead maintain every received payment for a photograph taken of their work. 

More generally, over 70% of those surveyed stated that they are non aware that permission is required to brand reproductions of industrial plant of architecture, sculptures et sim permanently located on world display. Nearly 60% thinks that it would non live on reasonably possible for, eg, a lensman to locate as well as contact relevant rightholders to seek permission. 

Wikimedia besides asked respondents whether they agreed with a liberty of panorama provision, described equally following: the might to accept a photograph of a locomote of yours visible from Earth street, distribute it with a costless license as well as add together it to a Wikipedia article, all without your permission. 11.5 % of the respondents believed this to live on a bad thing for them or inward general, spell 68.6 % declared it to live on a practiced thing as well as merely about 20 % gave a to a greater extent than nuanced response, mostly stressing that the lensman should if possible nation the provenance as well as advert the architect/author.

Conclusion

It would live on interesting to come across if the results of the survey changed inward dissimilar Member States. Overall, however, it appears that - at to the lowest degree inward Italy - architects may live on to a greater extent than concerned virtually attribution of the work, rather than licensing role upon payment of a fee.

The Wikimedia survey results besides prompt a broader reflection on the goals pursued past times sure enough policy initiatives as well as whether they would live on actually beneficial to their ... beneficiaries. In this sense, a fairly immediate connecter is with the word currently beingness undertaken merely about the introduction of an EU press publishers' right, farther to somewhat like initiatives inward FRG as well as Spain. Would the beneficiaries of this novel neightbouring correct (if adopted) uncontroversially produce goodness from it? 

Posted By Eleonora Rosati to The IPKat on 10/10/2017 01:16:00 pm