Leo Simons wrote:
I'll also request everyone tries to ensure that you do not try and
represent anything as legal "fact" unless its been thoroughly verified that
it is indeed rather certain that what is being said is undisputable. Also,
always try and provide as much references as possible.
The problem "root" lies back in the times when the first laws where
written to protect intellectual property. In UK, copyright laws were
written, which originally only regulated reproduction and publishing
rights, while in France the laws were centered around the "droite
d'auteur" or author's right. Later, copyright laws were only adopted in
the countries most strongly influenced by the UK, e.g. USA and probably
Canada, while most other countries adopted the French idea of generally
protecting the author as a "static" owner of his intellecutal property.
In Germany, the author's rights are so strong, that they even to some
extend apply for works produced by an employee or as part of a paid
assignment.
The issues I'm pointing out are regulated like this in the German
"Gesetz über Urheberrecht und verwandte Schutzrechte" ("Law on author's
rights and related protective rights"):
§29(1): Das Urheberrecht ist nicht übertragbar, es sei denn, es wird in
Erfüllung einer Verfügung von Todes wegen oder an Miterben im Wege der
Erbauseinandersetzung übertragen.
The author's right is not transferable, unless it is transfered to an
inheritor in connection with the author's death.
§§ 41 and 42 are regulating the author's "Rückrufsrecht" or "revokation
right". §41 is regulating the case, in which an exclusive usage right is
not being practised, while §42 is regulating the author's right to
revoke a usage right, in case of "gewandelter Überzeugung", however that
is to be translated properly to English. "Modified/changed belief or
conviction" is a brave attempt. §42(2) regulates that the author's right
to exercise his revokation right can not be excepted.
§34 regulates the transfer of usage rights and sublicensing
("Übertragung von Nutzungsrechten"). Any such transfer must be agreed
upon by the author, although it is restricted in which cases he may deny
such transfer to take place. At least the way I interpret these
regulations, it is not possible for the author to agree to a blanket
sublicensing grant, as his rights depends on the exact conditions around
the license transfer.
Regulations on derivative works are spread across several paragraphs
(§§14, 23, 39, etc). As in the issue with §42, derivative works may not
be produced or published if they are against the author's belief (which
may change with time).
Tor
