Article 40: Programs Created by Employees

The economic right in a computer program created by an employee in the execution of the employment contract or following instructions given by his employer shall be transferred ipso jure to the employer, unless otherwise provided by contract.

Article 41: Exhaustion of a Right

The first sale in the European Community of a copy of a program by the author or with his consent shall exhaust the distribution right within the Community of that copy, with the exception of the right to control further rental of the program or of a copy thereof.

Article 42: Restrictions

(1) In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the reproduction, translation, adaptation, arrangement or any other alteration of a computer program shall not require authorization by the author or necessitate payment of a fee, where the said acts are necessary for the use of the program by the lawful acquirer in accordance with its intended purpose, including correction of errors.

(2) Reproduction which is necessary for the purposes of loading, displaying, running, or storage of the computer program shall not fall under the restriction of the previous paragraph and shall be subject to authorization by the author.

(3) The making of a backup copy by a person having a right to use the computer program may not be prevented by contract insofar as it is necessary for the use of the program, and shall not necessitate an authorization by the author or the payment of a fee.

(4) The person having a right to use a copy of a computer program shall be entitled, without the authorization of the author and without payment of a fee, to observe, study or test the functioning of the program in order to determine the ideas and principles which underlie any element of the program, if he does so while performing any of the acts, which he is entitled to do. Any agreement to the contrary shall be prohibited.

(5) Reproduction of a computer program for private use other than in the circumstances specified in paragraphs (3) and (4), above, shall be prohibited.

Article 43: Decompilation

(1) The person having the right to use a copy of a computer program shall be entitled to carry out the acts referred to in Article 42(1) and (2) without the authorization of the author and without the payment of a fee when such acts are indispensable to obtain the information necessary to achieve the interoperability of an independently created computer program with other programs, provided that the information necessary to achieve interoperability has not previously been easily and readily available to the person having the right to use the computer program, and provided that these acts are confined to the parts of the original program which are necessary to achieve the said interoperability.

(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not permit the information obtained through its application:
a) to be used for goals other than to achieve the interoperability of the independently created computer program
b) to be given to others, except when necessary for the interoperability of the independently created computer program or
c) to be used for the development, production or marketing of a computer program substantially similar in its expression to the initial program, or for any other act which infringes copyright
(3) The provisions of this Article may not be interpreted in such a way as to allow its application to be used in a manner which would conflict with a normal exploitation of the computer program or would unreasonably prejudice the author’s legitimate interests.

Article 44

Art. 44 has been abolished by article 8 par. 8 of Law 2557/1997.

Article 45: Validity of Other Provisions and Agreement

(1) The provisions of this Section shall be without prejudice to other legal provisions, relating notably to patent rights, trade marks, unfair competition, trade secrets, protection of semi-conductor products or the law of contract.

(2) Agreements contrary to the provisions of Article 42(3) and (4) and Article 43 of this Law shall be null and void.

Article 45A: Sui Generis Right of the Maker of the Database

(1) The maker of a database has the right, which shows that there has been qualitatively and/or quantitatively a substantial investment in either the obtaining, verification or presentation of the contents, to prevent extraction and/or re-utilization of the whole or of a substantial part, evaluated qualitatively and/or quantitatively, of the contents of that database. The maker of a database is the individual or legal entity who takes the initiative and bears the risk of investment. The database contractor is not considered as maker.

(2) For the purposes of this article: a) extraction shall mean the permanent or temporary transfer of all or a substantial part of the contents of a database to another medium by any means or in any form, and b) re-utilization shall mean any form of making available to the public all or a substantial part of the contents of a database by the distribution of copies, by renting, by on-line or other forms of transmission. The first sale of a copy of a database within the Community by the rightholder or with his consent shall exhaust the right to control resale of that copy within the Community.

Public lending is not an act of extraction or re-utilization.

(3) The right referred to in paragraph 1 is effective regardless of whether the said database or the content thereof are protected by the provisions on copyright or other provisions. Protection on the basis of the right referred to in paragraph 1 does not prejudice potential rights on their content. The sui generis right of the maker of a database may be transferred with or without consideration and its exploitation may be assigned by license or contract (article 7 par.3 and 4 of Directive 98/9).

(4) The repeated and systematic extraction and/or re-utilization of immaterial parts of the content of the database are not allowed, if they involve actions opposed to the normal exploitation of the database or unjustifiably prejudice the lawful rights of the maker of the database (article 7, par.5 of Directive 96/9).

(5) The maker of a database made available to the public by any means cannot prevent the lawful utilization of the database from extracting and/or re-using immaterial parts of its content, being evaluated qualitatively or quantitatively, for any purpose whatsoever. If the lawful user is entitled to extract and/or re-utilize part only of the database, the present paragraph is applicable only to such part. The lawful user of a database made available to the public by any means cannot: a) perform acts that are opposed to the normal exploitation of such database or unjustifiably prejudice the lawful interests of the maker thereof, b) cause damage to the beneficiaries of the copyright or related rights for works or performances contained in the said database. Any agreements contrary to the arrangements provided for in the present paragraph are null and void (articles 8 and 15 of Directive 96/9).

(6) The lawful user of a database made available to the public by any means may, without the permission of the maker of the database, extract and/or re-utilize a material part of its content: a) when the extraction is made for educational or research purposes, provided that the source is quoted, and to the extent that it is justified by the non commercial purpose pursued, b) when the extraction and/or re-utilization is made for reasons of public safety or for purposes of administrative or judicial procedure. The sui generis right is effective for databases whose makers or beneficiaries are citizens of a member-state or have their usual residence on Community territory. It is also applicable to companies and firms established in accordance with the legislation of a member-state, whose registered offices, central administration or main establishment are located within the Community. When the specific company or firm has only its registered office in the territory of the Community, its operations must be genuinely linked on an ongoing basis with the economy of a member-state.