Developments in the field of copyright in Iceland since the year 2022 as well as some thoughts on parodies, fundamental rights and sanctions (compensation) in Icelandic copyright
By Rán Tryggvadóttir[*]Dr. Tryggvadóttir is Senior Legal Advisor, Icelandic Ministry of Culture and Business Affairs.
1. Legislation
Only minor changes have been made to the Icelandic Copyright Act[1]Copyright Act 1972 No 73, 29 May. The translation of the Icelandic Copyright Act into English (but not with this latest change) can be found at https://www.government.is/publications/legislation/. since the last Nordic Copyright Symposium in Kristiansand in early autumn of 2022. The only changes made were to the provisions regarding compensation for private copying[2]See par. 3 of Art. 11 of the Icelandic Copyright Act. by changing tariff headings[3]Cf. Arts. 28 and 29 of Law no. 102/2023 on amendments to various laws on taxes and fees, etc. in line with changes in the Customs register. Compensation for private copying is calculated as a percentage of custom value of the storage media used for private copying, hence changes made to the relevant tariff headings in the Customs register affect the calculation of the compensation.
The implementation of the Digital Single Market Directive[4]Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC. and the Directive regarding certain Online Distribution of Television and Radio Programs Directive[5]Directive (EU) 2019/789 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 laying down rules on the exercise of copyright and related rights applicable to certain online transmissions of broadcasting organizations and retransmissions of television and radio programs and amending Council Directive 93/83/EEC. has been in preparation for some time in Iceland and currently the aim is to have them implemented by summer 2025. The EEA Joint Committee took a decision on the 8th of December 2023[6]Decisions of the EEA Joint Committee No. 332/2023 and No. 333/2023. to incorporate these two directives into the EEA Agreement. However, the decisions have not come into force as not all EFTA Member States have notified that constitutional requirements have been fulfilled, Iceland being one of them.
