Lex generalis derogat speciali: May Works of Applied Art Have No Artistic Relevance?

Articles (Arts.) 17 of Directive 98/71 and 96(2) of Regulation 6/2002 confirm that the extent and conditions under which protection is conferred under copyright to industrial products (i. e. works of applied art), including the level of originality, shall be determined by each Member State. It seems unlawful, if not elusive, to judicially set up an autonomous concept of ‘work’ based upon the (only partial) harmonisation of certain rights in Directive 2001/29 and, then, to extend this concept to any copyrightable subject matter even in presence of such derogations.