Digital Revolution & Legal Evolution in Slovakia

Status quo of the implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/790

On 16 February 2022, the National Council of Slovakia adopted Law No. 71/2022 Coll. amending Law No. 185/2015 Coll. on Copyright as amended (the “Copyright Act”). The objective of the amendment is to implement Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright into Slovak law. Within the implemented provisions, the new law largely meets the requirements of the Directive, but a concrete interpretation from the practice remains to be seen. The law only came into force on 25/03/2022.

National legal framework against computer piracy

The basic protection of copyright (and thus the protection of authors of works against computer piracy) in criminal law is regulated by Act No. 300/2005 Coll., the Criminal Code. Specifically, this is contained in § 283 of the Act under the offence of infringement of copyright law. The perpetrator can be punished with a prison term of up to eight years, depending on the scope of the damage.

Copyright & NFT (non-fungible tokens)

There is no general NFT legislation in Slovakia yet. Slovakian legislation only defines the term “virtual currency”. However, legal experts agree that NFTs are not equivalent to virtual currencies (cryptocurrencies). Based on this interpretation, one tends to conclude that NFTs should not fall within the scope of AML, the Income Tax Act, and the Methodological Guideline of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic since NFT does not fully coincide with the definition of virtual currency. In this regard, however, further practice, case law and possible changes in law must be awaited.

Autor: Monika Wetzlerová-Deisler