This being the first truly independent copyright bill this country has passed into law since 1911 under British rule.
http://blog.ipfactor.co.il/2007/11/25/israel-passes-its-first-copyright-law/Last week, Israel passed its first Copyright Law.
The basic protection period of last to die co-creator plus 70 years formula is maintained.
It is now legal to make backups of software programs, copies for interoperability, maintenance, backups and security checks.
Schools will be able to put on plays and musicals written by contemporary playwrights, (such as Kishon, for example, or musicals such as Casablan), without paying royalties to the author or his estate.
Under the old bill, converting a legally purchased video to DVD for home use or making backups of legally purchased music was considered copyright infringement. Under the new Law, this is not the case.
Where a couple orders a wedding video or photographs that are professionally made to order, the copyright belongs to the couple and not to the photographer.
Moral rights of the author are also recognized. These were recognized in Court rulings, such as Kimron, where the court recognized rights of a scholar who reconstructed a Dead Sea scroll without creative input, or the Samba 5 where satirizing a children’s book was not considered acceptable.
The outdated concept of Crown Copyright (again inherited from the British) where copies of laws, ordinances and the like had to be purchased, is no longer the case, which is a good thing for democracy.
All the changes are sensible, and the Israeli Copyright Bill is a distinct improvement on the former state of affairs.
The law is also characterized by simple principles that grant wide powers to the judges in determining the scope of the infringement instead of minimum awards that are often inappropriate.
Lets reserve judgement on whether this law is fair and reasonable in practice as it may be in theory.
