EXCEPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS ON PROPERTY COPYRIGHT ACCORDING TO THE LAWS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM AND UKRAINE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

The author in the article explores the provisions of «The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act», concerning exceptions to copyright (Copyright Exceptions). The article describes the provisions of the Chapter III of the UK law «Acts Permitted in relation to Copyright Works».It is established that Copyright Exceptions allow the use of works by any person that will not be considered as copyright infringement in compliance with the conditions specified by law. This formulation differs from the norms of national legislation.Articles 21−25 of the Law of Ukraine define the norms on free use of works. In general, works may be used without the permission of the copyright subject and without payment of remuneration for compliance with the conditions specified in these articles of the Law.Unlike national law, UK law provides exceptions where the use of work will not be considered as copyright infringement. This approach is considered the basis of the doctrine of «fair dealing». The doctrine defined by UK law is used to establish in practice in each case legality of actions of the person. A comparison is made between «the free use» and «fair dealing». The difference between these concepts are established. Despite these differences, the doctrines of «fair dealing» and «free use » do not contradict each other. They are similar in terms of defining exceptions to copyright, when the property rights of copyright holders are limited, sothe use of works by any person will not be considered as infringement of this right.The article analyzes main exceptions, provided by the UK Act:1. Exceptions in the interests of persons with visual disabilities.2. Exceptions for educational establishments.3. Exceptions for libraries, archives.4. Exceptions for the purpose of parliamentary and judicial proceedings.5. Exceptions to copyright in computer programs, databases.6. Other exceptions.The author describes in detail Copyright Exceptions that are new to national legislation.Based on the analysis, the author draws conclusions. Unlike the Law of Ukraine, the list of copyright exceptions in the UK Law is expanded.The law of this country takes into account almost all exceptions and limitations to copyright provided by European law. The conditions under which the use of a work by a person will not be considered as copyright infringement are quite detailed.Unlike the law of the United Kingdom, the Law of Ukraine does not currently have such restrictions on property copyrights as «Making of temporary copies», «freedom of panorama», «reproduction of works for the purpose of parliamentary proceedings», «reproduction of works for demonstration or repair of equipment». The current provisions of the Law of Ukraine about the free use of works need to be supplemented. Regulations about the free reproduction of works for study, reproduction of works by libraries, archives need to be clarified. The author in the article analyses the other issue of application of copyright exceptions and provides proposals for amendments to national copyright law.