Austria

Information Policy

Executive Summary

With the introduction of the Internet, protection of intellectual property and the privacy of personal information have become paramount. Although security is a major concern to its citizens, Austria has paid less attention on IP rights than on other aspects of the ICT sector. This section discusses Austria’s position on information policies, which protect intellectual property and privacy.

 

Intellectual Property (IP)

By 2005, Western Europe’s software industry is projected to reach 109 billion Euros, an increase from 56.7 billion Euros in 2000. This growth will impact competition, GDP, and employment in contributing European nations and makes IP protection crucial. A major segment of IP is software technology, which is highly valuable to the producers and to the end-users. Computers and the Internet have made software piracy rampant. As a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) since 1973, Austria has committed to protecting and encouraging IP development. WIPO is an international organization that supports the use and protection of intellectual property (IP) among its 181 member nations.

WIPO encourages each member country to develop an “IP culture” that supports its stakeholders and promotes “a nation-wide perception of IP as a powerful tool for economic, social and cultural development” (10). Establishing an institutional infrastructure and national IP policies are important factors in developing this perception. These factors should not only protect IP rights but also encourage innovation and increase accessibility for all stakeholders. WIPO frequently evaluates its members to ensure compliance with the treaties and organizational standards. Austria has been very diligent in this area, ranking among the bottom twenty pirating countries in the Business Software Alliance survey. The table below includes the software piracy rates for Austria, Switzerland, and Germany from 1996-2003. The United States is known to have the strongest regulations in the world due to the number of software/IT powerhouses locate in the US. Its rate in 2003 was 22 percent, only slightly less than Austria.

Austria’s monetary losses in 2003 associated with piracy amounted to USD 109 million. Germany lost USD 1,899 million; Switzerland, USD 293 million. Western Europe as a whole lost USD 9,600 million, achieving a rate of 36 percent.

The Austrian Patent Office

Austria recognizes the importance of innovation to the economic development of the country. The Austrian Patent Office (14) is an agency within the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Innovation and Technology. For a Euro 50 filing fee (other fees involved), the Office distributes patents, utility models, trademarks, design registrations, and supplementary protection certificates (five year protection for medical and plant protection products only). The duration of patents is a maximum of twenty years; utility models, a maximum of ten years; trademarks, interminable; design protection, a maximum of 25 years. The protection provided by the Office is only within Austria (a world patent/trademark, etc. does not exist). In 2002, the Patent Office granted over 65 million utility patents. The European Commission’s analyses show that three to five percent of Austria’s and Germany’s Gross National Product (GNP) can be credited to their copyright industries.

NIC.at

When the Internet began, there was no agency or country managing the allocation of domain names. As the Internet grew, it became clear that domain names needed to be managed and protected or trademarked. In Austria, the NIC.at oversees the central registry for every top-level domain, those that end in [.at], [.co.at], and [.or.at], in the country (11). The annual fee for domain registrars decreased in January 2004 from Euro 14.4 to Euro 12 (including VAT). The registration fee is Euro 7.2. The following tables from the NIC.at website provide statistical data about domain registrations in Austria.

 

Data until 2002 revealed that over 80 percent of the domain holders were located in Austria. Approximately 13 percent were located in Germany and approximately five percent were located outside the European Union. Of the domain holders, 94 percent were German speaking.

 

Privacy

The Internet has also increased awareness of potential threat to personal information. Austria does not explicitly recognize the right of privacy in its Constitution but it has established protection policies as a member of various organizations. As a member of the Council of Europe, it has signed and ratified the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data. It has also signed and ratified the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It signed, but did not ratify, the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime in November 2001. Finally, Austria has accepted the guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data established by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Data Protection Act (Datenschutzgestz 2000)

In January 2000, Austria incorporated the European Union Data Directive into a new Data Protection Act (Datenschutzgestz 2000), replacing the Datenschutzgestz 1978 (22). This Act protects an individual’s rights with regard to their personal data, irregardless of the mode of processing. It allows the individual to access, correct, delete, or keep confidential their personal data. The Act has been criticized as being inadequate because it preserves the structure of the original 1978 Act.

The Act also establishes a Data Protection Commission (DPC) and a Data Protection Council to oversee its enforcement. The DPC is an advisory body that investigates private sector complaints and public sector data processing to ensure compliance. It reports noncompliance of the public sector data processing to the federal government. Staff reductions from 2001 to 2003, have drastically reduced the activity of the DPC.

Two of Austria’s new initiatives directly impact data privacy. Austria introduced a national identification card in 2002, which includes the individual’s photo, name, date and place of birth, color of eyes, height, date and place of issuance, signature, and an identification number. The card has been recognized as a valid travel document in many European nations.

In 2003, the Citizen Card replaced the Austrian Social Security Card. The card is used for identification and proof of eligibility for health services (it does not contain medical information or other personal data). The electronic signature provides a more coverage than credit cards or other chip cards in the financial sector.

Many countries opt not to have national identification cards or smart cards, such as the Citizen Card, because it would give the government access to the personal data of all of its citizens. This access could affect policy decisions, which could be either beneficial or detrimental, and is viewed as an infringement on the privacy rights of the citizens.

 

The Global Information Technology Report 2003-2004

Rankings on various variables can help to put an issue into perspective. The Global Information Technology Report 2003-2004 (1) uses the Networked Readiness Index as a basis of comparison, scoring countries on a scale of one to seven. This is “a nation’s or community’s degree of preparation to participate in and benefit from information and communication technology (ICT) developments.” It is a comparison of 102 countries in three component areas: Environment, Readiness, and Usage. The Index identifies three stakeholders in ICT: individuals, businesses, and governments. The Environment Component evaluates the country’s environment in facilitating the development and use of ICT. Overall, Austria was 21^st out of the 121 countries surveyed. Germany ranked 17^th; Switzerland, fourth.

One of the Environment Component’s sub-indexes is the Political/Regulatory Environment, which rates policies and laws that influence the rate of growth and direction of the ICT sector. Austria received a score of 4.26 (score 1-7) with regard to its “Laws Relating to ICT,” which includes laws concerning IP and Privacy protection. This score is not surprising considering that Austria has paid less attention on Intellectual Property and privacy issues than on other aspects of the ICT sector.

	Austria	Switzerland	Germany
Laws Relating to ICT, 2003	4.26	4.56	4.96
Laws relating to ICT (i.e. electronic commerce, digital signatures, consumer protection) are (1=nonexistent, 7=well developed and enforced)
Source: The Global Information Technology Report 2003-2004