Romania

Decretul nr. 321/1956 privind dreptul de autor

Baseline · Effective 1956-06-18

?

Relevant section: Art. 10

Dates: Effective 1956-06-18 · Enacted 1956-06-18

Why this score

Romania's copyright law in force on 1990-01-01 was Decree No. 321/1956 on Copyright (Decretul nr. 321/1956 privind dreptul de autor). This decree contained provisions on permitted uses including quotation and reproduction for personal use. However, I was unable to retrieve the full statutory text of this decree via web search to verify the exact wording of the exceptions. The decree was replaced by Law No. 8/1996. Without access to the verified text, the classification must be AMBIGUOUS.

Exceptions considered

Legea nr. 8/1996 privind dreptul de autor și drepturile conexe

Relevant update · Effective 1996-06-25

0%

Relevant section: Art. 33, Art. 34

Dates: Effective 1996-06-25 · Enacted 1996-03-14

Why this score

Art. 33(1)(d) permits reproduction for research purposes but only of 'short extracts' (scurte extrase) from works, and only within libraries, museums, and similar non-profit public cultural/scientific institutions. Full reproduction is only permitted for replacement of destroyed/lost sole copies in permanent collections, not for research. Art. 33(1)(b) permits only short quotations. Art. 33(1)(c) covers education only, with short extracts. Art. 34 permits reproduction for personal use (see below) but is limited to a single copy for personal use and does not cover sharing. However, Art. 34 as originally enacted permitted reproduction of a single copy for personal use — this could cover full works for private study. Evaluating Art. 34: it permits 'reproducerea, fara consimtamantul autorului si fara plata vreunei remuneratii, a unei opere, pentru uz personal sau pentru cercul normal al unei familii' — reproduction without consent and without remuneration of a work for personal use or for the normal family circle. This appears to permit full-work reproduction for personal use. This would be LIGHT BLUE (personal/private use, full works, reproduction only, individual users). However, Art. 34 also had restrictions — it did not apply to certain categories. The most permissive exception is Art. 34 (personal use covering full works for any individual), yielding LIGHT BLUE. The research-specific exception in Art. 33(1)(d) is more restrictive (short extracts only, institutional). Art. 34's personal use exception is broader for individuals.

Exceptions considered

Original text

Art. 33. - (1) Sunt permise, fara consimtamantul autorului si fara plata vreunei remuneratii, urmatoarele utilizari ale unei opere aduse anterior la cunostinta publica, cu conditia ca acestea sa fie conforme bunelor uzante, sa nu contravina exploatarii normale a operei si sa nu il prejudicieze pe autor sau pe titularii drepturilor de utilizare: a) reproducerea unei opere in cadrul procedurilor judiciare, parlamentare sau administrative ori pentru scopuri de siguranta publica; b) utilizarea de scurte citate dintr-o opera, in scop de analiza, comentariu sau critica ori cu titlu de exemplificare, in masura in care folosirea lor justifica intinderea citatului; c) utilizarea de articole izolate sau de scurte extrase din opere in publicatii, in emisiuni de radio sau de televiziune ori in inregistrari sonore sau audiovizuale, destinate exclusiv invatamantului, precum si reproducerea, in scopuri de invatamant, in cadrul institutiilor de invatamant sau de ocrotire sociala, de articole izolate sau de scurte extrase din opere, in masura justificata de scopul urmarit; d) reproducerea, pentru informare si cercetare, de scurte extrase din opere, in cadrul bibliotecilor, muzeelor, filmotecilor, fonotecilor, arhivelor institutiilor publice culturale sau stiintifice, care functioneaza fara scop lucrativ; reproducerea integrala a exemplarului unei opere este permisa, pentru inlocuirea acestuia, in cazul distrugerii, al deteriorarii grave sau al pierderii exemplarului unic din colectia permanenta a bibliotecii sau a arhivei respective;

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: Art. 33. - (1) The following uses of a work previously brought to public knowledge are permitted without the author's consent and without payment of any remuneration, provided that they conform to good practice, do not conflict with the normal exploitation of the work, and do not prejudice the author or the holders of exploitation rights: (a) reproduction of a work in the course of judicial, parliamentary or administrative proceedings or for purposes of public security; (b) use of short quotations from a work for purposes of analysis, commentary or criticism or by way of illustration, to the extent that their use justifies the extent of the quotation; (c) use of isolated articles or short extracts from works in publications, radio or television broadcasts or sound or audiovisual recordings intended exclusively for education, as well as reproduction for educational purposes within educational or social welfare institutions of isolated articles or short extracts from works, to the extent justified by the purpose pursued; (d) reproduction, for information and research purposes, of short extracts from works within libraries, museums, film archives, sound archives, archives of public cultural or scientific institutions operating on a non-profit basis; full reproduction of a copy of a work is permitted for replacement purposes in case of destruction, serious deterioration or loss of the sole copy in the permanent collection of the respective library or archive;

Source links

• Official text 1 ↗
• Official text 2 ↗

Legea nr. 285/2004 pentru modificarea și completarea Legii nr. 8/1996

Relevant update · Effective 2004-07-03

60%

Relevant section: Art. I pct. 14-18 (modifying Art. 33, Art. 34)

Dates: Effective 2004-07-03 · Enacted 2004-06-30

Why this score

Law No. 285/2004 amended Law No. 8/1996 to transpose EU Directive 2001/29/EC (InfoSoc Directive). It modified Art. 33 and Art. 34 among others. The amendments refined the exceptions but maintained the basic structure: Art. 33(1)(d) continued to permit reproduction of short extracts for research in institutional settings; Art. 34 continued to permit reproduction for personal use. The personal use exception (Art. 34) remained the most permissive research-relevant exception, covering full-work reproduction for individuals for personal/private purposes. The classification remains LIGHT BLUE. I could not retrieve the complete amended text of Art. 33 and Art. 34 as modified by this law to provide a verbatim excerpt.

Exceptions considered

Source links

• Official text ↗

O.U.G. nr. 123/2005 pentru modificarea și completarea Legii nr. 8/1996, aprobată prin Legea nr. 329/2006

Relevant update · Effective 2006-08-03

20%

Relevant section: Art. I (modifying Art. 33, Art. 34 of Law 8/1996)

Dates: Effective 2006-08-03 · Enacted 2006-07-31

Why this score

After the O.U.G. 123/2005 amendments (approved by Law 329/2006), the consolidated text of Art. 34(1) permits reproduction for personal use of works brought to public knowledge, but with explicit exceptions listed in Art. 34(1)(a)-(d). Critically, Art. 34(1)(d) prohibits full reproduction of books, periodical publications, or musical scores except by hand copying. This means full-work reproduction IS permitted for personal use for works OTHER than books, periodicals, and musical scores (e.g., audiovisual works, sound recordings, photographs, articles, etc.). This is a category-of-works restriction: full reproduction is available for some types of works but not for books, periodicals, or musical scores. This maps to ORANGE. Art. 33(1)(d) remains limited to short extracts for research in institutional settings (RED on its own). Art. 34 is the most permissive exception. The non-commercial/personal-use restriction is classification-neutral. The exclusion of specific work categories (books, periodicals, musical scores) from full reproduction is the determining factor for ORANGE rather than LIGHT BLUE.

Exceptions considered

Original text

Art. 33. - (1) Sunt permise, fara consimtamantul autorului si fara plata vreunei remuneratii, urmatoarele utilizari ale unei opere aduse anterior la cunostinta publica, cu conditia ca acestea sa fie conforme bunelor uzante, sa nu contravina exploatarii normale a operei si sa nu il prejudicieze pe autor sau pe titularii drepturilor de utilizare: ... d) reproducerea, pentru informare si cercetare, de scurte extrase din opere, in cadrul bibliotecilor, muzeelor, filmotecilor, fonotecilor, arhivelor institutiilor publice culturale sau stiintifice, care functioneaza fara scop lucrativ; reproducerea integrala a exemplarului unei opere este permisa, pentru inlocuirea acestuia, in cazul distrugerii, al deteriorarii grave sau al pierderii exemplarului unic din colectia permanenta a bibliotecii sau a arhivei respective; ... Art. 34. - (1) Se poate reproduce fara autorizarea autorului si fara plata unei remuneratii, dar numai pentru uz personal sau pentru cercul normal al unei familii, o opera adusa anterior la cunostinta publica, cu urmatoarele exceptii: a) reproducerea unei lucrari de arhitectura sub forma unei constructii sau a altui obiect similar; b) reproducerea, in original sau in copie, a unei opere de arta plastica, de arta aplicata sau de design, care constituie un exemplar unic; c) reproducerea, altfel decat pentru uz personal, a bazelor de date in forma electronica; d) reproducerea integrala a cartilor, a publicatiilor periodice sau a partiturilor muzicale, altfel decat prin copiere de mana.

English rendering

[Unofficial translation]: Art. 33. - (1) The following uses of a work previously brought to public knowledge are permitted without the author's consent and without payment of any remuneration, provided they conform to good practice, do not conflict with the normal exploitation of the work, and do not prejudice the author or the holders of exploitation rights: ... (d) reproduction, for information and research purposes, of short extracts from works within libraries, museums, film archives, sound archives, archives of public cultural or scientific institutions operating on a non-profit basis; full reproduction of a copy of a work is permitted for replacement in case of destruction, serious deterioration or loss of the sole copy in the permanent collection of the respective library or archive; ... Art. 34. - (1) A work previously brought to public knowledge may be reproduced without the author's authorization and without payment of remuneration, but only for personal use or for the normal family circle, with the following exceptions: (a) reproduction of an architectural work in the form of a construction or similar object; (b) reproduction, in original or copy, of a work of plastic art, applied art or design constituting a unique copy; (c) reproduction, other than for personal use, of databases in electronic form; (d) full reproduction of books, periodical publications or musical scores, other than by hand copying.

Source links

• Official text 1 ↗
• Official text 2 ↗

Legea nr. 69/2022 pentru modificarea și completarea Legii nr. 8/1996 privind dreptul de autor și drepturile conexe

Relevant update · Effective 2022-04-04

100%

Relevant section: Art. 71^1, Art. 71^2, Art. 71^3 (new TDM exceptions), Art. 33, Art. 34

Dates: Effective 2022-04-04 · Enacted 2022-04-01

Why this score

Law No. 69/2022 transposed EU Directive 2019/790 (DSM Directive) into Romanian law. It introduced new Art. 71^1 through 71^3 on text and data mining (TDM). Art. 71^1 implements the mandatory TDM exception for research organizations and cultural heritage institutions (corresponding to Art. 3 of the DSM Directive), permitting reproductions and extractions of lawfully accessed works for the purposes of text and data mining for scientific research. Art. 71^2 implements the general TDM exception (corresponding to Art. 4 of the DSM Directive), permitting reproductions and extractions for TDM by any person with lawful access, unless rights holders have expressly reserved this right. The TDM exceptions cover reproduction and extraction (which includes communication/making available of the data extracted). Art. 71^1 for research organizations covers both reproduction and communication for scientific research purposes, open to all types of works. This is GREEN because it permits reproduction and sharing/communication for research purposes, covering all works, by research organizations (and Art. 71^2 extends to any user for general TDM). The combination of these TDM exceptions with the pre-existing Art. 34 personal use exception yields GREEN as the most permissive classification. The pre-existing Art. 34 restrictions on books/periodicals/scores do not limit the TDM exceptions. Non-commercial restriction on Art. 71^1 is classification-neutral.

Exceptions considered

Source links

• Official text ↗

Legea nr. 8/1996 privind dreptul de autor și drepturile conexe (as amended through Legea nr. 69/2022)

Current law confirmation · Effective 2022-04-04

100%

Relevant section: Art. 71^1, Art. 71^2, Art. 71^3, Art. 33, Art. 34

Dates: Effective 2022-04-04 · Enacted 2022-04-01

Why this score

As of 2025, Romanian copyright law (Law No. 8/1996 as amended) contains TDM exceptions transposing the DSM Directive. Art. 71^1 permits research organizations and cultural heritage institutions to make reproductions and extractions for text and data mining for scientific research purposes from lawfully accessed works. Art. 71^2 provides a general TDM exception for any person with lawful access (subject to rights-holder opt-out). These exceptions cover reproduction and extraction (including storage) for all types of works. Art. 71^1 also permits retention and communication of copies for verification of scientific research results. This covers both reproduction and sharing/communication, for all works, by research organizations — meeting the GREEN criteria. The pre-existing exceptions (Art. 33(1)(d) for short extracts in libraries, Art. 34 for personal use with work-type exclusions) remain in force but are less permissive. The most permissive exception is Art. 71^1 (TDM for research), yielding GREEN. Non-commercial restriction is classification-neutral.

Exceptions considered

Source links

• Official text ↗