Copyright

Copyright on works of science, literature and art arises by virtue of the fact of their creation. For establishing and execution of copyright no formalities is necessary. Unless otherwise proved, the author of the work is considered to be the person indicated as the author on the original or on a copy of the work (presumption of the owner of copyright).

Therefore, copyright is secured automatically when the work is created. However, there are certain advantages to copyright registration.

Copyright registration procedure is foreseen by legislation of some CIS member states, while in others the national procedure of copyright registration with the Patent Office is stipulated only for the computer programs and database.

In order to secure a copyright, it is necessary to file an application along with a copy of the work filed for depositing as well as the document confirming the payment of the required fee. The Certificate of deposit is issued by the relevant authority. The protection period lasts during author’s lifetime and 70 years after the author’s death.

For filing an application for deposit of copyright the following information and documents are usually required:

• Name of the work of authorship
• Work of authorship (on paper or CD) and its copy;
• Summary or abstract for the work of authorship;
• Date of creation of the work of authorship;
• Passport details of the author and passport copy, with all the pages signed by the author;
• Signed power of attorney;
• Document confirming the payment of the required fee.

The copyright to the following pieces of work can be registered through depositing with the relevant authority:

• literary works and publishing projects; (stories, novels, works of poetry, articles, brochures, etc);
• artistic and photographic works;
• movie scripts, television programs scripts;
• projects, scripts of games, quizzes, lotteries, contests;
• research papers, theses, manuscripts, scientific research, textbooks, manuals;
• musical compositions with or without words;
• web sites (content and design);
• audiovisual works.

The IPR Group attorneys have a rich experience and practice in registration of copyright in the countries of the CIS region and would be happy to assist with securing the clients’ rights. Apart from this, the litigation department of the IPR GROUP has successfully handled a considerable number of cases based on copyright infringement and is ready to offer efficient strategies and solutions for protection of the clients’ copyright with an individual approach tailored for each particular case.