Copyright registration

What is copyright?

Copyright is a legal term used to describe the rights that authors have over their literary and artistic works. Copyright extends to a wide range of works: books, musical works, audiovisual works, works of fine art, sculptures and films, computer programs, works of architecture, urban planning and garden and park art, databases, illustrations, maps, plans, drawings, sketches, plastic works related to geography, geology, topography, technology, architecture and other fields of activity.

All works specified in the first part of Article 8 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”, both published and unpublished, both completed and unfinished, are subject to protection, regardless of their purpose, genre, scope, purpose (education , information, advertising, propaganda, entertainment, etc.). In most countries, according to the Berne Convention, copyright protection is granted automatically without the need for registration or other formalities, but Ukraine provides for the possibility of voluntary registration of works.

This system helps in resolving disputes about the owner or author of a work, as well as simplifying financial agreements, sale and transfer of rights. Copyright protection extends to the form of expression, not to
ideas, processes, methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such.

Within copyright, there are two types of rights:

• property rights allow the right holder to receive financial compensation as a result of the use of his works by other persons; and
• non-property rights protect the author’s intangible rights.

The Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights” and the Civil Code of Ukraine establish that the right holder has the right to allow or prevent certain actions in relation to the work or, in certain cases, to receive remuneration for the use of his work by a third party (collective management). The exclusive right of the author (or other person who owns the copyright) to permit or prohibit the use of the work by others gives him the right to permit or prohibit:

1. reproduction of works;
2. public performance and public notification of works;
3. public demonstration and public display;
4. any repeated publication of the works, if it is carried out by an organization other than the one that made the first publication;
5. translations of works;
6. revisions, adaptations, arrangements and other similar changes of works;
7. inclusion of works as constituent parts of collections, anthologies, encyclopedias, etc.;
8. distribution of works through the first sale, alienation in another way or through leasing or rental and through other transfer before the first sale of copies of the work;
9. submitting their works to the general public in such a way that their representatives can access the works from any place and at any time of their own choice;
10. leasing and (or) commercial rental after the first sale, alienation by other means of original or copies of audiovisual works, computer programs, databases, musical works in sheet music, as well as works fixed in phonogram or videogram or in form, which is read by the computer;
11. import of copies of works

This list is not exhaustive.

Examples of widely recognized non-property rights are the right to claim authorship of a work and the right to object to making changes to a work that may damage the author’s reputation.

A person who has a copyright (the author of a work or any other person who, in accordance with a contract or law, has acquired the copyright property right to this work) can use the copyright protection sign to notify of his rights. This sign consists of the following elements:

• the Latin letter “c”, surrounded by a circle, – (the image of the sign is not shown);
• the name or title of the person who owns the copyright;
• the year of the first publication of the work.

The copyright protection mark is placed on the original and each copy of the work.

Copyright is an integral part of our everyday life. Whether you’re reading a book, watching a movie, streaming music, or taking photos, copyright issues come up all the time.

Our experts are happy to help you register your copyright!