由國際發展趨勢檢討我國著作權法上表演之保護制度—以財產權為中心

Abstract

我國著作權法就既有著作與民俗創作之表演以獨立之著作保護，由於以羅馬公約為主要架構之國際鄰接權條約以著作鄰接權之概念架構表演人之權利內容，我國不採鄰接權法制，卻實質限縮保護內容，遂於解釋上面臨是否應以原創性檢驗其著作適格、標準為何之困擾。為了尋求合理的保護架構，本文爬梳國際條約就著作權鄰接權之發展脈絡、介紹歐盟及美國分別立於著作人法系及著作權人法系觀點所為之立法政策與法制建構與個別國家就表演於著作權法制上保護之具體實踐，並由德國、美國與我國就表演人保護規定之要件分析，探尋表演於著作權法制下之保護核心論述，佐以新興著作權保護客體於比較法案例上就原創性之討論，提出我國法可能採行的兩種解釋路徑，一為在現行著作權保護架構下降低表演之原創性標準，二為採取鄰接權概念建立層級化的保護架構，廣泛納入以藝術性、唯一性為表演之保護門檻，並向具備著作創作高度之表演提供著作地位之保護，最後參考歐盟以法律介入著作權契約之公平報酬請求權機制提出我國未來立法建議。

The Copyright Act of Taiwan protects pre-existing works and folklore performances as independent works. Building upon the framework established by the Rome Convention, subsequent international treaties have viewed performers’ rights in the context of neighboring rights. The concept of neighboring rights are absent in Taiwan’s Copyright Act, which nevertheless limits the scope of its protections, resulting in frequent uncertainty as to how and to what extent originality applies to a work, and which protections are thereto afforded. The present thesis delineates the context and development of copyright and neighboring right in international treaties, and the respective protections offered to performances in the EU’s authors’ rights system and the US’s copyright system. In assessing the concept of protection of performances within the copyright system, we compare the criteria for legal protection afforded to performers as defined in Germany, the US, and Taiwan, and discuss to what extent originality plays a part in comparative studies of objects of copyright protection. Finally, we propose two possible paths for the current legal system in Taiwan: first, the benchmark for determining originality under current copyright protections could be lowered; second, a multi-level protective framework based on the concept of neighboring rights could be considered, under which artistic merit and uniqueness may serve as criteria for protection, and thus performances which may be considered creative works in their own right can be offered protection as substantive, individual works. The EU’s legal framework concerning contracted copyright usage is taken into consideration, offering a final insight into future possibilities for legislation in Taiwan.