Opere protette e requisiti di tutela nel diritto d'autore UE

Starting with its decision in the Infopaq case (2009), the Court of Justice of the European Union has undertaken a first and partial harmonization of the general concept of work as well as the requirement of originality under copyright law (through the AOIC standard: «author’s own intellectual creation») and in doing so has moved beyond the existing harmonization directives that deal only with specific categories of works . This article outlines the state of the art under EU law, and presents what could be a desirable evolution at the level of both legislation and interpretation. It claims that a legislative intervention would allow for a more in depth and comprehensive harmonization of this area of the law, but that legal scholars and the Courts would continue to play within it a fundamental role. The article concludes with a number of substantial proposals to advance further harmonization at the level of interpretation and toward additional legislative initiatives.