SPAIN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Mario Sol Muntañola, Sol Muntañola Abogados
of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), linked to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which integrates intellectual property into international trade rules; as well as the most recent treaties promoted and admin- istered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), such as the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), which Spain ratified in 2010. Holders of related rights Holders of related rights are not creators in the strict sense. But they are essential for the cultural market to function. Therefore, artists, performers, producers of phonograms and audiovisual recordings, broad- casting organisations, etc, receive a special right, the name of which (related rights; neighbouring rights) indicates their proximity to that of the authors, but with which it should not be confused. They are neither superior nor inferior to the authors; they are simply different and, above all, essential for the authors’ works to reach their target audience. They are promoters and disseminators of cultural works that have the right to protect their performances, activities and efforts. Its regulations are included in Book Two of the Spanish Intellectual Property Law, which includes as rights-holders: artists, performers, producers of phonograms, producers of audiovisual recordings, creators of mere photographs and broad- casting organisations, although it also includes a “sui generis” right for the owners of databases or holders of rights in certain editorial works. Generally speaking, the term of protection is shorter and the scope of the rights granted is more limited, although their regulation presents similar challenges to those faced in the field of copyright. That is, given that these are intangible rights whose ability to travel in binary and cross-border codes cannot be restricted, they require international regulation according to their nature. Therefore, international treaties and regional regulations have been introduced for some time in an attempt to provide them with protection. European regulation, through directives, extends to related, neighbouring or auxiliary rights. Spain is also a party to the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations, which is admin-
istered by WIPO in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organi- zation (UNESCO). WIPO also administers the most recent international instruments on related rights: the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), as well as the 2012 Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Per- formances. Design We live in an era in which design, understood as the appearance of a product derived from the character- istics of its lines, contours, colours, shape, texture, materials or ornamentation, represents a competi- tive advantage for the designer and/or the company that develops it; an advantage that, when properly exploited, rewards the effort invested in innovation and development. Exploiting the result of this specific creation neces- sarily implies the ability to oppose those who, without making any effort of their own, seek to take advantage of the innovation, creativity and investment of others by taking the easy way out: copying. Design, situ- ated between the aesthetic and the industrial, must be protected to prevent infringements, and, if such infringements occur, to make use of the enforcement mechanisms that the law has established to suppress them. Spanish legislation protects designs through Law 20/2003 of 7 July on the Legal Protection of Indus- trial Designs, a late legislation compared to the laws that protect and regulate related issues (regulated by laws of the 80s and 90s). This is because the Spanish Parliament awaited the approval of the first EU direc- tives in order to develop national legislation already aligned with European standards. Consequently, once again, the current law is in the process of being amended due to changes that have taken place at the European level. In fact, European Union Design Regulation (EU) No 2024/2822 amends and repeals the previous Regulation (EC) No 6/2002, and Directive (EU) No 2024/2823 repeals and replaces the previous Directive 98/71/EC. This constitutes a far-reaching reform of the European Union’s design protection system. The Regulation entered into force in May 2025, although it will be implemented in two
325 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook