COPYRIGHT AND DESIGN PROTECTION FOR UGLY THINGS UNDER THE ROMANIAN LAW WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION FRAMEWORK
COPYRIGHT AND DESIGN PROTECTION FOR UGLY THINGS UNDER THE ROMANIAN LAW WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION FRAMEWORK

Summary/Abstract: The Berne Convention from 1886 and the Romanian copyright law do not use the word ugly as an impediment for copyright protection. We analyze the validity criteria, especially originality, in order to discover if an ugly literary, artistic or scientific work can be protected by law. Could ugliness have an influence on the concept of originality in terms of imposing a series of restrictions? Designs or works of applied art represent ornamental elements which are framed as beautiful. If these are ugly, will novelty and individual character be fulfilled? The answer lies in the law articles and in their interpretation. We will study the questions mentioned above through a comparative analysis of Romanian legislation, international conventions and European Union directives regarding copyright and designs, in order to discover if ugly things may be protected as Intellectual property law objects.

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