Estados Unidos de América

Noruega

Derecho de autor y derechos conexos

5. Please explain the criminal and civil remedies available for copyright infringement and the extent to which they fully implement the obligations in TRIPS Articles 41, 45, 50 and 61. In the response, please specify, inter alia, whether these remedies may include the seizure, forfeiture and destruction of infringing articles and equipment used to make the infringing articles, as required by Articles 46 and 61, and the manner in which the grant of civil provisional relief is provided in accordance with TRIPS Article 50. Please also explain how civil damages are measured in the case of computer program infringement, when and how attorney’s fees and court costs are awarded, and how long it takes for a decision to be rendered in the average civil and criminal copyright infringement cases.

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.