Copyright and Intellectual Property

Legal Framework: the Intellectual Property Act

Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996 approves the Consolidated Text of the Intellectual Property Act (LPI). It protects original creations expressed in any medium, tangible or intangible.

Protected Works

The LPI protects literary works, musical compositions, audiovisual works, visual arts, computer programs, and databases, among others.

Not protected: Ideas, procedures, methods, mathematical concepts or facts. Protection covers the form of expression, not the content itself.

Moral Rights vs Economic Rights

Moral rights (Art. 14 LPI)

These are inalienable and non-waivable. They always belong to the author: attribution (right to be recognized as author), integrity (right to prevent distortions), disclosure, withdrawal, and access to the unique copy.

Economic rights (exploitation rights)

These are transferable by contract: reproduction, distribution, public communication (including streaming), and transformation (translation, adaptation).

Duration of Protection

• General rule: Author's life plus 70 years after death (Art. 26 LPI).
• Anonymous or pseudonymous works: 70 years from disclosure.
• Joint works: 70 years from the death of the last co-author.

After expiry, the work enters the public domain: anyone may reproduce, distribute and transform it, while respecting moral rights of attribution and integrity.

Exceptions and Limitations (Art. 31-40 bis LPI)

Key exceptions for professional practice: private copying (Art. 31.2, compensated via the "digital levy"), citation and illustration for teaching or research (Art. 32), and parody (Art. 39).

Plagiarism vs Inspiration

Plagiarism means appropriating original elements of another's work without authorization or acknowledgment. Courts analyze whether there is substantial similarity between both works. Genres, themes and general ideas are not protected; only the concrete, original expression.

Creative Commons

Creative Commons (CC) licenses allow authors to authorize certain uses while retaining other rights. Combinable conditions: BY (Attribution), SA (ShareAlike), NC (NonCommercial), ND (NoDerivatives). These licenses are valid and binding in Spain under the LPI.