DIRECTIVE OF APRIL 29, 2004 RELATING TO RESPECT FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
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Directive 2004/48 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 29, 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights (Text with EEA relevance)THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), after consulting the Committee of the Regions, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty (2), considering the following: (1) The completion of the internal market implies the elimination of restrictions on free movement and distortions of competition, while creating an environment favorable to innovation and investment. In this context, the protection of intellectual property is an essential element for the success of the internal market. The protection of intellectual property is important not only for the promotion of innovation and creation but also for the development of employment and the improvement of competitiveness. (2) The protection of intellectual property should enable the inventor or creator to derive a legitimate profit from his invention or creation. It should also allow the widest possible dissemination of new works, ideas and know-how. At the same time, the protection of intellectual property should not hinder the freedom of expression and the free flow of information and the protection of personal data, including on the Internet. (3) However, without effective means of enforcing intellectual property rights, innovation and creation are discouraged and investments reduced. It is therefore necessary to ensure that substantive intellectual property law, which today largely falls under the Community acquis, is effectively applied in the Community. In this regard, the means of enforcing intellectual property rights are of paramount importance for the success of the internal market. (4) At international level, all the Member States as well as the Community itself, in matters falling within its competence, are bound by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (‘Agreement on TRIPS ‘), approved in the framework of the Uruguay Round of multilateral negotiations by Council Decision 94/800 / EC (3) and concluded within the framework of the World Trade Organization. (5) The TRIPS Agreement contains in particular provisions relating to the means of enforcing intellectual property rights, which constitute common standards applicable at the international level and implemented in all the Member States. This Directive should not affect the international obligations of Member States including those resulting from the TRIPS Agreement. (6) There are also international conventions to which all the Member States are parties and which also contain provisions relating to the means of enforcing intellectual property rights. This is particularly the case with the Paris Convention for the protection of industrial property, the Berne Convention for the protection of literary and artistic works and the Rome Convention for the protection of performers, producers of phonograms. and broadcasting organizations. (7) From the consultations undertaken by the Commission on this issue, it appears that in the Member States, and despite the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, there are still significant disparities as regards the means of enforcing compliance. intellectual property rights. Thus, the modalities of application of the provisional measures which are used in particular to safeguard the evidence, the calculation of damages or the modalities of application of the procedures for the cessation of infringements of intellectual property rights are subject to significant variations. ‘from one Member State to another. In some Member States, there are no measures, procedures and remedies such as the right of information and recall, at the expense of the offender, (8) The disparities existing between the regimes of the Member States as regards the means of enforcing intellectual property rights are detrimental to the proper functioning of the internal market and make it impossible to ensure that intellectual property rights benefit from ‘an equivalent level of protection throughout the territory of the Community. This situation is neither such as to promote free movement within the internal market nor to create an environment favorable to healthy competition. (9) The current disparities also lead to a weakening of substantive intellectual property law and a fragmentation of the internal market in this area. This leads to a loss of business confidence in the internal market and, as a consequence, to a reduction in investment in innovation and creation. Infringements of intellectual property rights appear to be increasingly linked to organized crime. The growing use of the Internet allows for instant distribution of pirated products around the world. Effective respect for substantive intellectual property law should be ensured by specific action at Community level. (10) The objective of this Directive is to approximate these laws in order to ensure a high, equivalent and homogeneous level of protection of intellectual property in the internal market. (11) The purpose of this Directive is not to establish harmonized rules on judicial cooperation, jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, nor to deal with applicable law. Community instruments govern these matters in general and are, in principle, also applicable to intellectual property. (12) This Directive should not affect the application of the competition rules, in particular Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty. The measures provided for in this Directive should not be used to restrict competition unduly in a way which is contrary to the Treaty. (13) It is necessary to define the scope of this Directive as broadly as possible in order to include all the intellectual property rights covered by the relevant Community provisions and / or by the national legislation of the Member State concerned. This requirement shall not, however, preclude the possibility for Member States which so wish to extend, for internal purposes, the provisions of this Directive to acts relating to unfair competition, including spurious copies, or similar activities. (14) The measures provided for in Article 6 (2), Article 8 (1) and Article 9 (2) should only apply to acts committed on a commercial scale. , without prejudice to the possibility for Member States to apply these measures also to other acts. Commercial-scale acts are those which are carried out with a view to obtaining a direct or indirect economic or commercial advantage, which normally excludes acts which are carried out by end consumers acting in good faith. (15) This Directive should not affect substantive intellectual property law, Directive 95/46 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of data of a personal nature and on the free movement of such data (4), Directive 1999/93 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on a Community framework for electronic signatures (5) and Directive 2000/31 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, and in particular electronic commerce, in the internal market (6). (16) The provisions of this Directive should be without prejudice to the specific provisions concerning respect for rights and exceptions in the field of copyright and related rights provided for in Community instruments and in particular those contained in Directive 91 / 250 / EEC of the Council of 14 May 1991 on the legal protection of computer programs (7) or in Directive 2001/29 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonization of certain aspects of the right to ‘author and related rights in the information society (8). (17) The measures, procedures and remedies provided for in this Directive should be determined in each case in such a way as to take due account of the specific characteristics of that case, in particular the specific characteristics of each intellectual property right and, where there is place, whether the infringement was intentional or unintentional. (18) The persons entitled to request the application of such measures, procedures and remedies should not only be the holders of the rights, but also the persons having a direct interest and the right to institute legal proceedings, insofar as the applicable legislation allows it and in accordance with it, which may include the professional organizations responsible for the management of these rights or the defense of the collective and individual interests for which they are responsible. (19) Given that copyright exists from the creation of a work and does not require formal registration, it is useful to repeat the rule set out in Article 15 of the Berne Convention which establishes the presumption according to which the author of a literary or artistic work is considered as such when his name is indicated on the work. A similar presumption should apply to holders of neighboring rights since it is often the holder of a neighboring right, for example a producer of phonograms, who will seek to defend rights and fight against acts of piracy. (20) Since proof is a crucial element in establishing an infringement of intellectual property rights, it should be ensured that means of presenting, obtaining and preserving the evidence do exist. . The procedures should respect the rights of the defense and provide the necessary guarantees, including the protection of confidential information. With regard to commercial breaches, it is also important that jurisdictions can order access, where appropriate, to banking, financial and business documents that are under the control of the alleged infringer. (21) Other measures aimed at ensuring a high level of protection exist in certain Member States and should be offered in all Member States. This is the case with the right of information, which makes it possible to obtain precise information on the origin of the infringing goods or services, the distribution channels and the identity of the third parties involved in the infringement. (22) It is also essential to provide for provisional measures enabling the infringement to cease immediately without waiting for a decision on the merits, while respecting the rights of the defense, ensuring the proportionality of the provisional measures according to the specificities of each case in point, and by providing the necessary guarantees to cover the costs and damages caused to the defendant by an unjustified claim. These measures are justified in particular when any delay would be of such a nature as to cause irreparable damage to the holder of an intellectual property right. (23) Without prejudice to any other existing measure, procedure or remedy, rightholders should be able to seek an injunction against an intermediary whose services are used by a third party to infringe the right to property. industrial of the holder. The conditions and procedures relating to such an injunction should be left to the national law of the Member States. As regards infringements of copyright and related rights, a high level of harmonization is already provided for by Directive 2001/29 / EC. This Directive should therefore not affect Article 8 (3) of Directive 2001/29 / EC. (24) Depending on the case and if the circumstances so justify, the measures, procedures and remedies to be provided for should include prohibitive measures aimed at preventing further infringements of intellectual property rights. In addition, there should be corrective measures, where appropriate at the expense of the offender, such as recall, permanent removal from commercial channels or destruction of the infringing goods and, in appropriate cases, of materials and equipment. instruments primarily used in the creation or manufacture of such goods. These corrective measures should take into account the interests of third parties including, in particular, consumers and individuals acting in good faith. (25) Member States should be able to provide, in cases where an infringement has been committed unintentionally and without negligence and where the corrective measures or injunctions provided for in this Directive would be disproportionate, that in cases appropriate, pecuniary compensation may be awarded to the injured party as an alternative measure. However, where the commercial use of counterfeit goods or the provision of services violates any law other than intellectual property law or is likely to harm consumers, such use or provision should remain prohibited. (26) In order to repair the damage suffered as a result of an infringement committed by an offender who engaged in an activity causing such damage knowing it or having reasonable grounds to know it, the amount of the damage- Interest awarded to the right holder should take into account all relevant aspects, such as loss of earnings suffered by the right holder or unfair profits made by the infringer and, where applicable, any moral prejudice caused to the right holder. The amount of damages could also be calculated, for example in cases where it is difficult to determine the amount of the actual damage suffered, from elements such as royalties or duties that would have been due if the infringer had requested the authorization to use the intellectual property right in question. The aim is not to introduce an obligation to provide for punitive damages, but to allow compensation based on an objective basis while taking into account the costs incurred by the right holder such as the costs of search and identification. . (27) As an additional deterrent to future offenders and to help raise awareness among the public at large, it is useful to ensure the dissemination of decisions rendered in intellectual property infringement cases. . (28) In addition to the measures, procedures and remedies of a civil and administrative nature provided for under this Directive, criminal sanctions also constitute, in appropriate cases, a means of ensuring respect for intellectual property rights. (29) Industry should actively participate in the fight against piracy and counterfeiting. The development of codes of conduct in the circles directly concerned represents a means complementary to the regulatory framework. Member States, in collaboration with the Commission, should encourage the development of codes of conduct in general. The control of the manufacture of optical discs, in particular by means of an identification code applied to discs manufactured in the Community, helps to limit infringements of intellectual property rights in this sector, which is subject to large-scale piracy. However, (30) In order to facilitate the uniform application of this Directive, it is appropriate to provide for cooperation mechanisms and an exchange of information between the Member States, on the one hand, and between them and the Commission, on the one hand. on the other hand, in particular by setting up a network of correspondents appointed by the Member States and by submitting regular reports evaluating the application of this Directive and the effectiveness of the measures taken by the various national bodies. (31) Since, for the reasons mentioned, the objective of this Directive can be better achieved at Community level, the Community may take measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity enshrined in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve that objective. (32) This Directive respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles which are recognized in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In particular, this Directive aims to ensure full respect for intellectual property, in accordance with Article 17 (2) of this Charter, HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: CHAPTER I PURPOSE AND SCOPE First article Object This Directive concerns the measures, procedures and remedies necessary to ensure respect for intellectual property rights. For the purposes of this Directive, the expression “intellectual property rights” includes industrial property rights. Article 2 Scope 1.Without prejudice to the means provided for or which may be provided for in Community or national legislation, provided that these means are more favorable to the holders of rights, the measures, procedures and remedies provided for in this Directive shall apply, in accordance with the Article 3, to any infringement of intellectual property rights provided for by Community law and / or the national law of the Member State concerned. 2. This Directive is without prejudice to the specific provisions concerning respect for the rights and the exceptions provided for by Community legislation in the field of copyright and rights related to copyright and in particular by Directive 91/250 / EEC, in particular Article 7 thereof, or by Directive 2001/29 / EC, in particular Articles 2 to 6 and Article 8. 3.This Directive does not affect: a) Community provisions governing substantive intellectual property law, Directive 95/46 / EC, Directive 1999/93 / EC and Directive 2000/31 / EC in general and Articles 12 to 15 of the latter directive in particular; (b) the obligations arising for Member States from international conventions, and in particular from the TRIPS Agreement, including those relating to criminal proceedings and applicable sanctions; (c) all the national provisions of the Member States relating to criminal proceedings or to the penalties applicable in the event of infringement of intellectual property rights. CHAPTER II MEASURES, PROCEDURES AND REPAIRS Section 1 General provisions Article 3 General obligation 1.Member States shall provide for the measures, procedures and remedies necessary to ensure respect for the intellectual property rights referred to in this Directive. These measures, procedures and remedies must be fair and equitable, must not be unnecessarily complex or costly, and must not involve unreasonable delays or cause undue delays. 2. Measures, procedures and remedies must also be effective, proportionate and dissuasive and be applied in such a way as to avoid the creation of obstacles to legitimate trade and to provide safeguards against their abuse. Article 4 Persons entitled to request the application of measures, procedures and remedies Member States recognize that the following are entitled to request the application of the measures, procedures and remedies referred to in this Chapter: a) the holders of intellectual property rights, in accordance with the provisions of the applicable legislation; b) all other persons authorized to use these rights, in particular licensees, to the extent that applicable law allows and in accordance with it; c) organizations for the collective management of intellectual property rights duly recognized as having the capacity to represent holders of intellectual property rights, insofar as and in accordance with the provisions of the applicable legislation; d) professional defense organizations regularly recognized as having the capacity to represent holders of intellectual property rights, insofar as and in accordance with the provisions of the applicable legislation. Article 5 Presumption of authorship or right holder For the purposes of applying the measures, procedures and remedies provided for in this Directive, a) In order for the author of a literary or artistic work to be, until proof to the contrary, considered as such and consequently allowed to take legal action against counterfeiters, it is sufficient that his name be indicated on the work of the usual way; b) point a) applies mutatis mutandis to holders of rights related to copyright with regard to their protected subject matter. Section 2 Proofs Article 6 Evidence 1.Member States shall ensure that, at the request of a party who has presented evidence reasonably accessible and sufficient to substantiate its claims and clarified the evidence in support of its claims which are under control of the opposing party, the competent judicial authorities may order that such evidence be produced by the opposing party, provided that the protection of confidential information is ensured. For the purposes of this paragraph, Member States may provide that a reasonable sample of a substantial number of copies of a work or other protected subject matter is considered by the competent judicial authorities to constitute sufficient evidence. 2.Under the same conditions, in the event of an infringement committed on a commercial scale, the Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the competent judicial authorities, if necessary, at the request of a party, to order the communication of banking, financial or commercial documents, which are under the control of the opposing party, subject to the protection of confidential information. Article 7 Measures for preserving evidence 1.Even before the initiation of an action on the merits, Member States shall ensure that the competent judicial authorities may, at the request of a party who has presented reasonably accessible evidence to support his claims that he has infringement of its intellectual property right or that such infringement is imminent, order prompt and effective interim measures to preserve the evidence relevant to the alleged infringement, provided that the protection of confidential information is assured. Such measures may include the detailed description with or without the taking of samples, or the actual seizure of the disputed goods and, where appropriate, materials and instruments used to produce and / or distribute these goods as well as related documents. These measures are taken, where appropriate, without the other party being heard, in particular when any delay is likely to cause irreparable damage to the right holder or when there is a demonstrable risk of destruction of the evidence. In cases where measures for the preservation of evidence are adopted without the other party having been heard, the affected parties are notified, without delay after the execution of the measures at the latest. A review, including the right to be heard, takes place at the request of the affected parties in order to decide, within a reasonable period of time after notification of the measures, whether they are modified, revoked or confirmed. 2.Member States shall ensure that measures for the preservation of evidence may be subject to the lodging by the applicant of an adequate bond or equivalent guarantee intended to ensure compensation for any damage suffered by the defendant, in accordance with paragraph 4. 3.Member States shall ensure that measures for the preservation of evidence are repealed or cease to have effect in any other way, at the request of the defendant, without prejudice to the damages which may be claimed, if the plaintiff does not ” has not initiated, within a reasonable time, action leading to a decision on the merits before the competent judicial authority, which time limit will be determined by the judicial authority ordering the measures when the law of the Member State so permits or, in the absence of such a determination, within a period not exceeding twenty working days or thirty-one calendar days whichever is longer. 4.In cases where the measures for the preservation of evidence are repealed or cease to be applicable due to any action or omission by the applicant, or in cases where it is subsequently found that there has not been a breach or threat of infringement of an intellectual property right, the judicial authorities are empowered to order the plaintiff, at the request of the defendant, to grant the latter appropriate compensation for any damage caused by these measures. 5. Member States may take measures to protect the identity of witnesses. Section 3 Right to information Article 8 Right to information 1.Member States shall ensure that, in the context of an action relating to an infringement of an intellectual property right and in response to a justified and proportionate request by the applicant, the competent judicial authorities may order that information on the The origin and distribution networks of goods or services which infringe an intellectual property right are provided by the infringer and / or any other person who: (a) has been found in possession of the infringing goods on a commercial scale; b) was found to be using infringing services on a commercial scale; (c) has been found to provide, on a commercial scale, services used in infringing activities, or (d) has been reported by the person referred to in points (a), (b) or (c), as being involved in the production, manufacture or distribution of the goods or the provision of the services. 2. The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall include, as appropriate: (a) the names and addresses of producers, manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and other previous owners of the goods or services, as well as of recipient wholesalers and retailers; (b) information on the quantities produced, manufactured, delivered, received or ordered, as well as on the price obtained for the goods or services in question. 3.Paragraphs 1 and 2 apply without prejudice to other laws and regulations which: a) grant the holder the right to receive more extensive information; (b) govern the civil or criminal use of information communicated under this article; c) govern liability for abuse of the right to information; (d) give the possibility of refusing to provide information which would force the person referred to in paragraph 1 to admit his own participation or that of his close relatives in an infringement of an intellectual property right, or e) govern the protection of the confidentiality of information sources or the processing of personal data. Section 4 Provisional and protective measures Article 9 Provisional and protective measures 1.Member States shall ensure that the competent judicial authorities may, at the request of the applicant: a) issue against the alleged offender an interim order aimed at preventing any imminent infringement of an intellectual property right, to prohibit, on a provisional basis and subject, where applicable, to the payment of a fine when the legislation national law provides for this, whether the alleged infringements of this right continue, or to make their prosecution conditional on the constitution of guarantees intended to ensure compensation for the holder of the right; a summary order may also be issued, under the same conditions, against an intermediary whose services are used by a third party to infringe an intellectual property right; injunctions to b) order the seizure or the handing over of goods which are suspected of infringing an intellectual property right in order to prevent their introduction or their circulation in the commercial circuits. 2. In the event of an infringement committed on a commercial scale, Member States shall ensure that the competent judicial authorities can order, if the injured party justifies circumstances likely to compromise the recovery of damages, the protective seizure movable and immovable property of the alleged offender, including the freezing of his bank accounts and other assets. To this end, the competent authorities may order the communication of banking, financial or commercial documents or the appropriate access to relevant information. 3 Judicial authorities shall be empowered, within the framework of the measures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, to require the applicant to provide any reasonably accessible evidence in order to acquire with sufficient certainty the conviction that he is the holder. of the right and that his right has been infringed or that such infringement is imminent. 4. Member States shall ensure that the provisional measures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 may, in appropriate cases, be adopted without the defendant being heard, in particular where any delay would be such as to cause irreparable damage to the holder of the law. In this case, the parties are notified without delay, after the execution of the measures at the latest. A review, including the right to be heard, takes place at the request of the respondent so that it can be decided, within a reasonable time after notification of the measures, whether they are modified, revoked or confirmed. 5.Member States shall ensure that the provisional measures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 are repealed, or cease to have effect in any other way, at the request of the defendant, if the plaintiff has not initiated, in a reasonable period of time for action leading to a decision on the merits before the competent judicial authority, which period shall be determined by the judicial authority ordering the measures when the law of the Member State allows it or, in the absence of a such determination, within a period not exceeding twenty working days or thirty-one calendar days whichever is longer. 6 The competent judicial authorities may make the provisional measures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 subject to the lodging by the applicant of an adequate bond or equivalent guarantee, intended to ensure possible compensation for the damage suffered by the defendant, in accordance with with the provisions of paragraph 7. 7.In cases where the provisional measures are repealed or cease to be applicable due to any action or omission by the applicant, or in cases where it is subsequently found that there has been no infringement or threat thereof. infringement of an intellectual property right, the judicial authorities are empowered to order the plaintiff, at the request of the defendant, to grant the latter appropriate compensation for any damage caused by these measures. Section 5 Measures resulting from a judgment on the merits Article 10 Corrective actions 1.Without prejudice to any damages owed to the holder of the right as a result of the infringement and without compensation of any kind, Member States shall ensure that the competent judicial authorities may order, at the request of the claimant, that appropriate measures are taken with regard to goods which they have found to infringe an intellectual property right and, in appropriate cases, with regard to materials and instruments principally used for the creation or creation of manufacture of these goods. These measures will notably include: a) recall of commercial channels; b) definitive exclusion from commercial channels, or c) destruction. 2.The judicial authorities shall order that these measures be implemented at the expense of the offender, unless there are specific reasons for this. 3. In considering a request for corrective measures, account shall be taken of the fact that there must be proportionality between the seriousness of the breach and the corrective measures ordered, as well as the interests of third parties. Article 11 Injunctions Member States shall ensure that, where a judicial decision has been taken establishing an infringement of an intellectual property right, the competent judicial authorities can issue an injunction against the infringer aimed at prohibiting the prosecution of such infringement. Where national law so provides, non-compliance with an injunction is, where appropriate, punishable by a fine, intended to ensure its execution. Member States shall also ensure that rightholders can seek an injunction against intermediaries whose services are used by a third party to infringe an intellectual property right, without prejudice to Article 8 (3) , of Directive 2001/29 / EC. Article 12 Alternative measures Member States may provide that, in appropriate cases and at the request of the person liable to the measures provided for in this Section, the competent judicial authorities may order the payment to the injured party of pecuniary compensation in place of the application of the measures provided for in this section, if this person has acted unintentionally and without negligence and if the execution of the measures in question would result in disproportionate damage for him and if the payment of pecuniary compensation to the injured party appears reasonably satisfactory. Section 6 Damages and legal costs Article 13 Damages 1.Member States shall ensure that, at the request of the injured party, the competent judicial authorities order the infringer who has engaged in an infringing activity knowing it or having reasonable grounds to know to pay the holder the law of damages appropriate to the damage that the latter has actually suffered as a result of the infringement. When determining damages, the judicial authorities: a) take into account all relevant aspects such as negative economic consequences, in particular loss of profit, suffered by the injured party, profits unfairly realized by the infringer and, in appropriate cases, elements other than economic factors, such as the moral prejudice caused to the right holder as a result of the infringement, or b) as an alternative, may decide, in appropriate cases, to fix a lump sum of damages, on the basis of elements such as, at least, the amount of the royalties or duties which would have been due if the infringer had requested permission to use the intellectual property right in question. 2.Where the infringer has engaged in an infringing activity without knowing it or without having reasonable grounds to know it, Member States may provide that the judicial authorities may order the recovery of profits or the payment of damages liable to damage. ‘be pre-established. Article 14 Court costs Member States shall ensure that reasonable and proportionate legal costs and other costs incurred by the successful party are, as a rule, borne by the unsuccessful party, unless fairness precludes this. . Section 7 Advertising measures Article 15 Publication of court decisions Member States shall ensure that, in the context of legal proceedings instituted for infringement of an intellectual property right, the judicial authorities may order, at the request of the applicant and at the expense of the infringer, appropriate measures for the dissemination of information concerning the decision, including the posting of the decision as well as its full or partial publication. Member States may provide for additional publicity measures adapted to the particular circumstances, including wide-scale publicity. CHAPTER III SANCTIONS APPLIED BY MEMBER STATES Article 16 Sanctions applied by Member States Without prejudice to the civil and administrative measures, procedures and remedies provided for in this Directive, Member States may apply other appropriate sanctions in the event of infringement of intellectual property rights. CHAPTER IV CODES OF CONDUCT AND ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION Article 17 Codes of conduct Member States encourage: a) the development, by associations or organizations of businesses or professionals, of codes of conduct at Community level intended to contribute to the respect of intellectual property rights, in particular by recommending the use on optical discs of a code allowing to identify the origin of their manufacture; (b) the transmission to the Commission of draft codes of conduct at national or Community level and of any evaluations relating to the application of these codes of conduct. Article 18 Evaluation 1.Three years after the date provided for in Article 20 (1), each Member State shall send a report to the Commission on the implementation of this Directive. On the basis of these reports, the Commission shall draw up a report on the application of this Directive, including in particular an assessment of the effectiveness of the measures taken as well as an assessment of their impact on innovation and the development of the information society. This report is sent to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee. It shall be accompanied, where appropriate, and in the light of developments in the Community legal order, by proposals for amendments to this Directive. 2. Member States shall provide the Commission with such assistance and assistance as it may require in drawing up the report referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1. Article 19 Exchange of information and correspondents In order to promote cooperation, in particular the exchange of information, between the Member States and between the Member States and the Commission, each Member State designates one or more national correspondents responsible for all matters relating to the implementation of the planned measures. by this directive. It communicates the contact details of the national (national) correspondent (s) to the other Member States and to the Commission. CHAPTER V FINAL PROVISIONS Article 20 Transposition 1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 29 April 2006 at the latest. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof. When Member States adopt these provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The modalities of this reference are decided by the Member States. 2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive. Article 21 Coming into force This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Article 22 Recipients This Directive is addressed to the Member States. Done in Strasbourg on April 29, 2004. For the European Parliament P. Cox President For the Council Mr. Mc Dowell President (1) OJ C 32, 5.2.2004, p. 15. (2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 9 March 2004 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 26 April 2004. (3) OJ L 336, 23.12.1994, p. 1. (4) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31. Directive amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1). (5) OJ L 13, 19.1.2000, p. 12. (6) OJ L 178, 17.7.2000, p. 1. (7) OJ L 122, 17.5.1991, p. 42. Directive amended by Directive 93/98 / EEC of (OJ L 290, 24.11.1993, p. 9). (8) OJ L 167, 22.6.2001, p. 10. |
