Brussels, 22/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - Substantial alteration to the physical format of a pictorial work does not exhaust the distribution right, even when the creator has given consent to the marketing of the work in its initial format, according to the ruling (case C-149/13) handed down by the Court of Justice of the EU on Thursday 22 January.
The case in question opposed a company for the collective management of copyright (Pictoright) and a company (Allposters) which markets copies of works in the form of posters or other reproductions. Allposters uses a special process to transfer an image from a poster onto canvas. This process completely removes the image from the paper poster itself. The Court was called on to say whether the holder of the copyright on a pictorial work could object to the sale of his/her work in a physical format different from the one to which consent was given.
The Court followed the reasoning of Advocate General Pedro Cruz Villalon in September 2014 (see EUROPE 11154). It ruled that changing the physical format of the work created a new object incorporating the image of the protected work, with the original ceasing to exist. Such a change constitutes a fresh reproduction which requires the authorisation of the creator for distribution. (JK)