Medewerkers
foto: Monique Kooijmans
 
dr. S. J. van Gompel
(Stef)
senior onderzoeker
 
Instituut voor
Informatierecht (IViR)

Bezoekadres
Korte Spinhuissteeg 3
1012 CG Amsterdam

Postadres
Kloveniersburgwal 48
1012 CX Amsterdam
kamer B2.13
tel: 020 - 525 3643
fax: 020 - 525 3033
 


Curriculum Vitae
Stef van Gompel is op 16 maart 2011 gepromoveerd aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam op het proefschrift getiteld Formalities in Copyright Law: An Analysis of their History, Rationales and Possible Future (Kluwer Law International). Daarvoor studeerde hij Nederlands Recht aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam (2005, cum laude) en de kort-HBO opleiding Music Management aan de Fontys Bedrijfshogeschool in Tilburg (1999). Hij is gespecialiseerd in het intellectuele eigendomsrecht, met name het nationale en internationale auteursrecht.

Hij is secretaris van de Commissie Auteursrecht, die de Minister van Justitie adviseert over auteursrechtelijke aangelegenheden. Ook is hij lid van de redactie van AMI (Tijdschrift voor Auteurs-, Media- & Informatierecht) en van de Studiecommissie geschiedenis van het auteursrecht van de Vereniging voor Auteursrecht (VvA).

Bij het IViR werkt Stef momenteel als postdoc onderzoeker aan het HERA project Of Authorship and Originality, waarvoor hij het auteursrechtelijk werkbegrip ('The Work as Creative Expression') analyseert.


Publicaties
The Orphan Works Chimera and How to Defeat It: A View From Across the Atlantic, Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 2013-3, p. 1347-1378.

This article contends that the orphan works problem (the problem of unknown or untraceable right owners) is a generic problem. It is not specific to a certain form of use, but has implications across the copyright spectrum. Yet, it manifests itself in different ways, depending on the type of use that is made of these works. The article consists of three parts. Employing the metaphor of the Chimera, a three-headed she-monster in ancient Greek mythology, Part I introduces the different ways in which the problem manifests itself and describes the legal uncertainty that the different categories of users of orphan works experience. Next, Part II argues that there is not one best approach to address the orphan works problem. Rather, it suggests adopting a multifaceted approach that would provide adequate relief for the different categories of users of orphan works. Part III concludes.

26.03.2013


(met R. van der Noll, L. Guibault, J. Weda, J. Poort, I. Akker & J.M. Breemen) Flexible Copyright: The Law and Economics of Introducing and Open Norm in the Netherlands, rapport in opdracht van het Ministerie van Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie, SEO-rapport nr. 2012-60, Amsterdam, augustus 2012.

This study analyses the law and economics of introducing flexibility in the system of exceptions and limitations in Dutch copyright law. Flexibility would exist in an open norm, on the basis of which the courts can decide whether certain uses of copyrighted material are permissible or not, instead of explicitly defining this in the law. The report assesses problem areas where the lack of flexibility creates legal disputes and potential barriers to innovation and production. The core of the study concerns the analysis of the economic rationale and effects of introducing flexibility in the Dutch legal order in the form of an open norm.

Zie ook aanbiedingsbrief Tweede Kamer.

01.11.2012


(met R. van der Noll) Flexibel auteursrecht, presentatie gegeven op het symposium Auteursrecht en economie, 16 oktober 2012.

01.11.2012


(met J. Weda, R. van der Noll, I. Akker, J. Poort en J. Leenheer) Digitale drempels: Knelpunten voor legaal digitaal aanbod in de creatieve industrie, rapport in opdracht van het Ministerie van Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie, SEO-rapport nr. 2012-41, Amsterdam, juni 2012.

Dit rapport beschrijft de knelpunten bij het tot stand komen van een volwaardige markt voor digitale distributie en exploitatie van muziek, films en series, games en boeken. Onderscheid wordt gemaakt tussen economische, juridische en technische knelpunten.

10.07.2012


Het richtlijnvoorstel verweesde werken: Een kritische beschouwing, AMI, 2011-6, p. 205-218.

Op 24 mei 2011 heeft de Europese Commissie een voorstel ingediend voor een richtlijn inzake bepaalde toegestane gebruikswijzen van verweesde werken. Hiermee beoogt de Commissie rechtszekerheid te creëren met betrekking tot het digitaliseren en online toegankelijk maken van verweesde werken door bepaalde - specifiek aangewezen - culturele organisaties. Het voorstel voorziet in een aanpak die is gebaseerd op een zorgvuldige zoektocht naar rechthebbenden en op de wederzijdse erkenning van nationale oplossingen voor verweesde werken. Dit artikel bespreekt de achtergrond en inhoud van het richtlijnvoorstel. Geconcludeerd wordt dat het zowel qua reikwijdte als qua inhoud tekort schiet. Daarnaast laat het voorstel nog veel vragen onbeantwoord.

13.01.2012


'Ten geleide', in: C. Schriks, Canon van het uitgevers- en auteursrecht. Een route in vijftig data [1450-1950], Deventer: Kluwer 2011, p. XI-XIII.

13.01.2012


Formalities in Copyright Law: An Analysis of Their History, Rationales and Possible Future, Information Law Series 23, Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International 2011. Verkrijgbaar bij Wolters Kluwer.

At present, copyright is ‘automatic’. From the moment an original work is created, the author enjoys all the benefits that copyright protection entails, without the need to complete a registration, deposit the work, mark it with a copyright notice, or comply with any other statutorily prescribed formality. However, the digital revolution has caused a paradigm shift in the way copyright-protected works are created and consumed. Copyright law is now facing significant challenges arising from the need to establish legal certainty over copyright claims, improve rights clearance, and enhance the free flow of information. Inevitably, proposals to introduce formalities in copyright law (or reintroduce them, as the absence of formalities has not always been the norm) have risen to prominence in legal debate.

This book examines whether reintroducing copyright formalities is legally feasible. Based on a comprehensive and thorough analysis of copyright formalities, it sets out to establish the extent to which the current copyright system allows for their reintroduction. To this end, the author describes the role and functions of formalities, revisits the history of formalities at the national and international levels, examines the scope of the international prohibition on formalities, and scrutinizes the rationales behind this prohibition, including an in-depth examination of the validity of the argument that copyright is a ‘natural right’ and therefore should be protected independently of formalities.

The author skilfully evaluates and contrasts the conflicting theories according to which formalities, on the one hand, add legal certainty to claims on the ownership of property, and, on the other, hamper individual authors from seeking adequate protection for their works. This book makes an important contribution to legal science by answering questions that so far have been neglected or only marginally addressed. To the degree that current copyright law permits reintroducing formalities, the author posits the specifications that will determine to a great extent what role and functions they may eventually fulfil: depending on the aims to be achieved, lawmakers must choose which types of formalities shall be imposed, and what their legal consequences shall be. This book goes a long way towards reinforcing the foundation for those decisions.

24.08.2011


(met L. Guibault) Collective Management in the European Union, in Daniel Gervais (red.), Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights, tweede druk, Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International, 2010, p. 135-167.

This chapter examines efforts to regulate the collective management of copyright at the European level. It is divided in three main parts. First, the chapter describes the current state of the law concerning collective rights management organizations (CMOs) in Europe, as pronounced over the past few decades in decisions of the European Court of Justice and the European Commission in competition matters. Second, the chapter discusses the recent efforts deployed by the European lawmakers toward the establishment of a legal framework governing the activities of CMOs in Europe, and more specifically the multi-territorial licensing of online music services. The third part analyses the actual and potential impact on the market for the cross-border collective management of legitimate online music services of the most recent measures adopted by the European bodies. The chapter critically concludes on the overall state of the law in Europe pertaining to CMOs.

13.07.2011


(met M.M.M. van Eechoud, L. Guibault, B. van der Sloot & P.B. Hugenholtz) Report of the Netherlands for ALAI 2011 Study Days (Dublin).

19.05.2011


(red. met S. Nikoltchev en C.J. Angelopoulos) Digitisation and Online Exploitation of Broadcasters' Archives, IRIS Special, Strasbourg: European Audiovisual Observatory 2010.

The archives of many television broadcasters now contain materiel which includes more than half a century of contemporary, documentary and entertainment history and are of immense cultural and economic value. Digitisation has created an entirely new technical basis for making these assets available to a wide audience, and there are a whole range of projects aimed at opening up audiovisual archives (including those of broadcasters). However, many projects to open up broadcasters' archives and exploit them online generally run up against serious problems when it comes to clearing the rights for these archived works. These problems arise, firstly, due to a contractual practice that developed in the pre-digital era and to aspects of copyright law that do not really meet the needs of the digital age. Secondly, the very large number of works stored in archives constitutes a challenge that is not easily overcome. The aim of this IRIS Special is to discuss the subject from a number of different perspectives. The team of authors involved is accordingly made up of representatives of many different interests: copyright holders and those who look after their interests, television broadcasters, lawyers and copyright experts.

Zie hier voor meer informatie over deze publicatie.

14.01.2011


Formalities in the digital era: an obstacle or opportunity?, in: L. Bently, U. Suthersanen & P. Torremans (eds.), Global Copyright: Three Hundred Years Since the Statute of Anne, from 1709 to Cyberspace, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar 2010, p. 395-424.

This paper, which was presented at the 2009 ALAI conference in London, examines the possible reintroduction of copyright formalities against the background of the challenges that copyright law faces in the digital era. It does so by contrasting the current calls for reintroducing formalities with the legal-historical reasons for their abolition. The paper concludes that, while, in the pre-digital era, the objections against copyright formalities were real, in the light of the changes caused by the advent of digital technologies, there is now sufficient reason to reconsider subjecting copyright to formalities.

20.10.2010


Les formalités sont mortes, vive les formalités! Copyright formalities and the reasons for their decline in nineteenth century Europe, in: R. Deazley, M. Kretschmer & L. Bently (eds.), Privilege and Property: Essays on the History of Copyright, Cambridge: Open Book Publishers 2010, pp. 157-206.

Modern copyright law is based on the premise that copyright originates from original authorship and exists independently from formalities. This was different in the past, when copyright law was fully occupied with formalities. This paper examines the development of copyright formalities against the background of the upcoming national rights thinking and some conceptual innovations in copyright law in nineteenth century Europe (France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK). Among other things, this paper concludes that, from a historical perspective, formalities are not as incompatible with the natural rights view as is commonly believed. This may cast new light on the possible reintroduction of copyright formalities, which is increasingly called for in the current digital era.

01.09.2010


(met P.B. Hugenholtz) The Orphan Works Problem: The Copyright Conundrum of Digitizing Large-Scale Audiovisual Archives, and How to Solve it, Popular Communication - The International Journal of Media and Culture, 2010-1, p. 61-71.

This article examines the problem of 'orphan works' against the background of various projects for mass-digitization of audiovisual content. Orphan works are works for which the copyright owners cannot be identified or located. The fact that a particular work is 'orphaned' makes it impossible to clear the rights and to legally reutilize the work. This article describes and evaluates six different possible regulatory solutions to the orphan works problem, including extended collective licensing and compulsory licensing. The article concludes that if one wants to make the vast European audiovisual cultural heritage available for future usage, regulatory intervention is indispensable.

03.03.2010


(met M.M.M. van Eechoud, P.B. Hugenholtz, L. Guibault en N. Helberger) Harmonizing European Copyright Law: The Challenges of Better Lawmaking, Information Law Series 19, Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International 2009.

Nobody likes today’s copyright law. Widespread unauthorized use of copyright material proliferates with impunity, while citizens and users protest that intrusive copyright and related rights law stifle cultural expression. Equipment manufacturers and intermediaries complain about yet more ’security’ features that complicate their products and services and encumber marketing, while content owners desperately want enforcement to work. And of course it is crucial that whatever regulatory instruments come into play must not age prematurely in Internet time.
The European Union faces the daunting challenge of articulating coherent copyright policies that satisfy these contradictory multiple demands. Yet the legal framework must conform to the European Union’s remit of fostering economic growth in a common market, while respecting the national traditions of its still growing family of Member States. Clearly, an extraordinary balancing act is called for if justice is to be done to all of the private and public interests affected.
So how has the European acquis communautaire scored on these issues so far? In this groundbreaking study the Institute for Information Law of the University of Amsterdam brings its extensive academic expertise to bear on this question. The authors scrutinize the present law as laid down in the seven copyright and related rights directives, against the background of the relevant international standards of the Berne Convention, the TRIPs agreement, and the WIPO Internet Treaties. They map out in detail the degree to which certain areas of copyright have been harmonized as they expose the gaps and inconsistencies in the acquis and the urgent unresolved issues that persist. They identify the EU’s ambitions in relation to its present and future competences (following the Lisbon Reform) to regulate copyright, and to its Better Regulation agenda. Following a comprehensive analysis of almost two decades of regulatory intervention, they move on to the salient current trends that point toward a more coherent and balanced European copyright law.

13.10.2009


Another 45 miles to go? Kritisch commentaar op het richtlijnvoorstel duurverlenging naburige rechten, AMI, 2008-6, p. 169-180.

Dit artikel zet kritisch uiteen waarom het richtlijnvoorstel dat door de Europese Commissie is ingediend om de beschermingsduur van naburige rechten op fonogrammen en de daarop vastgelegde uitvoeringen te verlengen van 50 naar 95 jaar, onwenselijk is en de problemen waarmee de fonogrammenindustrie en uitvoerende kunstenaars te maken hebben niet, of nauwelijks, oplost.
10.12.2008
(met N. Helberger, N. Dufft & P.B. Hugenholtz) Never Forever: Why Extending the Term of Protection for Sound Recordings is a Bad Idea, E.I.P.R., 2008-5, p. 174-181.

This article critically examines the arguments put forward in favour of a term extension of related rights of phonogram producers. The authors conclude that there are no convincing reasons to extend the existing term of protection. The article also explains why the popular argument that a term extension would improve the situation of performers is probably a fallacy.

04.06.2008
Unlocking the Potential of Pre-Existing Content: How to Address the Issue of Orphan Works in Europe?, IIC International Review of Intellectual property and Competition Law, Vol. 38 (2007), No. 6, p. 669-702.

04.06.2008


Audiovisual Archives and the Inability to Clear Rights in Orphan Works, IRIS plus (Supplement to IRIS - Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory), 2007-4.

Dit artikel behandelt het vraagstuk van de zogenaamde 'verweesde werken' (orphan works). Verweesde werken zijn werken waarvan de rechthebbenden niet geïdentificeerd of gelokaliseerd kunnen worden. Het feit dat een rechthebbende onvindbaar is, maakt het onmogelijk om toestemming te verkrijgen en het werk op een legale manier te hergebruiken. Om het potentieel te kunnen ontsluiten van de vele bestaande werken die zijn opgeslagen in audiovisuele archieven is het noodzakelijk dat juridische oplossingen worden gevonden die dit probleem op een adequate manier aanpakken. In dit artikel worden een aantal oplossingen beschreven die mogelijkerwijs geïntroduceerd zouden kunnen worden op Europees of nationaal niveau.

20.04.2007


(met L. Guibault) Collective Management in the European Union, ook gepubliceerd in: Daniel Gervais (red.), Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights, The Hague, Kluwer Law International, 2006, p. 117-152.

20.03.2007


(met P.B. Hugenholtz, M.M.M. van Eechoud et al.) The Recasting of Copyright & Related Rights for the Knowledge Economy, rapport aan de Europese Commissie, DG Interne Markt, november 2006, 308 p.
Zie ook de executive summary.

Study carried out by the Institute for Information Law for the European Commission (DG Internal Market). Chapters 1 and 2 describe and examine the existing 'acquis communautaire' in the field of copyright and related (neighbouring) rights, with special focus on inconsistencies and unclarities. Chapters 3-6 deal with distinct issues that were identified a priori by the European Commission as meriting special attention: possible extension of the term of protection of phonograms (Chapter 3), possible alignment of the term of protection of co-written musical works (Chapter 4), the problems connected to multiple copyright ownership, including the issue of 'orphan works' (Chapter 5), and copyright awareness among consumers (Chapter 6). Chapter 7 provides an overall assessment of the benefits and drawbacks of the fifteen years of harmonisation of copyright and related rights in the EU and dwells on regulatory alternatives.

10.01.2007


De vaststelling van de thuiskopievergoeding, AMI, 2006-2, p. 52-62.

In dit artikel wordt beschreven hoe in Nederland de thuiskopievergoedingen worden vastgesteld. Een sleutelrol is daarbij weggelegd voor de SONT, waarbinnen rechthebbenden en betalingsplichtigen onderhandelen over de vast te stellen vergoeding. Gekeken wordt in hoeverre bij de vaststelling rekening gehouden wordt met de voorwaarden uit de Auteurswet en de Auteursrechtrichtlijn. Daarnaast wordt aan de orde gesteld of de zelfregulering tussen de marktpartijen werkt. Geconcludeerd wordt dat beide aspecten te wensen over laten en dat het daarom passelijk zou zijn als de wetgever aanvullend of corrigerend op zou treden.

18.04.2006


(met N. Helberger, N. Dufft, K. Kerényi, B. Krings, R. Lambers, C. Orwat en U. Riehm) Digital Rights Management and Consumer Acceptability: A Multi-Disciplinary Discussion of Consumer Concerns and ExpectationsState-of-the-Art Report, INDICARE, december 2004.

03.02.2006


Bijgewerkt 26.03.2013