Nizsalovszky Endre elemzése Balás P. Elemér szerzői jogi javaslatáról

Absztrakt

Elemér P. Balás was one of the most important lawyers of the period between the two world wars. The highlight of his work in copyright law was his copyright bill of 1933. The proposal came to the fore when it was published in the post-1945 reform of private law and became known to all. It is known from archival sources that József Kerekesházy, the official in charge of copyright codification at the Ministry of Religion and Public Education, asked professor Endre Nizsalovszky to analyse the proposal. Nizsalovszky’s analysis has survived. The aim of this study is not only to give a general overview of Balás's proposal, but also to discuss some of the issues, such as personal rights, the inheritance of copyright and radio broadcasting, in the light of Endre Nizsalovszky's critical essay. Many of Nizsalovszky's observations are correct, since the proposal puts down its vote in favour of a particular theory of personality, introduces copyright concepts and copyright institutions in a way that has not been the subject of a professional debate, or rather could not have been the subject of a professional debate. It can equally be said that Balás wanted to regulate all copyright-related issues in one law, rather than in their own place (criminal code, procedural law, press law etc.). Therefore, his proposal, as we have tried to illustrate in the paper, is in many places chaotic and raises almost as many questions as it settles previous debates. In Balás's defence, unfortunately, the professional debate in the 1930s and 1940s was also stalled, partly because of the death of Elemér P. Balás in December 1947, and partly because of the passing of the ‘civil era’ A debate would have been very good for Balás’s bill. The debates would have clarified its terminology and would have eliminated non-copyright provisions. In any case, it is to Balás's credit that he has put one possible solution on the table. His proposal contains a great many forward-looking rules, such as the protection of performers, the right of resale and the guarantee of paying public domain. His legacy lives with us, as some of the points of his proposal, almost in verbatim, live on in the copyright law in force today. And it is also true that there are some issues raised by Balás and Endre Nizsalovszky that have not been addressed by legislation to date and that life will have to decide. But perhaps it is just as well that the legislator does not have to regulate everything.