According to Boing Boing, the Portuguese Socialist Party, along with the Portuguese Society of Artists, are promoting a new law that is supposed to protect authors rights. In the process it invalidates Creative Commons licenses. The article says that it is unclear whether this is deliberate or a mistake.
Here’s what the law says:
Article 3, point 1 – The authors have the right to the perception of a compensation equitable for the reproduction of written works, in paper or similar support, for instance microfilm, photocopy, digitalization or other processes of similar nature.
[…]
Article 5 (Inalienability and non-renunciability) – The equitable compensation of authors, artists, interpreters or executives is inalienable and non-renunciable, being null any other contractual clause in contrary.
Article 5, therefor, invalidates any Creative Commons license that says that the user is free to share the work on a royalty-free basis.
Couldn’t you argue that a CC “share free” license is a declaration that you consider “equitable compensation” to be “none at all”?
authors have the right to the perception of a compensation equitable for the reproduction of written works
Heh. Does that mean they can sue publishers for not selling enough copies? For not increasing the price of their books after they win an award?
I’m not sure what “is inalienable and non-renunciable, being null any other contractual clause in contrary” means. Does that mean a contract can void these rights? In which case, a CC license is valid.