European Union Legal Research--Start
Let’s assume that you are particularly interested in the question of the legal protection of computer programs. How do you begin? If you are lucky someone else has already had that same question and has at least begun the research for you. As the first rule of research is "Don’t repeat work that someone else has already done," try to locate a good book or article already on this subject that you can use as a springboard for you research. Three good places to look for a good article are:1. Legal Trac on HOLLIS [Also available on Westlaw (LRI) and on Lexis (LAWREV;LGLIND)] for articles from mainly Anglo-American journals.
2. European Legal Journals Index [ILS RR KJC 37.E97 in paper and electronically on CD-ROM in the ILS RR and on Westlaw (LJI-INDX)] is an excellent index for EU information as it covers a large number of English language journals not indexed in Legal Trac which have a particular emphasis on EU law, particularly from the European perspective.
3. SCAD, a multilingual database with abstracts in the language of the original work, is one of the best sources for citations to periodical articles on the EU. It indexes the Official Journal, both L and C parts, approximately 15,000 journals received at the Commission and the Court libraries along with other official publications of the Community. SCAD is available on the Web at http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/scad_en.htm.
You may select any of the official languages for searching.
By consulting these
sources you will find a number of excellent starting points:
From Legal Trac:
Dreier, Thomas. "The Council Directive of 14 May 1991 on the legal
protection of computer programs. (European Community)" EIPR:
European Intellectual Property Review Sept 1991, v.13, n9, 319-330.
Platton, Guy. "The Council Directive on the Legal Protection of
Computer Programs: an unsatisfactory balance of competing interests.
(European Communities)" American University Journal of
International Law and Policy Wntr1992, v.7, n2, 235-288.
From European Legal Journals Index:
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 91/250 ON THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS
Council Directive of 14 May 1991 on the legal protection of computer
programs (91/250/EEC). (Commentary and text). Mark Powell C.L.S.R. 1994,
10(2), Supp 2-13.
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 91/250 ON THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS
EC competition law and software IPRs. (Impact of Software Directive and
effect on application of competition rules to intellectual property
rights). Matteo Bay. C.L. & P. 1993, 9(5) 176-193.
From SCAD:
AU: Dixon, Allen N.; Self, Laurie C.
TI: Copyright Protection for the Information Superhighway.
SO: (EUROPEAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REVIEW. London. Vol. 16. No. 11.
November 1994. p. 465-472.)
AB: This article reviews the technical features of the emerging
information infrastructure and describes the critical junctures of the
so-called "information superhighway" for purposes of copyright
law: the creation of intellectual property and the upload, transmission,
access and use of content. It shows that existing legislation,
particularly the EC Software Directive (Directive 91/250/EEC, OJ L122/42,
14 May 1991), already covers the copyright issues that will arise as
computer programs become part of the content of the information
infrastructure. The Directive will also serve as a useful model for other
industries as they become digitized. The paper also sets forth a statement
of principles that should guide copyright protection in the context of
information infrastructure.
AU: Cohler, Charles B. ; Pearson, Hilary E.
TI: Software Interfaces, Intellectual Property and Competition Policy.
SO: (EUROPEAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REVIEW. Oxford. Vol. 16. No. 10.
October 1994. p. 434-440.)
AB: This paper addresses, in the context of intellectual property
protection, the question whether interface information, that is,
information required to permit separate products to function together in
their intended way, must be provided by one competitor to another, thus
giving rise to a specific instance requiring reconciliation of
intellectual property and competition policy doctrines. It recalls the
issues raised by the technological evolution regarding the relationship
between different parts of a computer system. Next, it examines some
recent development in this area: the relevant aspects of the Software
Protection Directive 91/250 (OJ 1991 L122/42) and of the Draft Database
Directive (COM (93)464 final), the Magill Decision of the European Court
of First Instance, a Commission Communication on Intellectual Property and
Standards (COM (92)445 final), the European Telecommunications Standards
Institute (ETSI)'s policy draft on intellectual property and standards,
and recent US case law.
Incidentally, SCAD and ELJI produced a far greater number of relevant
article citations than did Legal Trac on HOLLIS.
Updating
Your Research
Once you have mined
the footnotes of a few good articles on the subject, you will want to
update your information. Both Lexis and Westlaw have useful database
files.
Spicers database on Westlaw (SpicersEU) is a useful resource for a
researcher. This abstracting service indexes and cross-references a large
body of materials including all official documents originating from the
Commission and other Community institutions as well as many official and
quasi-official news releases and press sources covering all EU affairs.
Perhaps the best publication to track the most recent development in the
EU is Bulletin Quotidien Europe. It is certainly the
publication everybody seems to read most assiduously in Brussels and is
commonly referred to as "Agence Europe". It is a daily current
awareness bulletin which is usually 18-20 pages long. It includes news of
internal institutional developments, political events and articles about
such topics as the Single Market, economic and competition issues, trade;
these articles are very good for tracking proposed legislation. "Agence
Europe" has several other useful features, in particular the Europe
Documents section which may give texts of proposed legislation. This
newsletter was one of the earliest sources for the text of the Maastricht
Treaty. The European Library section provides full bibliographic
information and brief summaries of recent publications which are very
timely and useful. The Bulletin Quotidien Europe is available in
the Library at ILS D 1050.E97.
European Report, which is published twice a week by the European
Information Service, is another timely source of information on such
topics as EU policy, proposed and adopted legislation, important court
decisions, funding and initiatives of general European interest and EU
relations with third countries. This is also available on Lexis in the
NEWS library and the file is EURRPT.
Another tool that a researcher should consult is the EP's Legislative
Observatory. This database was developed to follow all
official documents (Proposals, Recommendations, Communications)
transmitted by the Commission to the other EU institutions (Council and
Parliament). This will be discussed further in a subsequent
section.
European
Integration Current Contents (http://www.jeanmonnetprogram.org)
is a very efficient way to see the latest articles published in the field
of European Union law. The European Integration Current Contents
Service provides access to the tables of contents, sometimes also
abstracts, of journals relevant in European Integration research.
Currently it covers more than 104 journals published in nine languages and
14 countries and is updated on a biweekly basis.
Other Resources
People Resources
Finally, never forget that often a researcher’s best source of
information is the telephone. It is best to do at least some of the
preliminary research so that your questions are better informed and as
specific as you can make them. People generally respond better if they
think you have tried to help yourself first. There are several
organizations that provide assistance in gathering information and doing
research.
The European Union Office of Press and Public Affairs can be helpful. They
have a comprehensive EU library and the staff is very knowledgeable.
Unfortunately, although the demand for information on the EU has grown
immensely in the last few years the number of staff members in this office
have not increased commensurately. It is sometimes very difficult to get
through to them; their phones are always busy. They will be much more
helpful if you have tried to explore other sources before you call them.
They should be called only as a last resort. The Information
Center
(http://eurunion.org/) is part of the
Delegation of the European Union
2300 M St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
(phone: 202-862-9500).
In New York there is the
European Union Information Services Office at
l Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
245 E. 47th St.
New York, NY 10017
(phone: 212-371-3804).
The U.S. Department of Commerce has an office whose responsibility is to provide Americans with various aspects of EU information. They will provide information on standards, testing and certification, EU tariffs and trade information. They can be contacted at the
Office of the European Community Affairs,
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 3034
14th and Constitution, NW
Washington, DC 20037
(phone: 202-482-5276).
The Department also
has international trade experts on particular industries who can answer
specific questions.
The United States Mission to the European Union, 40 Boulevard du Regent,
Brussels, Belgium 1000, Tel. 32-2-523-4450; FAX 32-2-511-2092 have
knowledgeable staff who can be helpful as well.
Directories
Occasionally, the information you may need is so specific or recent that
the regularly disseminated documents are of little help. In this case,
contacting a particular EU office or official can be the best way to
obtain the required information. The following are directories of EU
politicians and personnel which will be useful in tracking down the names
and addresses you need.
European Companion. London: Dod’s Pub. and Research Ltd., This annual
directory includes biographies with photographs of leading EU politicians
and personnel, as well as the structure, function and role of the main
institutions. The section on the European Parliament contains an
alphabetical list of the MEP’s, their nationality, political group,
political party and committee membership. Addresses, telephone, telex and
fax. numbers are given for each office. In addition to the list of
abbreviations, the index is very useful. [ILS REF DESK HC 2412.D62]
European Union Encyclopedia and Directory. London: Europa Publications.
The first quarter of this annual is devoted to a very concise encyclopedic
treatment of institutions, important personages in the development and
history of the EU, and commonly used acronyms and terms. An overview is
given of the political, legal, economic, and social framework of the EU
along with a survey of the external affairs of the Communities.
Demographic, agricultural, industrial, trade and financial statistics of
the EU follow. The directory gives information on principle officers of
the Communities’ institutions along with addresses, and telephone, telex
and fax numbers. [ILS RR HC 241.2.E83]
Directory of the European Commission. Luxembourg: OOP. Although there is
little in the way of explanation of the various parts of the Commission,
it is excellent in that it is updated three times per year. Also, there is
an alphabetical index of the Commission’s personnel. [ILS RR HC241.2.A1
D57]
Who's Who in the
European Union: Interinstitutional
Directory. Luxembourg: OOP. Published biannually, this
directory gives detailed information on each body of the EU along with
lists of members of the EP and the principle officers of the other
institutions. [ILS RR JN 27.I57]
Libraries
The EU supports a system of over fifty depository libraries in the U.S.
which receive all but its scientific and technical reports. Most of these
libraries will supply reference assistance. Many of them have access to at
least some of the official databases of the EU. Some of these libraries
will do on-line searching for you. They are not required to do so under
the depository agreement, so don’t expect on-line searching as a right.
The EU also supports a system of information offices throughout the member
countries of the EU. They are staffed by well trained information
officers. Please see Appendix C of this guide for a complete list.
If you want to purchase official EU documents, the sales agent in the
United States for the EU is
Bernan Associates
4611-F Assembly Drive
Lanham, MD 20706
Tel. (1-800) 274 44 47 (toll-free telephone)
Fax (1-800) 865-3450 (toll-free fax)
E-mail: query@bernan.com
URL: http://www.bernan.com.