In civil cases, it can be argued that the de minimis rule applies when the contribution of a factor to a result is minimal or when only very small factual differences are alleged. In criminal cases where the de minimis rule is equivalent to a defence, it may be found that a criminal offence is technically proven, but the court may decide not to take it into account because of its triviality. A de minimis criterion also applies to income tax. Small amounts of income in some categories do not have to be disclosed for tax purposes. If the income is below a threshold, it passes the de minimis test and there is an exemption for small amounts. De Minimis is a legal term that has been applied in various ways, including copyright, business law, and income tax law. “De Minimis” comes from the Latin expression “de minimis non curat lex”, which translates to “The law does not deal with trifles”. Today, the term is used in a variety of contexts to describe issues that are too small or trivial to be considered worthy of consideration by a regulator. The legal history of de minimis dates back to the 15th century.
[4] Under EU competition law, certain agreements that infringe Article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (former Article 81(1) of the EC Treaty) are considered minor and are therefore accepted. Horizontal agreements, i.e. agreements between competitors, are generally minor if the parties` market share is less than or equal to 10 % and vertical agreements between undertakings operating at different market levels if it is less than or equal to 15 %. [10] In the risk assessment, it refers to the highest level of risk, which is still too low to be addressed. Therefore, only risk levels above this de minimis level need to be addressed and controlled. Some call this a “virtually safe” level. [15] It is used in auditing, modelling and engineering and can refer to low-risk (negligible) situations. It can be checked in ASA 1. [Clarification required] The ordinary meaning of the dictionary of “material” must be applied, namely: “In a material degree; essentially, substantially. Such an interpretation excludes de minimis contributions. De minimis is an abbreviation of the Latin maxim de minimus non curat lex.
De minimis means “of minimal importance”. It refers to something so small or trivial that the law does not take it into account. It is often used to describe exceptions in state rules and regulations. For example, there is no tax payable on amounts below the de minimis limit of £100 per year Under US tax regulations, the minimis rule regulates the treatment of small amounts of market discounts. According to the rule, if a bond is purchased with a low market discount (an amount less than 0.25% of the face value of a bond multiplied by the number of full years between the bond`s purchase date and maturity date), the market discount is considered zero. If the market discount is less than the de minimis amount, the discount on the bond is generally treated as a capital gain on the sale or redemption and not as ordinary income. [5] According to the Internal Revenue Service guidelines, the de minimis rule may also apply to any benefit, good or service provided to an employee that is so of such little value that it would be inappropriate or administratively impracticable; For example, using a corporate copier to copy personal documents – see de minimis auxiliary service. Cash is not excluded, regardless of the amount. [6] Contracts often contain de minimis provisions as preventive measures to limit the applicability of restrictions in a contract where a party`s failure to comply with those restrictions results in only negligible or insignificant consequences. They may also be used to set a threshold for the claim of claims for security, as a trigger for the right to receive compensation loss or damage or a claim for reimbursement under the expense provisions. The principle of de minimis non curat lex can be used in India to defend copyright infringement. The important question is whether the de minimis principle can be used as a separate defence as fair use under section 52 of the Indian Copyright Act.
In India Tv Independent News Service Pvt. Ltd. and Ors. against Yashraj Films Pvt. Ltd., the court discussed in detail the applicability of the minimum principle. Prior to this case, the position on applicability was not very clear. The facts of the case were that five words were copied from a five-verse song. After applying the five well-known elements generally taken into account by the courts in the application of the de minimis, the Court concluded that the offence is insignificant and involves the de minimis defence. [19] In a criminal case, an offence may be dismissed on the grounds that it is minor if the facts alleged or proven are so insignificant that they are not disclosed to the court. An example of this can be an attack consisting of a soft shock or the theft of 50 cents. The concept of minor mitigation is often considered in cases where the court must decide whether something has contributed “significantly” to an outcome. This may be relevant in a number of civil and family law cases.
Drafting – Law 2009The Perpetuity and Accumulations Act, 2009 effectively applies the rule against perpetuities arising from future servitudes granted on or after April 6, 2010, so that a draftsman no longer has to worry about specifying a permanent duration. For example, if one party claims that the date an agreement was reached was April 11 and the other party claims that it took place on April 15, it is very likely that this is a de minimis difference. In a real estate case where the wife claims that the value of an item is $5,000, but the husband says it was $8,000, this is likely minor. The EU`s de minimis State Aid Regulation allows aid of up to EUR 200 000 from public funds to be granted to each commercial enterprise over a rolling period of three years. [9] In Endrew vs. Douglas County School District, USA, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on March 22, 2017, that the Education for Persons with Disabilities Act (IDEA) requires more than de minimis efforts to provide equal educational opportunities for students with disabilities. [20] The decision overturned an earlier decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Sometimes courts do not retain copyright in modified material in the public domain if the changes are deemed minor. [16] Similarly, the courts have dismissed cases of copyright infringement on the grounds that the alleged infringer`s use of the copyrighted work (e.g., sampling) was so insignificant that it was minor. For example, NBA 2K video games that included copyrighted tattoos in the replica of players` likenesses turned out to be minor and not infringing.
[17] In Bridgeport Music, Inc.c. Dimension Films, such a judgment was overturned on appeal, and the U.S. Court of Appeal expressly refused to recognize a de minimis standard for digital sampling. [18] In criminology, the de minimis or minimalist approach complements a general principle of harm. .