Digital Revolution & Legal Evolution in Spain

Status quo of the implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/790

Spain has transposed Directive (EU) 2019/790 into national law by Royal Legislative Decree 24/2021, which came into force on 4 November 2021. This missed the implementation deadline by a few months. As part of the implementation, the current text of the Copyright Act was changed on a point-by-point basis. The goal is to adapt the applicable copyright to the development of new technologies. In particular, the use of protected content is now regulated by providers of online content exchange services. In addition, a right of revocation for the benefit of authors has been introduced, which allows the author to revoke an authorisation in whole or in part if the rights to a work that is not exploited have been transferred. The law also provides that authors must be entitled to appropriate remuneration if they transfer their rights for the exploitation of their works.

National legal framework against computer piracy

A specific legal framework against computer piracy does not exist in Spain. Works affected by computer piracy are protected by the General Copyright Act.

Copyright & NFT (non-fungible tokens)

There is no specific regulation of copyright in relation to NFTs in Spain. However, the general mechanisms for the protection of non-digital artistic and intellectual works, which the General Copyright Act provides, also apply to NFTs.

NFTs are covered by the laws that apply to logos, paintings, books, or songs. If a product leads to the creation of a token, it should be effectively registered in the Intellectual Property Register for appropriate protection.

Autor: Axel Roth