Belgium

Loi du 22 mars 1886 sur le droit d'auteur

Baseline · Effective 1990-01-01

0%

Relevant section: Art. 13, Art. 21-22

Dates: Effective 1990-01-01 · Enacted 1886-03-22

Why this score

The 1886 Belgian Copyright Act (Loi du 22 mars 1886 sur le droit d'auteur) was the copyright statute in force on 1990-01-01. This law contained very limited exceptions. Art. 13 permitted short quotations ('citations') for purposes of criticism, polemic, teaching, or scientific works, provided the source was indicated. Art. 21 permitted reproduction of articles from newspapers/periodicals unless reproduction was expressly reserved. Art. 22 addressed speeches delivered in public assemblies. There was no general private-use exception permitting full-work reproduction, no fair dealing or fair use clause, and no institutional copying exception for research. The quotation exception (Art. 13) was limited to short excerpts ('passages') and did not permit reproduction of full works. The newspaper article exception (Art. 21) was limited to press articles and was not a research exception per se. Under the three analytical dimensions: Uses — only quotation (short excerpts); Works — all works but only short passages; Users — any user but only for quotation. No provision permitted full-work reproduction for research. Classification-neutral factors (non-commercial restriction, remuneration) were not considered in the color assignment.

Exceptions considered

Loi relative au droit d'auteur et aux droits voisins du 30 juin 1994

Relevant update · Effective 1994-08-01

20%

Relevant section: Art. 22, §1, 4° et 4°bis; Art. 22, §1, 5°; Art. 23; Art. 22bis

Dates: Effective 1994-08-01 · Enacted 1994-06-30

Why this score

The 1994 Act introduced a comprehensive set of copyright exceptions. The most permissive research-relevant exception is Art. 22, §1, 4° which permits reproduction for illustration of teaching or scientific research. However, this exception only permits 'integral reproduction' of articles and works of visual art ('oeuvres plastiques'), while for all other works it is limited to 'short fragments' ('courts fragments'). This means full-work reproduction is available for some categories of works (articles, visual art) but not for others (books, musical works, etc.), which maps to ORANGE. Art. 22, §1, 5° permits communication/making available for teaching or scientific research illustration, but this is for 'works' generally — however, the reproduction right (the more fundamental right for research copying) is limited as described. The private copy exception (Art. 22, §1, 4°bis) only covers sound and audiovisual works within the family circle. Art. 23 provided a broader private reproduction exception but was limited to short fragments for other purposes. The research exception (Art. 22, §1, 4°) is the most permissive for research use but restricts full-work reproduction to articles and visual art only. Uses: reproduction and communication are both covered for research. Works: full works only for articles and visual art; short fragments for other works. Users: any user (non-profit purpose). Classification-neutral factors (non-commercial restriction, remuneration) were not factored into the color.

Exceptions considered

Original text

Art. 22. § 1er. Lorsque l'oeuvre a été licitement publiée, l'auteur ne peut interdire : (...) 4° la reproduction fragmentaire ou intégrale d'articles ou d'oeuvres plastiques, ou de courts fragments d'autres oeuvres, lorsque cette reproduction est effectuée à des fins d'illustration de l'enseignement ou de recherche scientifique dans la mesure justifiée par le but non lucratif poursuivi et ne porte pas préjudice à l'exploitation normale de l'oeuvre; (...) 5° la communication, y compris la mise à disposition du public de manière que chacun puisse y avoir accès de l'endroit et au moment qu'il choisit individuellement, d'oeuvres à des fins d'illustration de l'enseignement ou de recherche scientifique, dans la mesure justifiée par le but non lucratif poursuivi et dans la mesure où cela est justifié par l'acte de communication visé et ne porte pas préjudice à l'exploitation normale de l'oeuvre; (...) Art. 22. § 1er. (...) 4°bis la reproduction d'oeuvres sonores et audiovisuelles effectuée dans le cercle de famille et réservée à celui-ci;

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: Art. 22. §1. When the work has been lawfully published, the author may not prohibit: (...) 4° the fragmentary or integral reproduction of articles or works of visual art, or short fragments of other works, when such reproduction is carried out for the purpose of illustration for teaching or scientific research, to the extent justified by the non-profit purpose pursued and does not prejudice the normal exploitation of the work; (...) 5° the communication, including making available to the public so that each person may access it from a place and at a time individually chosen, of works for the purpose of illustration for teaching or scientific research, to the extent justified by the non-profit purpose pursued and to the extent justified by the act of communication and does not prejudice the normal exploitation of the work; (...) 4°bis the reproduction of sound and audiovisual works made within the family circle and reserved for it;

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Loi du 22 mai 2005 transposant en droit belge la Directive européenne 2001/29/CE du 22 mai 2001 sur l'harmonisation de certains aspects du droit d'auteur et des droits voisins dans la société de l'information

Relevant update · Effective 2005-06-02

20%

Relevant section: Art. 22, §1, 4°, 4°bis, 5°; Art. 22, §1, 9°; Art. 23bis

Dates: Effective 2005-06-02 · Enacted 2005-05-22

Why this score

The 2005 Act transposed the EU InfoSoc Directive (2001/29/EC) into Belgian law, amending the 1994 Copyright Act. The research exception in Art. 22, §1, 4° was maintained with the same structure: full reproduction permitted for articles and visual art works, but only short fragments for other works. The private copy exception was broadened from sound/audiovisual works to all works (Art. 22, §1, 9°), but it remains limited to the family circle. A new library/archive exception (Art. 23bis) was introduced allowing consultation on dedicated terminals on premises. The overall classification remains ORANGE because the most permissive research exception (Art. 22, §1, 4°) still permits full-work reproduction only for articles and visual art, with short fragments for other works. Uses: reproduction and communication covered. Works: full works for articles and visual art only. Users: any user for non-profit purpose. The private copy exception (Art. 22, §1, 9°) now covers all works but is restricted to the family circle (LIGHT BLUE at best). Classification-neutral factors not considered.

Exceptions considered

Original text

Art. 22. § 1er. Lorsque l'oeuvre a été licitement publiée, l'auteur ne peut interdire : (...) 4° la reproduction fragmentaire ou intégrale d'articles ou d'oeuvres plastiques, ou de courts fragments d'autres oeuvres lorsque cette reproduction est effectuée à des fins d'illustration de l'enseignement ou de recherche scientifique dans la mesure justifiée par le but non lucratif poursuivi et ne porte pas préjudice à l'exploitation normale de l'oeuvre; (...) 9° la reproduction d'oeuvres, effectuée dans le cercle de famille et réservée à celui-ci;

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: Art. 22. §1. When the work has been lawfully published, the author may not prohibit: (...) 4° the fragmentary or integral reproduction of articles or works of visual art, or short fragments of other works, when such reproduction is carried out for the purpose of illustration for teaching or scientific research, to the extent justified by the non-profit purpose pursued and does not prejudice the normal exploitation of the work; (...) 9° the reproduction of works, made within the family circle and reserved for it;

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Loi du 19 avril 2014 portant insertion du livre XI 'Propriété intellectuelle' dans le Code de droit économique

Relevant update · Effective 2014-09-22

20%

Relevant section: Art. XI.190, 5°, 9°, 12°, 13°, 14°; Art. XI.189, §1

Dates: Effective 2014-09-22 · Enacted 2014-04-19

Why this score

The 2014 Act inserted the copyright provisions into Book XI of the Code of Economic Law (Code de droit économique / Wetboek van economisch recht). This was primarily a codification exercise — the substantive exceptions were carried over from the 1994 Act as amended. The research exception (now Art. XI.190, 5°) retains the same structure: full reproduction of articles and visual art works, short fragments of other works, for illustration of teaching or scientific research. The private copy exception (Art. XI.190, 9°) covers all works but within the family circle. The library terminal exception (Art. XI.190, 13°) permits reproduction and communication on dedicated terminals on premises only. The communication exception for research (Art. XI.190, 12°) covers works generally. Overall classification remains ORANGE: full-work reproduction is permitted for articles and visual art but not for other categories of works. Classification-neutral factors not considered.

Exceptions considered

Original text

Art. XI.190. Lorsque l'oeuvre a été licitement publiée, l'auteur ne peut interdire : (...) 5° la reproduction fragmentaire ou intégrale d'articles ou d'oeuvres d'art plastique, ou de courts fragments d'autres oeuvres lorsque cette reproduction est effectuée à des fins d'illustration de l'enseignement ou de recherche scientifique dans la mesure justifiée par le but non lucratif poursuivi et ne porte pas préjudice à l'exploitation normale de l'oeuvre; (...) 9° la reproduction d'oeuvres, effectuée dans le cercle de famille et réservée à celui-ci; (...) 12° la communication, y compris la mise à disposition du public de manière que chacun puisse y avoir accès de l'endroit et au moment qu'il choisit individuellement, d'oeuvres à des fins d'illustration de l'enseignement ou de recherche scientifique, dans la mesure justifiée par le but non lucratif poursuivi et dans la mesure où cela est justifié par l'acte de communication visé et ne porte pas préjudice à l'exploitation normale de l'oeuvre; (...) 13° la reproduction et la communication au public d'oeuvres, par des bibliothèques accessibles au public, des musées ou des archives qui ne recherchent aucun avantage commercial ou économique, à condition que cela soit effectué au moyen de terminaux spécialisés, dans les locaux de ces établissements et que ces oeuvres figurent dans leurs collections;

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: Art. XI.190. When the work has been lawfully published, the author may not prohibit: (...) 5° the fragmentary or integral reproduction of articles or works of visual art, or short fragments of other works, when such reproduction is carried out for the purpose of illustration for teaching or scientific research, to the extent justified by the non-profit purpose pursued and does not prejudice the normal exploitation of the work; (...) 9° the reproduction of works, made within the family circle and reserved for it; (...) 12° the communication, including making available to the public so that each person may access it from a place and at a time individually chosen, of works for the purpose of illustration for teaching or scientific research, to the extent justified by the non-profit purpose pursued and to the extent justified by the act of communication and does not prejudice the normal exploitation of the work; (...) 13° the reproduction and communication to the public of works, by publicly accessible libraries, museums or archives that do not seek any commercial or economic advantage, provided that this is done by means of dedicated terminals, on the premises of those establishments and that those works are part of their collections;

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Loi du 19 juin 2022 transposant la directive (UE) 2019/790 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 17 avril 2019 sur le droit d'auteur et les droits voisins dans le marché unique numérique et modifiant les directives 96/9/CE et 2001/29/CE

Relevant update · Effective 2022-08-01

20%

Relevant section: Art. XI.190, 20°; Art. XI.191/1, §1, 7°; Art. XI.190, 5° and 12°

Dates: Effective 2022-08-01 · Enacted 2022-06-19

Why this score

The 2022 Act transposed the EU DSM Directive (2019/790) into Belgian law, introducing two new TDM exceptions. Art. XI.190, 20° provides a general TDM exception for any user with lawful access, covering reproduction and extraction, but subject to rightholders' opt-out reservation. Art. XI.191/1, §1, 7° provides a TDM exception specifically for research organisations and cultural heritage institutions for scientific research purposes, without opt-out. Both TDM exceptions cover 'reproduction and extraction' but do NOT explicitly cover communication/sharing/making available of the results or copies. The general TDM exception (Art. XI.190, 20°) is open to any user and any work, covering reproduction — this would be BLUE (reproduction of full works, any user, any work, but no sharing). However, the pre-existing research exception (Art. XI.190, 5°) still permits full reproduction only of articles and visual art (ORANGE), and the communication exception (Art. XI.190, 12°) covers communication for research but is separate. Evaluating the most permissive exception overall: the new general TDM exception (Art. XI.190, 20°) permits reproduction of full works of any type by any user — this is BLUE. But the pre-existing Art. XI.190, 5° combined with Art. XI.190, 12° covers both reproduction (limited to articles/visual art for full works) and communication. The TDM exception is broader on works (all works) and users (any user) but narrower on uses (reproduction only, no communication). The most permissive single exception for research copying is the general TDM exception (Art. XI.190, 20°) which permits reproduction of full works of any type by any user — BLUE. However, considering the opt-out mechanism in Art. XI.190, 20°, the research-specific TDM exception (Art. XI.191/1, §1, 7°) has no opt-out but is limited to research organisations (PURPLE for user restriction). The general TDM exception with opt-out still permits reproduction of full works by any user — the opt-out is a classification-neutral factor analogous to lawful access requirements. Actually, the opt-out mechanism is NOT classification-neutral — it means rightholders can effectively exclude their works, which could limit the scope. However, the exception still exists and permits reproduction of full works when not opted out. On balance, the most permissive exception is Art. XI.190, 20° (general TDM): reproduction of full works, any type, any user, but no sharing = BLUE. But the pre-existing Art. XI.190, 5° remains ORANGE for the reproduction dimension of the research exception. Since BLUE is more permissive than ORANGE, the overall classification should be BLUE. However, re-examining: the opt-out in Art. XI.190, 20° is a substantive limitation that allows rightholders to reserve their rights — this is different from a lawful-access requirement. It effectively means the exception does not apply to works where rights are reserved. This is more akin to a work-type restriction in practice. Nevertheless, the statutory text does not exclude any category of works — it applies to all works unless individually opted out. The color should reflect the face of the statute. On the face of the statute, Art. XI.190, 20° covers reproduction of all works by any user = BLUE. Combined with Art. XI.190, 12° which covers communication for research = the overall picture includes both reproduction (via TDM for all works) and communication (via research exception for all works). This combination could yield GREEN. But Art. XI.190, 12° is limited to 'illustration of teaching or scientific research' and the TDM exception is for 'text and data mining' — these are different purposes. For a researcher doing TDM, they can reproduce full works (Art. XI.190, 20°) but cannot share/communicate the copies under that same exception. For a researcher doing traditional research, they can reproduce full articles/visual art and short fragments of others (Art. XI.190, 5°) and communicate works for research illustration (Art. XI.190, 12°). The most permissive single exception remains Art. XI.190, 20° for reproduction breadth = BLUE. But since the pre-existing research communication exception (Art. XI.190, 12°) also exists and covers communication of works for research, and the TDM exception covers reproduction of all works, the combined effect is that a researcher can reproduce any work (via TDM) and communicate works for research illustration. However, the communication exception has the articles/visual art limitation only for reproduction, not for communication — Art. XI.190, 12° covers communication of 'works' generally. So combining: reproduction of all works (TDM) + communication of all works (research illustration) = GREEN? No — these are different exceptions with different scopes and purposes. The TDM reproduction exception and the research communication exception serve different functions. For the color classification, I should identify the single most permissive exception. Art. XI.190, 20° = BLUE (reproduction only, all works, all users). Art. XI.190, 12° = covers communication for research but not reproduction of full works of all types. The most permissive single exception is BLUE (Art. XI.190, 20°). Final classification: BLUE.

Exceptions considered

Original text

Art. XI.190. (...) 20° la reproduction et l'extraction d'oeuvres auxquelles l'utilisateur a un accès licite, aux fins de la fouille de textes et de données, à condition que l'utilisation des oeuvres n'ait pas été expressément réservée par les titulaires de droits de manière appropriée, notamment par des procédés lisibles par machine pour le contenu mis à disposition du public en ligne; Art. XI.191/1. § 1er. (...) 7° la reproduction et l'extraction d'oeuvres auxquelles les organismes de recherche et les institutions du patrimoine culturel ont un accès licite, aux fins de la fouille de textes et de données effectuée à des fins de recherche scientifique;

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: Art. XI.190. (...) 20° the reproduction and extraction of works to which the user has lawful access, for the purposes of text and data mining, provided that the use of the works has not been expressly reserved by the rightholders in an appropriate manner, in particular by machine-readable means for content made available to the public online; Art. XI.191/1. §1. (...) 7° the reproduction and extraction of works to which research organisations and cultural heritage institutions have lawful access, for the purposes of text and data mining carried out for the purposes of scientific research;

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Code de droit économique, Livre XI (as amended by Loi du 19 juin 2022)

Current law confirmation · Effective 2025-01-01

80%

Relevant section: Art. XI.189, §1; Art. XI.190, 5°, 9°, 12°, 13°, 14°, 20°; Art. XI.191/1, §1, 7°; Art. XI.192/3

Dates: Effective 2025-01-01

Why this score

As of 2025, Belgian copyright law (Book XI of the Code of Economic Law) contains multiple research-relevant exceptions. The most permissive for research use is Art. XI.190, 20° — the general TDM exception — which permits reproduction and extraction of works of any type by any user with lawful access, for text and data mining purposes, subject to rightholder opt-out. This covers: Uses — reproduction and extraction (but not communication/sharing); Works — all types of works; Users — any user. This maps to BLUE (reproduction of full works, all works, all users, but no sharing/communication). Other exceptions in force: Art. XI.190, 5° (research reproduction — ORANGE due to articles/visual art limitation for full works); Art. XI.190, 12° (research communication — covers communication of works for research illustration); Art. XI.191/1, §1, 7° (TDM for research organisations — PURPLE due to institutional restriction); Art. XI.190, 9° (private copy within family circle — LIGHT BLUE); Art. XI.190, 13° (library terminal exception — PURPLE); Art. XI.189, §1 (quotation — RED). The general TDM exception (Art. XI.190, 20°) is the most permissive single exception = BLUE. While Art. XI.190, 12° covers communication for research, it is a separate exception with a different scope (illustration of teaching/research) and does not combine with the TDM exception to create a single GREEN exception. Classification-neutral factors (non-commercial restriction in Art. XI.190, 5°; remuneration provisions; lawful access requirement in TDM exceptions; opt-out mechanism) were not factored into the color decision. All exceptions are mandatory/non-waivable per Art. XI.193 CEL.

Exceptions considered

Original text

Art. XI.190. (...) 20° la reproduction et l'extraction d'oeuvres auxquelles l'utilisateur a un accès licite, aux fins de la fouille de textes et de données, à condition que l'utilisation des oeuvres n'ait pas été expressément réservée par les titulaires de droits de manière appropriée, notamment par des procédés lisibles par machine pour le contenu mis à disposition du public en ligne; Art. XI.190. (...) 5° la reproduction fragmentaire ou intégrale d'articles ou d'oeuvres d'art plastique, ou de courts fragments d'autres oeuvres lorsque cette reproduction est effectuée à des fins d'illustration de l'enseignement ou de recherche scientifique dans la mesure justifiée par le but non lucratif poursuivi et ne porte pas préjudice à l'exploitation normale de l'oeuvre; Art. XI.191/1. § 1er. (...) 7° la reproduction et l'extraction d'oeuvres auxquelles les organismes de recherche et les institutions du patrimoine culturel ont un accès licite, aux fins de la fouille de textes et de données effectuée à des fins de recherche scientifique;

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: Art. XI.190. (...) 20° the reproduction and extraction of works to which the user has lawful access, for the purposes of text and data mining, provided that the use of the works has not been expressly reserved by the rightholders in an appropriate manner, in particular by machine-readable means for content made available to the public online; Art. XI.190. (...) 5° the fragmentary or integral reproduction of articles or works of visual art, or short fragments of other works, when such reproduction is carried out for the purpose of illustration for teaching or scientific research, to the extent justified by the non-profit purpose pursued and does not prejudice the normal exploitation of the work; Art. XI.191/1. §1. (...) 7° the reproduction and extraction of works to which research organisations and cultural heritage institutions have lawful access, for the purposes of text and data mining carried out for the purposes of scientific research;

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