How to use content without violating copyrights

Copyright helps the creators of some new intellectual product protect themselves from plagiarism and theft of ideas. Each author strives to protect his creativity and intellectual property. With the help of this institution of civil legal relations, musical compositions, literary works, objects of art and even databases are protected.

The moral rights of the author to his work are valid indefinitely. That is, having created something, this person remains the creator forever. But property rights to use the result of creativity can be transferred to other people.

Surely each of you has encountered the symbol “©”. It's called copyright, from "copy" and "right", and means the protection of property interests. If you see this symbol, then the item can be copied with reference to the source.

The period of copyright protection for property interests is most often 70 years after the death of the creator. After this period, the result of creativity becomes public domain.

We have a large number of aspiring authors in our country. But not every one of them is aware of their rights. In this article we will cover the fundamental points. But if you have already encountered troubles, and another person has appropriated the authorship of your work, then we strongly advise you to contact a professional to resolve such issues.

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What is copyright

Copyright is an intellectual property right. Everyone who has invested time, money and mental labor into the creation of any work would like to protect their creation. Aimed at protecting copyright and related rights, as well as protecting copyright on the Internet.

The concept of “copyright” has three definitions: author, subject and object of law. The author is always the individual who created the work.

Subjects of copyright include:

• various enterprises acquiring the exclusive right to use the work;
• employers (if the work was created by an employee working for hire, then the right to it accrues to the employer);
• customers, in the case of creation of a work under an ordering agreement;
• heirs of the author or other copyright holder.

Many people dream of writing an interesting and unforgettable book someday. And what’s more, in their dreams, they all see a published novel as a bestseller, translated into many languages ​​of the world and sold out in millions of copies.

But at the same time, surrounded by dreams, only a few people think about more mundane things, such as, for example, cooperation with a publishing house and the possibility of reprinting a book in the future. However, the protection of copyright and related rights is far from the last issue that a future writer should think about.

Protection is needed not only in the book publishing business. This branch of law excels in advertising and film, protecting creative ideas and images from being reproduced in certain ways. Your rights can be protected, programs, databases and new developments, audio and video works and even photographs. Despite the fact that most of the above-mentioned objects are created with the assistance of many people, not everyone can be considered authors.

For example, in accordance with this Law, the author of an audiovisual work can be a director, composer and screenwriter.

Law on this right and related rights in the Russian Federation

The legal order is defined in Part 4 of Chapter 70 of the Civil Code (Civil Code) of the Russian Federation, which came into force on January 1, 2008; previously, these norms were regulated by Federal Law No. 5351-1 “On Copyright and Related Rights” dated July 9, 1993. In addition, the norms of this right are contained in some decrees of the President of the Russian Federation and decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Also on July 20, 2004, amendments were made to the Law on Copyright and Related Rights, which came into force on July 28, 2004 and address issues of rights on the Internet. These changes are related to the requirements of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and Russia's accession to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (March 13, 1995).

The current law also includes two new articles that expand the possibility of protecting rights on the Internet. In Art. 48.1 “Technical means of protecting copyright and related rights” establishes a ban on lifting restrictions on the use of works... established through the use of technical means of protecting copyright, which can be used by copyright holders to protect their rights in the digital environment.

Art. 48.2 states: “Information about copyright and related rights is any information that identifies a work or object of related rights, the author, holder of related rights or other holder of exclusive rights, or information about the conditions of use of a work or object of related rights that is contained on a copy a work or an object of related rights, attached to them or appears in connection with a communication to the public or making such a work or an object of related rights available to the public, as well as any numbers and codes containing such information.”

Article No. 1255 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation defines the concept of law

1. Intellectual rights to works of science, literature and art are copyrights.
2. The author of the work has the following rights: exclusive right to the work;
3. copyright right;
4. right to a name;
5. the right to the integrity of the work;
6. the right to publish the work.

3. In the cases provided for by this Code, the author of a work, along with the rights specified in paragraph 2 of this article, has other rights, including the right to remuneration for a work of service, the right of review, the right to follow, the right of access to works of fine art.

How to order text for a website correctly

Many website owners do not write texts themselves, but order them from specialists on the exchange. Let’s imagine that you decided to order SEO text for your website and turned to a copywriter, who wrote an article.

Regardless of the content of the contract, the author of the text is the one who wrote it, in this situation the copywriter. He owns two groups of rights:

1. Personal non-property rights - the right of authorship and the right to a name.

These rights cannot be transferred to anyone, nor can they be waived. A copywriter, having written the text and being its copyright holder, can allow the customer to use the text on his website, in his newspaper or magazine. In this case, the author decides whether his real name will be indicated in the text, a pseudonym, or the text should be anonymous. For no amount of money or on any document can you agree that another person will be listed as the author. “Literary slavery” is illegal in Russia.

2. Exclusive rights are the rights to use a work in different ways.

The author can dispose of these rights at his own discretion and transfer them to other persons. Article 1270 of the Civil Code contains an extensive list of such rights, and this list is not closed.

Use of text that the author may authorize:

• bringing the work to the public's attention - publication on the Internet;
• copying in physical or electronic form;
• distribution - transfer of copies to other persons free of charge or for money;
• public performance of a work - reading the text out loud in a place where strangers are present, not just friends and relatives;
• broadcast or cable message - reading someone else's text aloud;
• translation or other processing - for example, film adaptation or dramatization of a work;
• rental - paid transmission of text for a time.

Full list of actions with the object of copyright - Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 1270. Exclusive right to a work

The first group of rights - personal non-property - are not regulated by contracts and are inalienable. The contract stipulates the exclusive rights to use the work - how the customer can use the text.

How to enter into an agreement with a copywriter

Enter into an agreement when you order text from a copywriter, so you will protect yourself from claims from the author. There are several options for drawing up an agreement between the customer of the text and the copywriter.

Option 1: agreement on alienation of exclusive rights

Under such an agreement, all exclusive rights will be transferred to the customer of the text forever. You will be able to post the text on your website, translate it into other languages, publish it in the press, stage radio plays based on it, or do something else. In this case, you will not need to re-negotiate with the author each time and pay him an additional fee. You will not be able to indicate yourself or someone else as the author even in this case.

Option 2: license agreement

If the author does not want to give you all the rights or asks too much for it, you can enter into a license agreement. Under a license agreement, only part of the rights is transferred: for example, the right to make it available to the public in the form of posting on a website. At the same time, you will not be able to do anything else with the text that is not specified in the contract: translate, print the text on booklets.

The license in such an agreement can be of two types:

• simple: the copywriter reserves the right to enter into agreements for the use of the text with someone else;
• exclusive : the rights listed in the contract are transferred only to you and no one else. If the author allowed you to post text on the site and record podcasts on it, then he cannot allow anyone else to do the same.

When entering into a license agreement, you need to think about what you might need the text for and include all the necessary permissions at once. If you miss something, you won’t be able to do it later without the author’s consent.

An agreement on the alienation of an exclusive right or a license agreement is concluded in relation to a ready-made text.

Option 3: author's order agreement

If the text has yet to be written, then you can conclude a copyright agreement with the author in advance. Under its terms, the author undertakes to write a text and transfer either all exclusive rights to it, as in an agreement on the alienation of exclusive rights, or the right to use the text within certain limits, as in a license agreement.

If you don't sign a contract

If you publish a text without having an agreement with the author, this will be considered a violation of the exclusive right to the work. The law provides for strict liability for this.

A copywriter can use one of three options:

1. Collect from you all losses, the amount of which can be proven. This is difficult to do, so authors usually don't go this route.
2. Recover from you double the cost of the right to use the work or double the cost of counterfeit copies of the work. If the author is quite famous and usually charges 50 thousand rubles for his text, then he will charge you 100 thousand rubles.
3. To collect compensation in the amount of 10 thousand to 5 million rubles. Compensation is assigned for each fact of violation, for example, for each article published on the site without the consent of the author. Exactly how much to recover - 10 thousand, 100 thousand or 5 million - is decided by the court in each specific case. Most often, Russian courts will collect a minimum amount, but you may not be lucky.

The amount of compensation is specified in Article 1301 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation:

“In cases of violation of the exclusive right to a work, the author or other copyright holder <...> has the right <...> to demand, at his choice, from the violator, instead of compensation for losses, payment of compensation: 1) in the amount of ten thousand rubles to five million rubles, determined at the discretion of the court based on nature of the violation; 2) twice the cost of counterfeit copies of the work; 3) twice the cost of the right to use the work, determined on the basis of the price that, under comparable circumstances, is usually charged for the lawful use of the work in the manner used by the infringer. Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 1301. Liability for violation of the exclusive right to a work

What else can a violator face besides property losses:

1. Blocking from Roskomnadzor if someone else's content is posted on the site.
2. Criminal liability up to imprisonment if your actions caused the author major damage of 100 thousand rubles or especially large damage of a million rubles.

A violation is considered in the Criminal Code if it entails losses on a large scale:

“Illegal use of objects of copyright or related rights, as well as the acquisition, storage, transportation of counterfeit copies of works or phonograms for the purpose of sale, committed on a large scale, is punishable by a fine in the amount of up to two hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for the period up to eighteen months, or compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours, or correctional labor for a term of up to two years, or forced labor for a term of up to two years, or imprisonment for the same term. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Article 146. Violation of copyright and related rights (Part 2)

The penalty period increases if the losses were on a particularly large scale, starting from a million rubles:

“Acts <...> are punishable by forced labor for a term of up to five years or imprisonment for a term of up to six years with a fine in the amount of up to five hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to three years or without it.” Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Article 146. Infringement of copyright and related rights (Part 3)

These articles apply in the event that someone violates the exclusive right to a work, for example, by copying text onto their website without permission.

If you don't pay a copywriter

Payment situations depend on the content of the contract between the customer and the copywriter.

Let’s imagine that, according to the contract, the right to use the work was transferred to you immediately after it was written. You posted text on the site, but for some reason did not pay the copywriter. In this case, the author may recover money from you in court or demand termination of the contract in court. After termination of the contract, you will no longer be able to use the text.

If, according to the terms of the contract, the exclusive right passes to you only after payment, you cannot post the text until you pay the contractor. This will be considered a violation of the exclusive right and will entail liability.

If the customer doesn’t like the copywriter’s text

Let's say you have entered into an author's order agreement, according to which the author undertakes to write a text for you. The text has been written, but you don’t like its quality, so you don’t want to post it on the website and pay for a copywriter’s work.

In this situation, you risk being drawn into a complex legal dispute: the quality of the text is not the quality of a teapot in which you can see a defect or compare the stated and actual material. It is very difficult to prove the flaws of the text. In the author's contract, try to prescribe in advance all the requirements for the text, which can at least somehow be formalized and measured.

Rights objects

Article 1259 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation defines Objects of copyright

1. The objects of copyright are works of science, literature and art, regardless of the merits and purpose of the work, as well as the method of its expression:

• literary works;
• dramatic and musical-dramatic works, screenplays;
• choreographic works and pantomimes;
• musical works with or without text;
• audiovisual works;
• works of painting, sculpture, graphics, design, graphic stories, comics and other works of fine art;
• works of decorative, applied and scenographic art; works of architecture, urban planning and landscape art, including in the form of projects, drawings, images and models;
• photographic works and works obtained by methods similar to photography;
• geographical and other maps, plans, sketches and plastic works related to geography and other sciences;
• other works.

Objects of copyright also include computer programs, which are protected as literary works.

2. Copyright objects include:

1) derivative works, that is, works that are a processing of another work; 2) composite works, that is, works that, by the selection or arrangement of materials, represent the result of creative labor.

3. Copyright extends to both published and unpublished works expressed in any objective form, including in written, oral form (in the form of public utterance, public performance and other similar form), in the form of an image, in in the form of sound or video recording, in volumetric-spatial form.

4. For the emergence, implementation and protection of copyright, registration of a work or compliance with any other formalities is not required.

In relation to computer programs and databases, registration is possible, carried out at the request of the copyright holder in accordance with the rules of Article 1262 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

5. Copyright does not apply to ideas, concepts, principles, methods, processes, systems, methods, solutions to technical, organizational or other problems, discoveries, facts, programming languages, geological information about the subsoil.

6. The following are not subject to copyright:

1. official documents of state bodies and local governments of municipalities, including laws, other regulations, court decisions, other materials of a legislative, administrative and judicial nature, official documents of international organizations, as well as their official translations;
2. state symbols and signs (flags, coats of arms, orders, banknotes, etc.), as well as symbols and signs of municipalities;
3. works of folk art (folklore) that do not have specific authors;
4. messages about events and facts that are purely informational in nature (news reports of the day, TV programs, vehicle schedules, etc.).

7. Copyright extends to a part of a work, to its title, to a character in the work, if by their nature they can be recognized as an independent result of the author’s creative work and meet the requirements established by paragraph 3 of this article.

How to copy other people's texts legally

A link to the author in the copied text will not help if the author did not give permission to copy the text. In this case, the court may award compensation for copyright infringement - posting an article without the consent of the author. But there are cases when someone else's text can be legally used without asking consent. This is called “free use of a work,” but such cases are clearly limited by law.

Conditions for free use of the text:

1. The purpose of copying is education and discussion. You can use someone else’s work for scientific, critical, polemical, informational or educational purposes.
2. Selective citation. The volume of borrowed text must be justified by the purpose, that is, we are not talking about continuous copy-paste, but about citing passages to illustrate some idea.
3. Indication of the author and source. It is imperative to indicate the author of the text and the source of borrowing from which the text was taken. The source indicates a publication in a printed publication or a link to a website.

“It is allowed without the consent of the author or other copyright holder and without payment of remuneration, but with the obligatory indication of the name of the author whose work is used and the source of borrowing: 1) citing in the original and in translation for scientific, polemical, critical, informational, educational purposes, disclosure of the creative intent of the author of lawfully published works to the extent justified by the purpose of citation, including the reproduction of excerpts from newspaper and magazine articles in the form of press reviews; 2) the use of lawfully published works and excerpts from them as illustrations in publications, radio and television broadcasts, sound and video recordings of an educational nature to the extent justified by the stated purpose...” Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 1274. Free use of a work in informational, scientific, educational or cultural purposes

For news, the rules are more relaxed: the author and source must also be indicated, but news on current economic, political, social and religious issues can be cited in full.

The copyright holder may prohibit copying full texts of news by indicating on the website or in a printed publication that copying without the consent of the author is not permitted. But even with such an indication, you can use fragments that meet the conditions for free use of the text.

“It is allowed <...> 3) reproduction in a periodical printed publication and subsequent distribution of copies of this publication, broadcasting or cable communication, bringing to public attention articles lawfully published in periodicals on current economic, political, social and religious issues or transmitted to broadcast or by cable of works of the same nature made available to the public in cases where such reproduction, communication, communication was not specifically prohibited by the author or other copyright holder; 4) <…> publicly delivered political speeches, addresses, reports and similar works to the extent justified by the informational purpose...” Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 1274. Free use of a work for informational, scientific, educational or cultural purposes

Subjects of rights

Subjects of copyright , i.e., owners of subjective copyrights, in accordance with Russian legislation, can be individuals, legal entities and public legal entities.

The original subject of copyright is the author (co-authors) - the individual whose creative work created the work. The presumption of authorship states that the person indicated as the author on the original or copy of the work is considered its author, unless otherwise proven (Article 1257 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). When a work is created by the joint creative work of two or more persons, co-authorship arises.

Copyright terms

Based on Art. 1281 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, exclusive copyright is perpetual and is valid throughout the life of the author and further for 70 years after his death, starting from January 1 of the year following the year of death.

Copyright to the result of intellectual work created in co-authorship is also perpetual and is valid throughout life and further for 70 years after the death of the last author, starting on January 1 of the year following the year of his death.

In cases where a work is published under a pseudonym, the copyright in it is valid for 70 years, starting from January 1 of the year following the year of its lawful publication. During this period, the author has the right to reveal his identity, and then the term of copyright will be calculated according to the general rule.

Authors of works who participated in the Second World War acquire copyright with an extended validity period of 4 years. In cases where a work was published for the first time after the death of the author, its copyright is valid for 70 years from the date of its publication, starting on January 1 of the year following the year of publication.

The expiration of copyright, as well as the fact that intellectual property works are not protected in the Russian Federation, means that the work acquires the status of public domain.

Exclusive copyright

The concept of exclusive rights is explained in Article 1291 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation Alienation of the original work and the exclusive right to the work

1. When the author alienates the original work (manuscript, original work of painting, sculpture, etc.), including when the original work is alienated under an author’s order agreement, the exclusive right to the work remains with the author, unless otherwise provided by the agreement.

When the original of a work is alienated by its owner, who has the exclusive right to the work, but is not the author of the work, the exclusive right to the work passes to the acquirer of the original work, unless otherwise provided by the contract.

The rules of this paragraph relating to the author of the work also apply to the author’s heirs, their heirs, and so on within the period of validity of the exclusive right to the work.

2. If the exclusive right to a work has not been transferred to the acquirer of its original, the acquirer, without the consent of the author or other right holder and without paying him remuneration, has the right to display the original work acquired into ownership and reproduce it in exhibition catalogs and in publications dedicated to his collection, and also transfer the original work for display at exhibitions organized by other persons.

The purchaser of an original work of fine art or a photographic work depicted in this work has the right, without the consent of the author or other copyright holder and without paying him remuneration, to use this work as an illustration when publishing his literary works, as well as to reproduce, publicly display and distribute without the purpose of extraction copies of the work have arrived, unless otherwise provided by the agreement with the author or other copyright holder.

The acquirer of a photographic work that is depicted in this work also has the right to freely use it in connection with the publication of works dedicated to the biography of the acquirer, unless otherwise provided by an agreement with the author or other holder of the rights to the photographic work.

Copyright sign

The "copyright protection" sign looks like this - ©. This is the Latin letter C (from the word “copyright,” meaning “copyright”) placed in the middle of a circle. Along with this designation, the sign (c) is used - the letter C in parentheses. This copyright notice appears next to the name of the entity or person who owns the copyright.

This sign can also indicate the object of protection, indicate the date range or year of its publication.

The copyright symbol itself does not create additional rights. It only indicates that the rights to a particular object belong to the specified legal entity or individual.

The absence of this mark does not mean that the work is not protected, since rights arise independently due to the fact of the creation of a particular work. No registration or other formalities are required to qualify for copyright protection.

It is important that licensing is not affected by the presence or absence of such a sign.

Copyright on the Internet

Information resources (websites, forums) on the Internet consist of various information presented in electronic form, including text, audio, video materials, programs, photographs, pictures, etc.

The Internet network allows you to copy this information and transfer it, as well as post it on third-party resources.

It is very difficult to prove which was the beginning, the egg or the chicken, but it is possible.

Article 144.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes the procedure for protecting copyrights on the Internet.

The court, upon a written application from an organization or citizen, has the right to take preliminary interim measures aimed at ensuring the protection of copyright and (or) related rights, except for the rights to photographic works and works obtained by methods similar to photography, of the applicant in information and telecommunication networks, including Internet network, before filing a claim.

Such an application can also be submitted to the court by filling out a form posted on the official website of the court on the Internet, and signed with a qualified electronic signature in the manner prescribed by federal law.

An application for preliminary protection of copyright and (or) related rights, except for rights to photographic works and works obtained by methods similar to photography, in information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, is submitted to the Moscow City Court.

When filing an application for preliminary protection of copyright and (or) related rights, except for rights to photographic works and works obtained by methods similar to photography in information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, the applicant submits to the court documents confirming the fact of use in information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, objects of exclusive rights and the applicant’s rights to these objects. Failure to submit these documents to the court is the basis for issuing a ruling on refusal to provide preliminary protection of copyright and (or) related rights, except for rights to photographic works and works obtained by methods similar to photography in information and telecommunication networks, including the “ Internet”, in which the court explains the right to re-submit the said application in compliance with the requirements of this part, as well as the right to file a claim in the general manner. When filing an application for preliminary protection of copyright and (or) related rights, except for rights to photographic works and works obtained by methods similar to photography, in information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, in accordance with this article by by filling out a form posted on the official website of the Moscow City Court on the information and telecommunications network “Internet”, documents confirming the fact of use in information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, objects of exclusive rights and the applicant’s rights to these objects can be submitted electronically.

If it does happen...

There are two options for the development of events: pre-trial settlement of the conflict and trial, if the first option does not work.

Pre-trial conflict resolution

First, write a letter of complaint to the violator of your rights. Contacts can be found on the site where you saw your content. If the content was posted not on the website, but, for example, on a social network, then contact the resource administration immediately.

lists the requirements for completing an application (letter of claim).

And at the end of the statement, you can give the offender a little nightmare: “If this information is not removed from your site within 24 hours, we will file a statement of claim in court.”

.

Note: the application can be submitted in writing (sent by mail), or submitted electronically (scanned document). If the application is submitted by a person authorized by the copyright holder, then it is necessary to attach to the application a document that confirms these powers (for example, a power of attorney).

If it turns out that the site owner ignores your letter, then you still have the right to contact the hosting provider. To install a provider, you can use the service https://whois-service.ru/. And please note that when filing a claim with the hosting provider, you must have prepared evidence of your authorship.

We send a letter of claim/application to the hosting provider, but only without a threatening signature about going to court (requirements for the application can be found on the website of the hosting company).

There are also exceptions where the information intermediary will not be liable. I will list:

Trial

If the first option does not produce results, then we go to court. And here the difficulties begin... Let's figure it out.

1. If the offender (defendant) and the author (plaintiff) are individuals, then you will need to apply to a court of general jurisdiction either at the place of residence/location of the defendant, or (if the place of residence/location of the defendant is unknown) at the place of residence of the plaintiff.

2. If one of the parties to the conflict is a legal entity, then the claim will be filed with the arbitration court at the location of the violator (defendant).

3. Next, we draw up a statement of claim. The requirements for the statement of claim are listed in.

Well, this stage has been sorted out - let's move on. After the court makes an act (decision) in your favor and it comes into force , you need to send an application to Roskomnadzor (). All further actions of Roskomnadzor are listed

Copyright is

Copyright extends to published and unpublished works on the territory of the Russian Federation and beyond its borders, located in any objective form on the territory of the Russian Federation and beyond its borders, and is recognized by authors regardless of their citizenship.

Copyright sources

Copyright sources include:

1) Laws:

• Russian, namely the Constitution, Civil, Administrative, Criminal Codes;
• International.

2) By-laws:

1. resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation;
2. provisions adopted by the Government of the Russian Federation;
3. regulations of ministries and departments.
4. decisions of the Plenums of the Supreme and Supreme Arbitration Courts.

3) Local acts:

1. acts of local government bodies and local self-government bodies (organization of exhibitions, vernissages, sale of works of art);
2. charters and regulations of publishing houses, editorial offices of newspapers, magazines;

Organization copyright

Organizations that publish scientific collections, encyclopedic dictionaries, magazines or other periodicals independently or through any publishing house own the copyright to these publications as a whole.

The copyright for a film or television film belongs to the company that filmed it. The copyright for an amateur film or television film belongs to its author or co-authors. The author of the script, composer, production director, chief cameraman, production designer and authors of other works included as part of a motion picture or television film each own the copyright to their work. Copyright for radio and television programs belongs to the radio and television organizations transmitting them, and for the works included in these programs - to their authors.

Music copyright

Service and trade organizations, from small cafes to shopping centers, play music for customers. However, not everyone knows that for the sound of songs in a cafe, beauty salon or store, you need to pay a fee to the copyright holders, otherwise this leads to copyright infringement. To play recordings or just a radio station, you must enter into a licensing agreement.

You have to pay for music regardless of whether admission to the institution is paid for listeners or free.

The exclusive right to the lyrics and music is valid throughout the life of the author and for another 70 years, counting from January 1 of the year following the year of his death. The right to a performance and phonogram is protected throughout the life of the performer, but not less than 50 years. The countdown begins on January 1 of the year following the one in which the song was performed or recorded. Upon expiration of these deadlines, the work or phonogram becomes public domain.

Two organizations are accredited by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation in the field of copyright for public performance of music: the Russian Authors Society (RAO) and the All-Russian Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The first collects remuneration in favor of performers and producers of phonograms, the second - in favor of authors.

Video rights

In accordance with Article 1257 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the author of a work of science, literature or art is recognized as the citizen whose creative work it was created. The person indicated as the author on the original or copy of the work is considered its author, unless otherwise proven.

To record the authorship of the video, post it on YouTube on your channel. This way you will protect the copyright of this work.

Compilers of collections

Copyright for collections of works that are not the subject of copyright, such as: laws, court decisions, other official documents, works of folk art whose authors are unknown, ancient acts and monuments, as well as other works not protected by copyright , belongs to the compilers of the collections if they subjected the material included in the collection to independent processing or systematization.

The same right belongs to citizens who independently processed individual works of this type. This right does not prevent other citizens from publishing the same works if they have independently systematized or processed them. The compiler of a collection who has processed or systematized the works included in the collection that are the subject of someone else's copyright, enjoys copyright in the collection, subject to the rights of the authors of these works.

Translator

The translator owns the copyright to the translation he performed (as amended by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR dated March 1, 1974 - Gazette of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, 1974, No. 10, Art. 286).

Copyright Use and Management

The use of a work can be carried out on the basis of a license agreement, according to which one party - the author or other copyright holder (licensor) grants or undertakes to provide the other party (licensee) with the right to use this work within the limits established by the agreement. The license agreement is concluded in writing. An agreement on granting the right to use a work in a printed periodical may be concluded orally. The fee-based license agreement must indicate the amount of remuneration for the use of the work or the procedure for calculating such remuneration.

The license agreement may provide (Article 1236 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation):

1. granting the licensee the right to use the result of intellectual activity or a means of individualization while retaining the licensor’s right to issue licenses to other persons (simple (non-exclusive) license);
2. granting the licensee the right to use the result of intellectual activity or a means of individualization without retaining the licensor’s right to issue licenses to other persons (exclusive license).

Unless otherwise provided in the license agreement, the license is assumed to be simple (non-exclusive).

Transfer of copyright

According to Art. 30 of the Law of the Russian Federation of July 9, 1993 No. 5351-1 “On Copyright and Related Rights”, the transfer of property rights can be carried out on the basis of an author’s agreement on the transfer of exclusive rights, on the basis of an author’s agreement on the transfer of non-exclusive rights or on the basis of an author’s order agreement , and the legal regulation of the latter is carried out by Art. 33 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Copyright and Related Rights”.

The transfer of copyright is formalized by agreement.

The author may temporarily transfer or assign his rights. The difference between transfer of rights and assignment is that in the first case the author grants rights for a period shorter than the copyright protection period. In the second case, the author grants rights for the entire duration of his exclusive property rights. With a certain degree of convention, the transfer of rights can be compared to a lease (the leased property will sooner or later return to the lessor), and an assignment to a sale (when sold, the property is removed from the seller’s ownership forever).

Collective management

Collective management of copyright and related rights is intended to more effectively implement and protect intellectual rights. This is achieved by giving specially created organizations the power to issue licenses, collect fees and bring claims on behalf of authors, who in turn can focus on creativity.

In accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 1242 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, organizations for the collective management of copyright and related rights can only be membership-based (corporate) non-profit legal entities. As a rule, such organizations are created in the legal form of a public organization, although the option of associations (unions), including non-profit partnerships, is not excluded. At the same time, changes to legislation are being actively discussed that will allow the creation of organizations in the form of commercial legal entities.

The most well-known Russian organizations for the collective management of copyrights are: the Professional Union of Cultural Workers "Russian Authors' Society" (RAO), the Society for Collective Management of Related Rights "All-Russian Organization of Intellectual Property" (WIPO) and the "Russian Union of Copyright Holders" (RSP).

A little practice

I will give you a couple of examples of disputes over the protection of intellectual property.

With Alyonka everything is sweet and smooth

Dispute between OJSC Moscow Confectionery Factory “Red October” and CJSC “Confectionery Factory “Slavyanka”, which is associated with the brands of chocolates “Alenka” and “Alina”. It was about the design of the chocolate packaging.

“Red October” demanded compensation of more than 310 million rubles (!!!) from “Slavyanka” for violation of exclusive rights to a trademark. According to Red October, Slavyanka produced Alina chocolate, the design of which is “confusingly similar to the label of Alenka chocolate.”

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A representative of “Red October” even presented to the court a study by VTsIOM, which found that “Alenka” and “Alina” chocolates are perceived “as products from the same manufacturer’s line
.

The proceedings ended with the signing of a settlement agreement: “Slavyanka” undertook to stop producing chocolate bars in the controversial design, and also to pay “Red October” 15 million rubles.

And again about treats

In 2007, the Ferrero group filed a claim with the Moscow Arbitration Court for violation of the exclusive right to a trademark protecting the appearance of Raffaello sweets. The defendants in the lawsuit were Landrin CJSC and the retail trade enterprise Chakuba LLC (Moscow). The company Soremartek SA (part of Ferrero) has registered a trademark in its name, which is a realistic image (photograph) of a white spherical candy with an uneven surface - sprinkled with coconut flakes.

As a result of the legal proceedings, all four instances of the arbitration system confirmed Ferrero’s exclusive right to the Raffaello brand.

Your song is sung

But here is a very interesting story about how the protection of intellectual rights works outside of Russia:

“Happy birthday to you” - which of us has not sung these words at least once in our lives as a birthday greeting? =) But the commercial performance of this song without royalties to the copyright holder is prohibited in the USA. That is why you rarely see this song, for example, in American films (because it is expensive). The song was written by sisters Patty and Mildred J. Hill (they wrote the song in 1893). The rights to the song were transferred to the sisters' relatives. Officially, the copyright for the song “Happy birthday to you” was registered in 1935 and, according to US law, will expire by 2030.

You will find even more similar stories in the following sources:

1. Review of judicial practice in cases related to the resolution of disputes on the protection of intellectual rights, approved by the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on September 23, 2015.
2. Review of judicial practice on some issues of the application of copyright rules by courts

Here are various controversial situations and solutions to them.

Copyright infringement

Liability for copyright infringement depends on the nature of your actions. Your actions infringing copyrights may subject you to several types of legal liability.

1. Civil liability for copyright infringement
2. Administrative liability for copyright infringement
3. Criminal liability for copyright infringement

The most common illegal actions against them are:

1. copying (replication of books, records, etc.);
2. distribution of the work (rental, sale, etc.);
3. public demonstration;
4. public performance of a work in concert halls, theaters, etc.;
5. broadcasting it on radio, television, etc.;
6. translation of the work into other languages; reworking of a work (plagiarism).

Copyright in YouTube

The most common violation on YouTube is considered to be “Coincidence with third-party content” - this means that your video used unlicensed music or part of a video already posted on YouTube, without fair use, expressed in indicating that this information was borrowed from such and such a source. This is strictly prohibited.

Copyright protection

Recently, when Internet technologies have begun to develop so actively, special importance has been given to such a category of legal relations as copyright protection. This is due to the fact that mass accessibility to information and intellectual property works has begun to generate in some users a desire to use previously published materials for their own selfish purposes.

As a rule, copyright protection is carried out in accordance with the law “on copyright and intellectual property”, therefore the services of specialists in this new field of legal relations for Russia have become in particular demand.

Regarding the specifics, you can note that copyright and its objects are divided into several categories: non-property and property, non-exclusive and exclusive. It is also worth noting that exclusive rights to any object of intellectual property imply belonging only to sole legal use. When protecting copyright and related rights, agreements on the transfer of the right to use are of particular importance, since some of them may have a legal basis that leads to a violation of rights, but on legal grounds.

If the rights of a legal entity with economic benefit are violated, then protection in arbitration is carried out in accordance with the legislation on rights and the arbitration code. Recently, the services of a lawyer in the arbitration court have become especially in demand, as people have begun to pay more attention to violations of their legal rights and try to defend their interests with the help of the courts.

Opinion

The founder of the Pirate Party of Russia, Stanislav Shakirov, believes that copyright protection is associated with restrictions on users’ rights to privacy, namely the need to control, “listen” to traffic in order to understand where and what was downloaded from.

“It turns out that there can be no secret of communication and correspondence,” notes Shakirov. “Moreover, a cop needs to be stationed at each computer.” That is, it is impossible to comply with the copyright, so it needs to be changed.”

Shakirov also emphasizes that copyright no longer serves to protect the rights of the author, but to ensure the income of the intermediary: “Several years ago I found out: the author of the book received only 4% of sales, musicians did not make any money at all from selling CDs - everything went to the publisher, to the copyright holder."