- CHAPTER 1
- CHAPTER 2
- CHAPTER 2a
- CHAPTER 2 b
- CHAPTER 3
- CHAPTER 4
- CHAPTER 5
- Chapter 5a
- CHAPTER 6
- CHAPTER 7
NB: Unofficial translation,
legally binding only in Finnish and Swedish
Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland
Copyright Act
(404/1961, amendments up to 307/2010 included)
CHAPTER 1
Subject matter and scope
Section 1
(1) A person who has created a literary or artistic work shall have copyright therein, whether it be a fictional or descriptive representation in writing or speech, a musical or dramatic work, a cinematographic work, a photographic work or other work of fine art, a product of architecture, artistic handicraft, industrial art, or expressed in some other manner. (24.3.1995/446)
(2) Maps and other descriptive drawings or graphically or three-dimensionally executed works and computer programs shall also be considered literary works. (11.1.1991/34)
Economic rights (14.10.2005/821)
Section 2 (14.10.2005/821)
(1) Within the limitations imposed hereinafter, copyright shall provide the exclusive right to control a work by reproducing it and by making it available to the public, in the original form or in an altered form, in translation or in adaptation, in another literary or artistic form, or by any other technique.
(2) The reproduction of a work shall comprise making copies of the work in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, temporarily or permanently and by any means or in any form whatsoever. The reproduction of a work shall also comprise the transfer of the work on to another device, by which it can be reproduced or communicated.
(3) A work is made available to the public when:
1. it is communicated to the public by wire or wireless means, including communication in a way which enables members of the public to access the work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them;
2. it is publicly performed to an audience present at a performance;
3. a copy thereof is offered for sale, rental or lending or it is otherwise distributed to the public; or
4. it is publicly displayed without the aid of a technical device.
(4) A performance and communication to the public shall also comprise performance and communication to a comparatively large closed circle for purposes of gain.
Section 3
(1) When copies of a work are made or when the work is made available to the public in whole or in part, the name of the author shall be stated in a manner required by proper usage.
(2) A work may not be altered in a manner which is prejudicial to the author's literary or artistic reputation, or to his individuality; nor may it be made available to the public in such a form or context as to prejudice the author in the manner stated.
(3) The right conferred to the author by this section may be waived by him with binding effect only in regard of use limited in character and extent.
Section 4
(1) A person who translates or adapts a work or converts it into some other literary or artistic form shall have copyright in the work in the new form, but shall not have the right to control it in a manner which infringes the copyright in the original work.
(2) If a person, in free connection with a work, has created a new and independent work, his copyright shall not be subject to the right in the original work.
Section 5
A person who, by combining works or parts of works, creates a literary or artistic work of compilation shall have copyright therein, but his right shall be without prejudice to the rights in the individual works.
Section 6
If a work has two or more authors whose contributions do not constitute independent works, the copyright shall belong to the authors jointly. However, each of them is entitled to bring an action for infringement.
Section 7
(1) The person whose name or generally known pseudonym or pen name is indicated in the usual manner on the copies of a work or when the work is made available to the public, shall be deemed to be the author, unless otherwise demonstrated.
(2) If a work is published without the name of the author being indicated in the manner described in subsection 1, the editor, if he is named, and otherwise the publisher, shall represent the author until his name is indicated in a new edition of the work or notified to the competent Ministry.
Section 8
(1) A work shall be considered to have been made public when it has lawfully been made available to the public.
(2) A work shall be regarded as published when copies thereof have, with the consent of the author, been placed on sale or otherwise distributed to the public. (31.7.1974/648)
Works excluded from protection (14.10.2005/821)
Section 9 (14.10.2005/821)
(1) There shall be no copyright:
1. in laws and decrees;
2. in resolutions, stipulations and other documents which are published under the Act on the Statutes of Finland (188/2000) and the Act on the Regulations of Ministries and other Government Authorities (188/2000);
3. treaties, conventions and other corresponding documents containing international obligations;
4. decisions and statements issued by public authorities or other public bodies;
5. translations of documents referred to in paragraphs 1−4 made by or commissioned by public authorities or other public bodies.
(2) The provisions of subsection 1 shall not apply to independent works contained in the documents referred to in the subsection.
Other intellectual property rights (14.10.2005/821)
Section 10 (23.8.1971/669)
(1) Notwithstanding the registration of a work as a design under other applicable statutes, its author may have copyright therein by virtue of this Act.
(2) Rights in a photographic picture shall additionally be governed by the provisions of section 49a. Legal protection of rights in layout-designs of integrated circuits has been provided separately. (24.3.1995/446)
CHAPTER 2
Limitations on copyright and provisions concerning extended collective licence (14.10.2005/821)
General provisions (14.10.2005/821)
Section 11 (14.10.2005/821)
(1) The provisions of this Chapter do not limit the rights conferred to the author by section 3 to a larger degree than as provided in section 25 e.
(2) If a work is reproduced or made available to the public under the provisions of this Chapter, the author's name and the source must be indicated to the extent and in a manner required by proper usage. The work may not be altered without the author's consent more than necessitated by the permitted use.
(3) A copy of a work made by virtue of a limitation on copyright as provided in this Chapter may be, for the purpose determined in the limitation, distributed to the public and used in a public performance.
(4) The provisions of subsection 3 shall correspondingly apply to use by virtue of extended collective licence.
(5) A limitation on copyright as provided in this Chapter does not permit the reproduction of a copy of a work which has been made or made available to the public contrary to section 2 or whose technological measures have been circumvented in violation of section 50a(1). The provisions of this subsection shall not, however, pertain to the use of works under sections 11a, 16, 16a−16c or 22 or under section 25d(2) or (5).
Temporary reproduction (14.10.2005/821)
Section 11a (14.10.2005/821)
(1) The provisions of section 2 in regard to the right to make copies of a work shall not apply to temporary reproduction:
1. which is transient or incidental;
2. which is an integral and essential part of a technological process;
3. the sole purpose of which is to enable a transmission of a work in a network between third parties by an intermediary or a lawful use of a work; and
4. which has no independent economic significance.
(2) The provisions of subsection 1 shall not apply to a computer program or to a database.
Reproduction for private use (24.3.1995/446)
Section 12 (24.3.1995/446)
(1) Anyone may make single copies for his private use of a work that has been made public. The copies thus made may not be used for other purposes.
(2) It is also permitted to have copies made by a third party for the private use of the party ordering the copies.
(3) The provisions of subsection 2 shall not apply to the reproduction of musical works, cinematographic works, utility articles or sculptures, or the reproduction of any other work of art by artistic means.
(4) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a computer-readable computer program, to the making of a computer-readable copy of a computer-readable database, or to the construction of a work of architecture. (3.4.1998/250)
Photocopying (14.10.2005/821)
Section 13 (14.10.2005/821)
A published work may be reproduced by photocopying or by corresponding means by virtue of extended collective licence as provided in section 26.