Getting the right license is a complex matter. If you run a business in Hungary and part of this you use copyright works of others, then this requires “thinking ahead” and understanding the local licensing system.

Copyright – similarly to most of the good things – does not last forever. The length of the protection is not carved in stone: it has changed over time reflecting the shaping attitude toward the concept of copyright. It is subject to a political decision balanced between the interest of the society to use the works as soon as possible and the interest of the right holders to maximize income from the creations.

In Hungary copyright includes two types of rights: moral rights and economic rights. Moral rights are attached to the person of the author and economic rights to the exploitation of the work. The acts that qualify as ‘licensable uses’ in the sense of copyright are the economic rights of the author listed in the copyright act.

As a copyright lawyer I hear this question so frequently: Do I need to register my work to have copyright protection on it? There is good news for all of you: no! Most probably this myth stems from the US copyright law where there is a copyright authority, and indeed, if you want to protect your copyright …

I will define the expectation of the “individual-original nature” of the works and what is NOT protected by copyright. Moreover, I will tell you about the inglorious sound-alike issue by referring to the “Blurred lines” case and why this ruling would probably be different, if Hungarian law was applied.

You know Queen’s classical song: “I want to break free”. Sure, everyone from the North Pole to South-America knows this song. I am sure, just by mentioning it, Freddy Mercury already started to sing it in your head. “I’ve fallen in love…! I’ve fallen in love for the first time, And this time I know it’s for reeeeeal!”