IPR Toolkit Index
IPR Toolkit
Copyright
Unlike patent and trademark protection, rightsholders need not register to obtain copyright protection for their works. The copyrights exist and are entitled to protection from the moment of artistic creation. Copyrights in Russia are governed by the Law on Copyright and Related Rights.
Coverage -- What is Protected
Rights of Authors: Works Protected
Under Article 7.1 of the Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights of 1993 (amended June 2004), the following works are protected by copyright:
- Literary works (including computer programs)
- Dramatic or dramatic-musical works and other works with a scenario
- Choreographic and mimed works
- Musical works with/without accompanying musical text
- Audiovisual works (cinematographic, television and video films, static projections, slide shows and other cinematographic and television productions)
- Works of painting and sculpture, graphic and design works, cartoon strips and other works of figurative art
- Works of applied art and stage design
- Works of architecture, urban planning and park and garden design
- Photographic works and works obtained by processes analogous to photograph
- Geographical, geological and other maps, plans and sketches and also three-dimensional works related to geography, topography and other sciences
- Computer programs - protection shall extend to all types of computer program, including operating systems, regardless of the language and form in which they are expressed, including the source code and object code
- Also protected by copyright:
- Derived works
- Collections and other composite works which constitute the results of creative effort
Works Not Protected
Under Article 8, the following works are not eligible for copyright protection:
- Official documents (laws, court decisions, other texts of legislative, administrative or judicial character) and official translations thereof
- State emblems and officials signs (flags, armorial bearings, decorations, monetary signs and other State symbols and official signs)
- Works of folklore
Origin of Copyright/Presumption of Ownership
A scientific, literary or artistic work is eligible for copyright by virtue of the mere fact of its creation. The origin and exercise of copyright shall not require either registration of the work or the performance of any other act of formality (Article 9).
Term of Copyright
The term of copyright is the lifetime of the author plus 70 years after death (Article 27).
Neighboring Rights
Scope of Neighboring Rights (Article 35):
- The rights of performers are recognized under this law if:
- the performer is a national of the Russian Federation
- the first performance occurred on the territory of the Russian Federation
- the performance has been recorded on a phonogram protected under the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article
- the performance has not been recorded on a phonogram but is included in a program broadcast or transmitted by cable that is protected under the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Article
- The rights of the phonogram producer shall be protected under this law if:
- the phonogram producer is a national of the Russian Federation or a legal entity with headquarters located on the territory of the Russian Federation
- the first publication of the phonogram occurred on the territory of the Russian Federation
- The rights of the broadcasting or cable distribution organization shall be protected under this Law if the said organization has its headquarters on the territory of the Russian Federation and broadcasts with the aid of transmitters located on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Neighboring Rights are covered under Title III of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights.
Copyright information (in Russian):
- Rospatent main page
- FAQ
- Registration information
- Where you can register with the government
Collective Management of Copyrights
Title IV (Articles 45-47) of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights governs the formation and activities of collection societies. While the law requires that collection societies be formed by and for the benefit of rightsholders, in practice there are currently few restrictions on who can establish a collection society, and such organizations are even permitted under current law to act on behalf of rightsholders who have not authorized them to do so (Article 45(3)). As a result, some collection socieites are licensing pirate versions of copyrighted works or collecting royalty payments due to the rightsholder. While the law allows a rightsholder to require that a collection society not act on its behalf (Article 47(2)), many copyright holders have found it difficult to enforce this provision.
Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights
Article 45(3)
-- By virtue of the mandate received under paragraph 2 of this Article,
the organization for the collective administration of economic rights
shall grant users licenses for the use of the relevant works and
subject matter of neighboring rights by appropriate means. The
conditions on which such licenses are granted shall be identical for
all users in a given category. The organization shall not be entitled
to refuse a license to a user without valid reason.
The licenses
in question shall authorize the use, by the means that they specify, of
all the works and subject matter of neighboring rights, and shall be
granted in the name of all the owners of copyright or neighboring
rights, including those who have not mandated the organization under paragraph 2 of this Article [emphasis added].
Article 47 (2)
-- Owners of copyright or neighboring rights who have not mandated the
organization to collect the remuneration provided for in Article 46(4)
of this Law shall be entitled to demand that the organization pay them
the remuneration accruing to them according to the allocation made, or alternatively that it exclude their works or subject matter of neighboring rights from the licenses that it grants users [emphasis added].