Copyright: Free Creative Choices That Reflect Personality

Finally, the CJEU published its long-awaited judgment in the joint cases MIO &Konektra. A utilitarian object is protected by copyright if it expresses free and creative choices and reflects the author's personality.

These cases concerned the Asplund table and the USM modular cabinet. The CJEU acknowledges that choices made to create such an object are often driven by technical and functional considerations. The rights holder must explain precisely why these are creative choices. A purely functional choice is not creative. Even a non-functional choice can be banal (ordinary) and therefore not creative.

Important: individually commonplace elements can still be creative in combination. Whether the author consciously set out to create a work is not decisive. Nor does it matter whether the object is exhibited in a museum or whether it is artistic.