Croatia

Copyright

Does your national copyright legislation contain exceptions and other special provisions for people with visual impairment?
Do these exceptions allow for making copy of a book without the publisher's permission?
Do these exceptions allow for scanning books (in particular is an individual with visual impairment allowed to scan a book for him/herself, or does a special organization have to do it?)
Do these exceptions allow for sharing books produced on accessible formats? (in particular is an individual with visual impairment allowed to share with friends books he/she scanned?)
Are there special copyright provisions regarding accessible text books and other educational material?

 

1. Does your national copyright legislation contain exceptions and other special provisions for people with visual impairment?

Article 86 -Use of Copyright Works by Disabled Persons- of the Croatian Copyright and Related Rights Act (O.G. 167/2003) provides that "The use of copyright works for the benefit of people with a disability shall be permitted, where the work is reproduced in a manner directly related to the disability of such people to the extent required by the specific disability, and where such reproduction is expressly of a non-commercial nature."
Source : www.wipo.int/clea/en/details.jsp?id=2176

Distribution to individuals:
Distribution to visually impaired people by any means probably possible as exception permits “use” for the benefit of disabled people, but rental probably not possible as commercial activity outside scope of exception.

Export to individuals:
Probably permitted but the meaning of the “the right of the author to authorize or prohibit the export to or the import from a certain country of the original or copies of the work” is not clear and so not clear whether permitted.

Import by individuals:
Probably permitted but the provision referred to above (see export to individuals) may be relevant.
Reference: Copyright and Related Rights Act of 2003
Source:http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/html.jsp?file=/redocs/mdocs/copyright/en/sccr_15/sccr_15_7.html#P4703_547517

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2. Do these exceptions allow for making copy of a book without the publisher's permission?

Not exactly, so we usually ask the publisher and the author for their permission.

Exhaustion of rights:
First sale or other transfer of ownership by or with consent of author or right holder in Croatia exhausts the distribution right in tangible copies in Croatia, but not the rental and lending rights or “the right of the author to authorize or prohibit the export to or the import from a certain country of the original or copies of the work”
Reference: Copyright and Related Rights Act of 2003
Source:http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/html.jsp?file=/redocs/mdocs/copyright/en/sccr_15/sccr_15_7.html#P4703_547517

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3. Do these exceptions allow for scanning books (in particular is an individual with visual impairment allowed to scan a book for him/herself, or does a special organization have to do it?)

There is no specific article in the Copyright Law that allows scanning; in practice, individuals with visual impairment scan books for themselves, and so do special organizations.

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4. Do these exceptions allow for sharing books produced on accessible formats? (in particular is an individual with visual impairment allowed to share with friends books he/she scanned?)

No.

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5. Are there special copyright provisions regarding accessible text books and other educational material?

The Croatian law governing the provision of text books in ordinary and grammar schools contains articles on the provision of accessible text books and other educational material for pupils with special needs.

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