What can be expected of Hungarian copyright in 2014?

Abstract

The constant development of social life in Hungary has recently brought about new challenges in the field of copyright. During 2013 and 2014 a number of new legal regulations were passed by the Hungarian Parliament that will have a significant effect upon this field of law in the near future. The article introduces the most significant achievements of legislators, including the implementation of the European Orphan Works Directive, the acceptance of the medium-term strategic plan of the Government on intellectual property rights (the so-called Jedlik Plan), as well as the new Criminal Code, that partially reset the frames of punishing crimes connected to copyright and related rights. The latter reform resulted in the decriminalisation of file-sharers having caused a monetary loss to right holders in a value less than half million forints. Finally, the article also discusses the most recent two amendments to the Copyright Act that resulted in several changes in other legal regulations. (These legal regulations are metaphorically called “salad laws”.) The author expresses his concerns about the dogmatic correctness of many of the reforms, and stresses that they will have a moderate effect upon the legal system in 2014.