LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Hannes Arnold, Thomas Nigg, Christina Pointner, Sebastian Auer, Johannes Sander, René Saurer and Marta Baftiaj, Gasser Partner
the death of the last surviving principal creator (such as director, screenwriter, dialogue writer and com -
the maker of a database who has made a substan- tial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting its contents benefits from a sui generis database right, which prevents the extraction or re-utilisation of the content of the database or a substantial part thereof. Trade Secrets The infringement of trade secrets and professional secrets may give rise to both civil and criminal liabil - ity. Civil remedies include injunctive relief, damages or disgorgement of profits, and orders for the destruction or recall of infringing goods. Provisional measures are available where urgent action is required. Liechten - stein, as an EEA member state, is subject to European harmonisation in this area. The primary data protection framework in Liech - tenstein is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which applies directly by virtue of Liech - tenstein’s membership in the EEA. The GDPR was incorporated into the EEA Agreement through EEA Joint Committee Decision No 154/2018 and has been applicable in Liechtenstein since 20 July 2018. At the national level, the GDPR is supplemented by the Liechtenstein Data Protection Act ( Datenschutzge- setz , DSG), in force since 1 January 2019, and the Data Protection Ordinance ( Datenschutzverordnung , DSV). 8. Data Protection 8.1 Applicable Regulations The DSG implements opening clauses left to EEA member states under the GDPR and sets out, inter alia, rules for public bodies, the organisation and powers of the supervisory authority, and procedural aspects. Overall, Liechtenstein’s data protection framework is closely aligned with EU standards, ensuring a high and uniform level of data protection throughout the EEA. 8.2 Geographical Scope As the GDPR applies directly in Liechtenstein through the EEA Agreement, the geographical scope of Liech -
poser of film music). Registration Process
Copyright protection arises automatically upon the creation of a work and does not require registration or any other formality. Although the Copyright Act allows for the establishment of a voluntary register that would create a rebuttable presumption of authorship, no such register has been implemented in practice. Proof of authorship and date of creation must therefore be established through secondary evidence. Enforcement and Remedies Civil law remedies include actions for injunctive relief, claims for damages and disgorgement of profits, and orders for the destruction, seizure or recall of infringing goods, actions for declaratory judgement and publi - cation of respective judgements. Provisional meas - ures, including preliminary injunctions, are available; further, copyright infringements may also be punished under criminal law. 7.5 Others Software In Liechtenstein, software is primarily protected through copyright under the URG, where computer programs may be protected as works of literature and art, provided they are intellectual creations with an individual character. Copyright protection arises auto - matically upon creation. Additionally, software can be patentable as part of a “computer-implemented inven - tion” if it solves a technical problem and achieves a technical effect beyond the normal physical interac - tions between the program and the computer. Under the Liechtenstein Design Act, software is generally not eligible for design protection. Under the Copyright Act, if an employee creates software in the course of employment and in fulfilment of contractual duties, the rights are transferred to the employer unless agreed
otherwise. Databases
Databases may benefit from copyright protection if they constitute a distinct intellectual creation by rea - son of the selection or arrangement of their contents. Apart from and independently of any creative element,
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