Spanish Copyright Act Amended

The Spanish Parliament finally approved several amendments to the Spanish Intellectual Property Law on October 30, 2014. The transitional system of copyright compensation to be paid out of the State Budget is maintained – for the time being.

According to the Government, the new amendments are meant to be a first step towards an overall revision of the current Intellectual Property Law, which will only be implemented in a European context. Apart from some defined exceptions, the current amendments will enter into force on 1 January 2015.

Key aspects of the amendments:
• Revision of the system of private copying with transitional character– State Budget System is maintained; for a revision of the private copying system the EU-Community regulation for harmonization is awaited
• Effective supervision instruments and mechanisms of the management bodies of the intellectual property rights (collecting societies); ensuring greater transparency and efficiency in the operation
• Improvement of the intellectual property protection in the internet (protection against infringements in the digital environment) – Google Tax