Belgium has implemented the Photocopying/photo-reproduction (Art. 5.2(a) InfoSoc) exception in Article XI.190, 5° of the Code of Economic Law (CEL). The national exception is much more restrictive than the EU exception.

Implementation summary:

This exception allows for the reproduction in part or in whole of articles or works of fine art or of short fragments of other works, fixed on paper or any similar medium, with the exception of sheet music, where such reproduction is effected on paper or any similar medium, by the use of any kind of photographic technique or by some other process having similar effects, either by a legal person for internal use, or by a natural person for internal use in the context of their business activities, and provided that this does not prejudice the normal exploitation of the work.

Implementation details:

Beneficiaries:

• any user

Purposes:

• internal use by legal persons
• internal use by natural persons in the context of their business activities

Usage:

• reproduction (analogue)

Subject Matter:

• articles
• works of fine art
• short fragments of other works (except for sheet music)
• databases

Compensation:

• fair compensation required

Attribution:

• no attribution required

Other Conditions:

• the work used must be lawfully divulged
• the work used must be fixed on paper or any similar medium
• the use must not prejudice the normal exploitation of the work

Introduced/last updated: 10 March 2017

Remarks: The Belgian reprography exception was amended in 2016 to comply with the findings of the Court of Justice of the EU in the Reprobel case (C-572/13).

The exception is applicable to databases (Art. XI.191 § 1, 1° CEL).