Hungary, Amendments

At the end of 2002 the Hungarian Parliament significantly amended the Hungarian Copyright Law. The amendment came into force on May 1st, 2004 and it responded to the need to harmonize Hungarian Copyright laws with the Directives of the Union. Further work is needed on implementing the EU copyright regulation concerning droite de suite, which rules are to be implemented into national laws by January 1st, 2006. The most important provisions of the latest amendment relate to the exceptions from copyright protection and free uses, which have been substantially re-regulated and complemented with the new provisions of the INFOSOC Directive. Reproduction of sheet-music is no longer considered free use under the Hungarian Law. Further restrictions apply to private reproduction, now allowing natural persons to make copies of a work only for private purposes; when such reproduction is pursued through a computer or electronic data carrier, it is forbidden except in the case that the reproduction is carried out by the user himself. Temporary –incidental or intermediary- reproductions are allowed as free uses.