Collective Administration of Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) in the Light of the BSA Decision

KOUKAL, Pavel. Collective Administration of Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) in the Light of the BSA Decision. Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2016, vol. 10, No 2, p. 128-147. ISSN 1802-5943. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.5817/MUJLT2016-2-1.

Basic information

• Original name: Collective Administration of Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) in the Light of the BSA Decision
• Name in Czech: Kolektivní správa grafických uživatelských rozhraní ve světle rozhodnutí ve věci BSA
• Authors: KOUKAL, Pavel (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology, Brno, Masarykova univerzita, 2016, 1802-5943.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Article in a journal
• Field of Study: 50500 5.5 Law
• Country of publisher: Czech Republic
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: Open access časopisu
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14220/16:00091366
• Organization unit: Faculty of Law
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5817/MUJLT2016-2-1
• Keywords (in Czech): grafická uživatelská rozhraní; BSA proti Ministerstvu kultury; sdělování díla veřejnosti; právo na pronájem; kolektivní správa
• Keywords in English: Graphical user interface; BSA v. Ministry of Culture; communication to the public; rental right; collective administration; computer program
• Tags: rivok
• Tags: Reviewed

Abstract

In this paper the author addresses the issue of collective administration of graphical user interfaces according to the impact of the CJEU decision in BSA v. Ministry of Culture on the case-law in one of EU Member states (Czech Republic). The author analyses the decision of the Czech Supreme Court where this Court concluded that visitors of Internet cafés use graphical user interface actively, which represents relevant usage of a copyrighted works within the meaning of Art. 18 the Czech Copyright Act. In this paper, attention is first paid to the definition of graphical user interface, its brief history and possible regimes of intellectual property protection. Subsequently, the author focuses on copyright protection of graphical user interfaces in the Czech law and interprets the BSA decision from the perspective of collective administration of copyright. Although the graphical user interfaces are independent objects of the copyright protection, if they are used while running the computer program the legal regulation of computer programs has priority. Based on conclusions reached by the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic in the BSA case, the author claims that collective administration of graphical user interfaces is neither reasonable nor effective.

Abstract (in Czech)

V článku se autor zabývá otázkou kolektivní správy grafických uživatelských rozhraní v souvislosti s dopady rozhodnutí Soudního dvora EU v případu BSA proti Ministerstvu kultury. Autor analyzuje rozhodnutí Nejvyššího soudu České republiky, v němž tento soud dospěl k závěru, že návštěvníci v internetových kavárnách používají grafická uživatelská rozhraní aktivně, což představuje sdělování díla veřejnosti ve smyslu § 18 českého autorského zákona.