These regulations (Regulation No. 5 of 10 April 1964 and Regulation No. 1288 of 22 December 1989 - both with subsequent amendments), which supplement Chapter 8 on the scope of the Act, are currently under revision. The eligibility criteria will shortly be amended to comply with the national treatment clause and the MFN clause of the TRIPS Agreement. 2. For the purpose of clarification: Has the Norwegian Government made a notification to the TRIPS Council regarding the Norwegian reservation under paragraph 2 of Article 6 of the Rome Convention (Article 1.3 of the TRIPS Agreement)? Such notification will be made promptly.

Such notification will be made promptly.

Provided that the eligibility criteria are fulfilled, the 70-year term of protection and the rule of revival of rights (see the commencement and the transitional provisions of the Act) will apply also to nationals of Member States of the European Community and the European Economic Area.

The question is currently under deliberation in the Norwegian Government, and so far no such provision has been found.

The Norwegian Copyright Act, Section 4, which has a similar wording as the corresponding provisions in the Danish, Swedish and Finnish Copyright Acts, is consistent with the TRIPS Agreement, Article 12. The English version of the Norwegian Copyright Act uses the term "issued" which is meant to cover "publish". However, the Norwegian Government will consider whether more adequate English terms should be used in the English version of the Act.

Regulation No. 5 of 10 April 1964 and Regulation No. 1288 of 22 December 1989 (both with subsequent amendments) implement the obligations to foreign rightholders stemming from the various international treaties to which Norway is party, into the Norwegian Copyright law. These regulations are issued pursuant to Section 59 of the Copyright Act. Amendments will currently be made to these regulations to comply with the national treatment clause in the TRIPS Agreement. As Norway is party to the Berne Convention, Norwegian copyright law is complying with the national treatment clause in Article 5.1 of the Berne Convention. Consequently, only minor adjustments are needed. The Norwegian Copyright Act has no provisions on levies for private copying.

Norway does not apply the "rule of the shorter term" to phonograms and performances.

According to Section 45 of the Norwegian Copyright Act sound fixations and films shall not, without the consent of the producer, be made available to the public, nor shall copies be made of the sound fixation or film, until 50 years have elapsed since the expiry of the year in which the fixation or film was made. "If the fixation is issued during this period of time, the term of protection shall subsist for 50 years after the expiry of the year in which the fixation was first issued." The term "making available to the public" is explained in Section 2, third paragraph of the Act; "A work is made available to the public when it is performed outside private premises, or when copies of the work are offered for sale, rental or lending, or otherwise distributed or displayed outside such premises." Consequently, both direct and indirect reproduction are covered by these provisions, including digital transmission in the context of subscription or interactive services.

As Norway is party to the Berne Convention, the Norwegian copyright law is consistent with Article 18 of the Berne Convention. The regulations which implement the obligations according various international treaties, to which Norway is party, into the Copyright law, will shortly be made applicable to all WTO Members. The date of application of the TRIPS Agreement for Norway is 1 January 1996, so this will be the fixed date according to Article 70 of the Agreement.

The questions concerns whether the amendments to the Norwegian regulations implementing the TRIPS Agreement to the full extent, will give retroactive protection that will also apply to phonograms and performances - with reference to Article 14.6 of the TRIPS Agreement. The answer, to the extent one can look into the near future, is yes, and this implies that phonograms and performances originating back to 1946 will be protected.

Remedies available for copyright infringement is presented in Norway's notification (of 22 February 1996) under Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement, to the TRIPS Council. Provided that the Copyright Act has no particular provisions, the general provisions in Act No. 6 of 13 August 1915 Relating to Judicial Procedure in Civil Cases, Act. No. 86 of 26 June 1992 Related to the Enforcement of Claims, Act No. 25 of 22 May 1981 Related to Criminal Procedures, apply. Seizure, forfeiture and destruction of infringing articles and equipment used to make the infringing articles, are covered by Section 56 of the Norwegian Copyright Act. In addition, provisional measures will apply. Regarding how civil damages are measures in the case of computer program infringement, Section 55 of the Copyright Act applies: "Any damage caused by an infringement mentioned in Section 54, or by an infringement of Section 49, first paragraph, is subject to a claim for compensation according to the rules of compensation generally applicable. If the right of an author or a performing artist has been infringed wilfully or by gross negligence, the court may also award him a sum of money as redress for damage of a non-economic nature. Even if the offender has acted in good faith, the aggrieved party may, irrespective of the extent of the damage, demand payment of the net profit accruing from the unlawful act." A party to a civil proceeding may be granted compensation for expenses incurred during the proceedings, including appropriate attorney's fees, pursuant to Chapter 13 of the Act Relating to Judicial Procedure in Civil Cases. The general rule is that a party who loses a case before the court, shall be ordered to compensate the other party's expenses in full (section 172). If a case is partly won and partly lost, the main rule is that the parties have to cover their own expenses (section 174). The Act Relating to Criminal Procedure (Chapters 9 and 30) stipulates as a main rule that the cost related to criminal proceedings is paid by the Government. There are no provisions particularly governing the length or cost of proceedings. We have no available data on the actual duration of proceedings or their cost.

The questions contains two different parts. Firstly, a description of provisional measures, referred to in the Norwegian answer, and the procedures for invoking them, is asked for. As I stated, a more full description is presented in the Norwegian notification document. I understand this has not yet been distributed to delegations, but will be so shortly. It has been made available to the US delegation. Information on invoking such provisional measures is also presented in the notification document. At this stage, I restrict myself to referring to that document. If need by, my delegation will be happy to provide further information. The last part of the question concerns criminal penalty imposed with respect to piracy of copyrighted works. The legislation concerning this is to be found in Chapter 7 of the Norwegian Copyright Act. In general, Section 54 states that persons who wilfully or negligently contravene the Copyright Act shall be liable to fines or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months. However, if the infringement is wilful, and has been committed under particularly aggravating circumstances, the penalty shall be fines or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years. Such infringement is subject to public prosecution. Any damage caused by an infringement is subject to a claim for compensation and, as mentioned in our first reply, also confiscation and destruction of infringing articles are covered.

Databases which constitute an intellectual creation are protected as literary works under the Norwegian Copyright Act. The "catalogue rule" in Section 43 applies to "Formularies, catalogues, tables and similar works in which a large number of items of information have been compiled", and will apply also on databases. The second paragraph of Section 43 states that if the content of a database is wholly or partly subject to copyright, such may also be applied. The catalogue right differs form the copyright protection of data bases in many respects; there are no criterion of creativity, only "reproduction" is protected unlike copyright protection which protects against "producing copies", the term of protection is only ten years for catalogues, and finally the catalogue rule applies only to works that are published in Norway.

Computer programs are protected as literary works in Section 1, second paragraph number 12. Section 1 was amended in 1990 (Act No. 26 of 15 June 1990).

Section 19, second paragraph of the Norwegian Copyright Act stipulates that the rightholder of a computer program is granted the right to control the rental of their work. The rightholder of a phonogram is given this right in Section 42, third paragraph (performing artists) and section 45, second paragraph (producers). The Copyright Act was amended in this respect in 1990 (Act No. 26 of 15 June 1990) as regards the rental of computer programs, whereas Sections 42 and 45 were amended in 1995 (Act No. 27 of 2 June 1995).

The Norwegian Copyright Act Section 42, second paragraph stipulates that the term of protection as regards performances is 50 years from the expiry of the year in which the performance took place. 50 years term of protection also applies to sound fixations pursuant to Section 45. The term of protection was extended from 25 years to 50 years in 1988 (Act No. 101 of 23 December 1988).

The Czech Copyright Act contains several basic principles which should be clarified prior to the answer. According to Article 14, paragraph 1 a work may be used only upon the author's permission, should it not be permitted directly by the law. Paragraph 2 further stipulates that the author's permission following from the law may not be excluded or reduced by agreement between the parties. Paragraph 3 sets up that a work may be used without the author's permission only in cases specified in Article 15. These principles apply partially also to the rights of performers. The Czech Copyright Act has no limitations and no exceptions to the exclusive author's right regarding non-voluntary licences for the sound recording of musical works corresponding to Article 13, paragraph 1 of the Berne Convention and has no non-voluntary licences for primary broadcasting and satellite communication corresponding to Article 11bis, paragraph 2 of the Berne Convention. Exceptions and limitations according to Articles 9(2), 10 and 10bis of the Berne Convention are implemented in Article 15 of the Czech Copyright Act and do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the authors. The permitted use of the work for private copying according to Article 15, paragraph 2a does not apply to computer programs. On the other hand, regarding private copying the equitable remuneration is granted from unrecorded carriers. Exclusive right of performers is limited by cases of free usage of performances and legal licences. The user does not need any approval and is not obliged to pay a fee for using the performance for user's personal need (in such a case the performers are entitled to get remuneration from unrecorded carriers) and for using the performance from a recording or phonograms exclusively for scientific or educational purposes and within the framework of reporting about actual event by photograph, film, radio or television (so-called unpaid reporting licence). The user does not need approval, however, he is obliged to pay a fee in respect of making the recording of performer's performance realized for broadcasting organization provided that the recording is taken by this organization by its own means for its own broadcasting, and further in case of broadcasting the performance by radio or television provided that it is done from recording or phonogram which was made with performer's approval. Sound recording can be used only with approval of a producer who is entitled to get remuneration. Producer's approval is necessary for broadcasting of sound recordings and phonograms by radio or television, for making the reproductions of sound recordings or phonograms for other than own personal need, for public performance of sound recordings or phonograms, for lending and rental of sound recordings or phonograms. Producer of phonograms is entitled to get remuneration also from unrecorded carriers and rental. Radio or TV programme may be rebroadcasted, recorded for other than own personal need, and such recording may be further reproduced or otherwise communicated to the public only with the approval of the organization having realized the programme. Broadcasting organizations have the right for compensation except for that case when they transmit broadcasting of other broadcasting organizations. Unpaid reporting licences and licences for scientific and educational purposes are used both for producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations.

The notion "normal exploitation of the work" is not directly defined in the Copyright Act. The reason is that the exceptions and limitations, which are always considered as an interference with the exclusive right of authors, are confined to certain special cases indicated in Article 15. The exceptions and limitations cannot be interpreted to a larger extent. The Copyright Act contains provisions regarding the exercise of author's right, for which publishers of a collection of the works, cartographic works and periodicals as well as producers of a film or a work expressed in similar manner are authorized. According to Article 17, also the employer has the right to exercise the author's rights regarding the work created by the employee for fulfilment of his duties resulting from his employment. By this means, the Copyright Act grants the justified interests of rightholders and users. In connection with the contracts on dissemination of work we use normal exploitation of the work as regards the form, purpose and extent of dissemination of a work. Especially author's permission to use the work in a manner which is agreed in a contract, may not be extended to the use of work which parties to the contract could not have in mind or to that one which was unknown at the time of conclusion of a such contract.

Yes. The Decree of the Ministry of Culture No. 115/1991 Coll. contains the provisions regarding right of authors, performers and producers of phonograms on equitable remuneration in respect of the rental of phonograms. This Decree grants one common remuneration of 10% of the price of rental of phonograms to authors, performers and producers of phonograms. This remuneration is managed by the Collecting Societies. The position of the producers of phonograms was further strengthened by the last amendment of the Copyright Act in 1996. According to Article 45, the permission of the phonogram producer is required for lending and rental of phonograms. Producers of phonograms at this time prefer sale of phonograms to rental. Since 1 January 1996, the new Act No. 237/1995 Coll. on Collective Administration of author's rights is in force. The intention of the Czech Government is, therefore, to continue in this practise.

The works eligible for protection under the Copyright Act 1978 are literary works, musical works, artistic works, cinematograph films, sound recordings (phonograms), broadcasts, programme-carrying signals, published editions and computer programs. In terms of Sections 3(1) and 4(1) of the Copyright Act, works first published in South Africa or works made available by qualified persons (being persons who are citizens of, or are domiciled or resident in South Africa, in the case of individuals, or bodies corporate organised and existing under the laws of South Africa, in the case of juristic persons) enjoy copyright. In terms of Section 37 of the Act, the relevant Minister has made regulations in terms of which the Act applies also to works originating from scheduled countries (being countries listed in Schedule 1 to the regulations, which are contained in General Notice No. 136 of 1989). More particularly, the Minister has provided the following: -in relation to literary, musical or artistic works, cinematograph films, sound recordings, published editions and computer programs first published in scheduled countries, the act will apply in the same way as it applies to those types of works first published in South Africa; -the Act will apply to persons who are citizens of or are domiciled or resident in a scheduled country in the same way as it applies to persons who are citizens of or domiciled or resident in South Africa; -the Act will apply also to bodies incorporated under the laws of a scheduled country as it applies in relation to bodies incorporated under the laws of South Africa. The list of scheduled countries was last revised in Government Notice 1290 in the Government Gazette 16867 of 15 December 1995. The list is reproduced in the Annex. The list has again recently been revised and is now awaiting publication in the Government Gazette. The list will be revised from time to time to ensure that all new WTO Members who may not be listed are included. Subject to what follows, this effectively means that works emanating from scheduled countries are protected in exactly the same way under the Copyright Act as are works emanating from South Africa. Exceptions apply in the case of broadcasts, sound recordings and published editions. The protection granted in terms of the regulations to foreign sound recordings and published editions is subject to the qualification that works of this nature originating from a foreign country will only enjoy protection in South Africa to the extent that protection in the nature of, or related to, copyright is granted in that country to such works first published in South Africa or made by a South African qualified person, and such works do not enjoy any wider protection in South Africa than is enjoyed by South African works in their country of origin. By consequence the right to enforce a particular restricted act only exists to the extent that the law of the country of origin provides for that restricted act in its own law. In order to qualify for protection under the Performers' Protection Act, a performance must take place, be broadcast live, or be first recorded in South Africa or a country which is a party to the Rome Convention and which grants reciprocal rights to performers in respect of their performances in South Africa (Section 4 of the Act). Steps have been undertaken to extend the scope of Section 4 of the Act to include all WTO Members not parties to the Rome Convention. Regarding the question (by the US) regarding national treatment with respect to the distribution of levies for private copying, the following: Section 12(1) of the Copyright Act read with Sections 15(4), 16, 17, 18, 19A and 19B exempts from infringement any "fair dealing" with a work for purposes of private study, personal private use, criticism or review of a work or reporting current events. This is subject to the proviso that no dealing for purposes of research or private study or use with a cinematograph film, sound recording or computer program is exempted. Further exemptions from infringement in the case of private copying are contained in Chapter 1 of the Copyright Regulations 1978, read together with Section 13 of the Copyright Act. Where private copying does not fall within any of the aforementioned exemptions and is unauthorized, infringement of copyright occurs. A licence is therefore required for private copying in these instances. There is no organized licensing scheme for private copying in place nor are there any collecting agencies operating in this field in South Africa. Accordingly no levies (other than negotiated licence fees) are collected or distributed for private copying in South Africa at the present time. The question of national treatment in respect of such levies does therefore not arise.