Course No 6

II- Copyright
Copyright applies to literary works (such as novels, poems, and plays), films, musical works,
artistic works (such as drawings, paintings, photographs, and sculptures), architectural works,
as well as computer programs, databases, advertising creations, maps, and technical drawings.

Scientific publications benefit from the legal framework of literary and artistic property.
Researchers, even though they are civil servants, fully retain moral and economic rights over
their writings (visual media such as images, slides, videos, posters, teaching materials, etc.).
The protection granted by the Copyright Law exists automatically upon the creation of the
original work without the need for registration. However, it is possible to register it with the
Copyright Office.
The person vested with intellectual property rights generally enjoys an exclusive exploitation
monopoly, allowing them under certain conditions to prevent third parties from exploiting,
using, reproducing, marketing, or imitating their work, invention, trademark, etc., without
their authorization. Failure to respect this monopoly may constitute infringement.

Copyright consists of two types of rights:

 Moral rights: Recognize the author's paternity of the work and the respect for its integrity.
 Economic rights: Grant a monopoly on the economic exploitation of the work for a
variable duration (depending on the country or case), after which the work enters the
"public domain".

- Copyright Holders: Those who benefit from copyright protection are all holders of rights
to the work. Generally, these are individuals who have participated in the creation of the
work in its original, translated, arranged, or adapted form. Initially, these are always
natural persons; the author, composer, writer, choreographer, painter, screenwriter, who are
the rights holders of the work. These copyright holders may transfer it to an employer, a
collective management society of copyright, or a publisher.
- Categories of creations subject to copyright:

 All writings with original character (Example: a brochure, a website).

 Designs and models and, under certain conditions, industrial objects known as "applied
art".
 Software (source codes and object codes or executables), including preparatory design
materials.
 Database structures.

1. Copyright In The Digital Environment:

 The development of the internet has significantly complicated the protection of copyright.
Digital technology facilitates infringements (copies, illegal downloads...) and amplifies their
effects, thus increasing the harm suffered by rights holders. Legal protection of databases is a
form of regulation concerning databases. Databases are required to comply with regulations
regarding personal data and public order. Open licenses have been specifically created for
databases, such as the Open Database License (ODBL). Protection extends to both the content
and the container.
The protection of databases is understood as the protection of a set of data, whether or not
fixed on computer media. Thus, the EU Directive of March 11, 1996, on the protection of
databases, transposed by the law of July 1, 1998, has established dual protection for
databases:
 Through copyright: In the case of original container (layout, presentation, specific
extraction form), copyright protection applies.
 Through sui generis right: This is a right specific to the database producer.

- Specific Case Of Open Source Software: Open source software is software whose use,
study, modification, and redistribution by others for dissemination are permitted, both
technically and legally, in order to ensure certain freedoms, including user control of the
program and the ability to share among individuals.
Open source software, like any software published outside the public domain, is subject to
copyright. In this context, copyright is exercised through a free license that enumerates the
rights the author chooses to grant to the user.
A license is a unilateral authorization, whereas a contract implies reciprocal obligations.
Open source software is distributed with simple licenses. Generally, they are also
distributed without any warranty.

2. Copyright in the Internet and E-commerce:

The recent development of new technologies, particularly the Internet, profoundly disrupts the
traditional conception of exchanges and relationships among people: all types of information
circulate among users worldwide, swiftly and intangibly.

The characteristics of the Internet, making it a global and entirely decentralized network,
enable it to transcend both time and space. The network lacks boundaries, and no structure
aims to globally direct it. This results in apparent freedom and an absence of administrative
control over the behavior of the various actors involved. However, this doesn't imply a legal
void on the Internet; the law exists and is expected to apply there as elsewhere.

Regarding intellectual property, the issue of rights on the Internet seems particularly
significant due to the means available for infringement. It appears crucial to establish the
necessary trust among different actors for the growth of e-commerce. Currently, both
traditional publishers and producers of music or audiovisual works remain hesitant to offer
their works on the network.
2.1 .Domain Name Rights: A Domain Name is an internet domain identifier. It is the unique
address of a website entered by a user to connect to it. The architecture of a domain name is
always the same, consisting of three parts separated by dots:

- A prefix, whose structure varies little: "http://www" or "http://r", "www" meaning "world
wide web".
- A root, chosen by the registrant, for example, "yahoo".
- A suffix, also called an extension, such as ".com", ".fr", etc.

The registration of a domain name bearing such a designation may therefore infringe on
intellectual property rights held by third parties or legitimate interests of third parties.
The registration of domain names in the .DZ registry is handled by NIC.DZ at no cost to
registrars for the benefit of applicants. The domain name, which now takes the well-known
form www.chosendomainname.fr (or .com, .org, .net, etc.), is the identifier name for a
website, constituting the technical means of locating and accessing the pages of this website.
In case of conflict between two registered domain names whose signs are similar or identical,
it is the date of commencement of use of the domain names and not the registration date that
matters.

2.2. Intellectual Property on the Internet:

Given the increasing use of the internet for selling, communicating, exchanging, informing,
etc., by a growing number of diverse actors such as businesses, associations, institutions,
communities, and individuals, every computer science student should understand and master
the basics of internet-related law and acquire knowledge of the legal environment regarding
the use of this tool.

Many components of a website can be protected by different types of intellectual property

rights. For example: e-commerce systems, software, website design, creative content of the
site (texts, photographs, graphics, music, and videos), databases, trade names, logos, product
names, domain names, and other signs appearing on your website, computer-generated
graphic symbols, screen images, graphical user interfaces (GUI), and even web pages and
hidden components of the website. Certain precautions are necessary to protect a website
from misuse. These precautions may include:

- Protect your intellectual property rights.

- Inform visitors to your website that its content is protected.
- Let users know how they can use the content of the site.
- Control access to the content of your website and its use.

2.3. The Right of E-commerce Websites:

Algeria finally establishes legislation that regulates electronic commerce. The law on
electronic commerce was published in Official Gazette number 28 of May 16, 2018.
Electronic commerce is now conducted within the framework of Law No. 18-05 of May 10,
2018. This legislative text sets out the conditions for conducting electronic commerce as well
as the duties and obligations of the parties to the e-contract. While electronic commerce is
free, some transactions are prohibited, such as those related to gambling, betting, alcoholic
beverages, pharmaceutical products, and products infringing on intellectual, industrial, or
commercial property rights.

2.4. Intellectual Property and Social Media:

Social media has become a privileged communication channel for trademark infringers and a
significant vector for the trafficking of counterfeit products. Accounts are created by
companies to give visibility to their brands, by individuals who can also promote a brand, and
by influencers who highlight the brands of their partners.
Social media has become true advertising platforms, but also product distribution platforms.
Infringers advertise fake items, use famous brands to generate traffic, etc.
This is why one of the major challenges for intellectual property rights holders nowadays is to
successfully defend their rights on the internet, particularly on social media.

3. Patent

3.1. Definition

 An invention: An invention is a new product or process that solves a technical problem. It

differs from a discovery, which is something that already existed but had not been found.
 A patent: A patent is a title of industrial property right; an official document issued to the
inventor by the competent administration (in Algeria, the Algerian National Institute of
Industrial Property "INAPI"). It protects innovations and inventions and grants its holder,
for a duration of twenty years from the filing date of the protection application, provided
that annuities are paid, and in a limited territory, the exclusive right to exploit, i.e., to
manufacture, sell, export, or import the product protected by the patent or the product
resulting from the exploitation of the protected process.

3.2. Patent Protection

Patent protection means that an invention cannot be made, used, distributed, or

commercially sold without the consent of the patent holder. Patent rights are typically
enforced through legal action in courts, which in most systems have the authority to stop
patent infringements. At the same time, courts may also invalidate a patent contested by a
third party.

3.4. Rights of a Patent Holder

The holder of a patent has the right to decide who can and cannot use the patented invention
during the protection period. They may, under a license, allow third parties to use the
invention under mutually agreed conditions. They may also sell their right to the invention to
a third party, who then becomes the patent holder. Upon the expiration of the patent, the
protection ends, and the invention enters the public domain. This means that the holder loses
their exclusive rights over the invention, and it can be freely commercially exploited by third
parties.

3.5. Utility of a Patent

Patents serve as incentives by providing individuals with recognition for their creativity and
the possibility of material reward for their marketable inventions. They encourage innovation,
which in turn improves the quality of human life.

3.6. Patent Application in Algeria and Worldwide

To obtain a patent in Algeria, a patent application must be filed with the Algerian National
Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI). The application dossier typically includes:

 04 completed, signed, and dated copies of the "Request for Grant of Patent" form.
 A descriptive abstract: a concise summary of the invention in a maximum of 250 words.
 A description of the invention with at least one claim in Arabic (in duplicate).
 A translation into French of the description of the invention with the claim(s) (in
duplicate).
 The drawing(s) (in duplicate), if necessary.
 A priority document, when priority is claimed under the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property, and a certified copy of the original application within a
maximum of 03 months after the filing of the application.
 An assignment of the right of priority, when the applicant claims priority not in their name.
 A receipt for payment of fees to the INAPI account in accordance with the current fee
schedule (payment by check can be made directly to the INAPI).
 An original power of attorney signed and dated in case of representation by an agent, and if
applicable, a document justifying the priority claim.
 Other documents may be required as well.

3.7. Patentability

For an invention to be patentable, it must meet four conditions:

 It must be a technical solution to a problem: The invention should provide a clear

solution to a technical problem.
 It must be novel: The invention must be new, meaning it has not been disclosed in
any prior patent application or made available to the public before.
 It must involve an inventive step: The invention should not be obvious to a person
skilled in the relevant technical field. It should involve a non-trivial advancement or
improvement over existing technologies.
 It must be industrially applicable: The invention should be capable of being
produced or used in some kind of industry. It should have practical utility and not be
purely theoretical.