Unificazione, armonizzazione e sussidiarietà nel diritto d'autore europeo

The study traces the process of Europeanization of Copyright Law, through which the framework of EU Countries' rights was outlined. The focus was set on the analysys of the two methods of coordination between the legislations of EU Contries, namely full harmonization and harmonization by rules which refer back (also here called conditional harmonization), an on the analysis of their correlation with the principle of subsidiarity. This principle restricts the discretionality of the EU Institutions in choosing ways and contents of centralised intervention, allowing harmonization by Directives only when it is followed by efficiency gains in comparison to national action. The study therefore identifies as good harmonization that one which corresponds with a correct use of legislative competence, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity and of the objectives of the European Union. The harmonization process is analysed with regard to the two phasis of the process, that is to say negative harmonization – through the decisions of the EUCJ – and positive harmonization, that was achieved by the Directives on harmonization of Copyright, which were adopted in the period 1991-2012. The analysis take account of several elements that influenced methods and contents of the harmonization of Copyright law. In particular, specific consideration is given to the international Conventions to which the European Union takes part as a juridical subject (BUC, Wipo Cooperation Treaty, Wipo Performance and Phonograms Treaty); at the same time, the analysis observes the new structure of the EU Treaties, with Intellectual Property being aknowledged as one of the fundamental rights protected by the European Union, the emergence of culture as one of the EU objectives and the new perspective of a single European Copyright Title.