Freedom of panorama : the EU experience

Abstract

Freedom of panorama allows creating and using images of works which are permanently located in public places without the consent of the author. There is no common approach to freedom of panorama, a copyright exception, among the member states of the European Union (EU). Different states have very different forms of freedom of panorama, including the types of works covered and the ways in which images of such works may be used. This causes complexity for users since for the legitimate use of the images of works it is necessary to study the laws of each state separately. In this article, I examine how freedom of panorama is regulated in EU member states, with a particular focus on how the existing approaches relate to the Berne Convention and to the interests of society. I then propose a model regulation of freedom of panorama based on a three-step test which takes into account the interests of both the authors and of wider society.