The Law on copyright and related rights regulates the relationships related to the creation and distribution of literary, artistic and scientific works.
What does copyright protect?
According to Art.3, paragraph 1 and 2 of the Law on copyright and related rights, an object of copyright is any work of literature, art, and science, which is the result of creative activity and is expressed in any way and in any objective form, such as:
1. literary works, including works of scientific and technical literature, journalism and computer programs;
2. musical works;
3. performing dramatic works, musical-dramatic, pantomimes, choreographic and others;
4. films and other audio-visual works;
5. works of fine art, including works of applied art, design and traditional crafts;
6. realized works of architecture and implemented development plans;
7. photographic works and works created by a process analogous to photography;
8. approved architectural projects, approved projects in spatial planning, maps, schemes, plans, and others related to architecture, spatial planning, geography, topography, museology and any area of science and technology;
9. layout of printed matter;
10. cadastral maps and state topographic maps;
11. translations and adaptations of existing works and folklore work;
12. arrangements of musical works and folklore works;
13. periodicals, encyclopedias, collections, anthologies, bibliographies, databases and the like, which involve two or more works or materials;
14. preliminary sketches, plans, etc.
It is important to be noted that normative and individual acts of state government bodies and official translations thereof, ideas and concepts, works of folklore; news, facts, information, and data shall not be considered to be objects of copyright.
Protection is automatic.
In the European copyright system, the copyright of literary, artistic and scientific works arises for the author automatically on the creation of the original work, which meant that registration is not necessary. However, in the Anglo-Saxon legal system, there exists a registration regime. Krasimira Kadieva provides a copyright registration service with the U.S. Copyright Office. Such registration covers all 171 countries that are members of the Berne Convention. The registration procedure of copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office will be described in detail in the next article.
Who can be an author?
The author shall be the natural person whose creative endeavors have resulted in the creation of literary, artistic or scientific works.
Duration of the copyright.
Copyright shall be protected for the life of the author and seventy years after his death. In the case of works created by two or more authors, the seventy-year term shall run from the death of the last surviving author.
Contents of copyright.
Main types of economic rights:
The author has the exclusive right to use the work created by him and to authorize its use by other persons except in the cases when the Law on copyright and related rights provides otherwise. The following actions should be considered as use:
1. reproduction of the work;
2. distribution of the original or copies of the work among an unlimited number of persons;
3. public presentation or performance of the work;
4. broadcasting of the work;
5. transmission and retransmission of the work by cable;
6. public exhibition of a work of fine art or a work created by photographic or analogous method;
7. translation of the work into another language;
8. adaptation and synchronization of the work;
9. implementation of an architectural project;
10. communication by wireless means or cable, by making the work available to the
public in such a way that members of the public may access it from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.
11. offering the work or part of it by wireless means or cable to an unlimited number of persons in a manner allowing access from a place and at a time individually chosen by each of them;
12. import and export to third countries of copies of the work in commercial quantities.
Main types of moral rights:
The author has the right to:
1. decide whether the work created by him may be made available to the public and to determine the time, place and manner in which this may be done;
2. claim authorship of the work;
3. decide whether his work shall be made available to the public under a pseudonym or anonymously;
4. require that his name, pseudonym or other identifying mark be indicated in a suitable manner whenever his work is used;
5. require that the entirety of his work is preserved and oppose to any modifications thereof as well as to any other actions that may infringe his legitimate interests or personal dignity;
6. modify his work, provided that this does not infringe the rights acquired by other
persons;
7. access the original of the work when it is in the possession of another person;
8. stop the use of the work due to changes in his beliefs, with exception of already implemented architectural works, providing compensation for the damages incurred by persons who have lawfully obtained the right to use the work.
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Legal Disclaimer: This material is prepared by Krasimira Kadieva. It does not constitute a legal opinion and cannot be interpreted as individual consultation on any concrete facts or circumstances. The advice of a legal specialist should be obtained for specific questions and situations. For more information on the above-mentioned issues and individual consultations, please contact Krasimira Kadieva at 00359 882 308 670 or make an inquiry using the contact form of this website.