Re: copyright law wackyness

[Arnoud Engelfriet <arnoud@engelfriet.net>]

Bernhard R. Link wrote:
> The details in that pdf are quite sparse, but I'd suspect someone
> misunderstood something there. Needing the written form sounds much more
> like something needed for exclusive licensing (which in countries with
> "moral rights" is the equivalent of a transfer of copyright).

I found the Slovak Copyright Act here:
http://www.ivir.nl/dossier/implementatie_2001_29_EG/wetten/slowakije.pdf
(The IVIR is a Dutch institute for international law, in particular focusing
on intellectual property and freedom of information).

Section 40, article 2 does indeed say
"Licensing contract shall be in writing or else it is null and void."

This does not appear to be restricted to exclusive licenses or transfers of
copyright. However, there's at least one European e-commerce related
directive that stipulates that a requirement for a "written" instrument is
satisfied with an electronic instrument under certain conditions.

Kind regards,

Arnoud Engelfriet