Scope of Copyright

Copyright extends to scientific, literary and artistic works resulting from the creative activity, whether or not disclosed, expressed in any tangible form, regardless of the intended use and merit of the work as well as the way of its expression.

In the Republic of Belarus property rights are protected in respect of the following works (if the term of property rights did not expire): 

• works of authors being citizens of the Republic of Belarus or residents on its territory;
• works for the first time published or being present on the territory of the Republic of Belarus;
• works protected on the territory of the Republic of Belarus in accordance with the international treaties of the Republic of Belarus.

Subject Matters of Copyright

Copyright extends to scientific, literary and artistic works existing in any tangible form:

• written (manuscript, typescript, sheet music);
• electron (computer program, electronic database); audio or video recording (magnetic, optical, electron one);
• image (picture, drawing; cinematographic, television, video or photographic image);
• three-dimensional (sculpture, model, construction).

In particular, the following works represent subject matters of copyright:

• literary works (books, brochures, articles and other literary works);
• scientific works (articles, monographs, reports);
• dramatic and dramatic musical works, works of choreography and pantomime, other works with scenario;
• musical works with or without text;
• audiovisual works (cinematographic, television, video films, film strips and other cinematographic and television works);
• works of sculpture, painting, graphics, lithography and other works of fine art;
• works of applied art;
• works of architecture, town-planning and landscape art;
• photographic works and works obtained by methods similar to photography;
• maps, plans, sketches, illustrations and plastic works related to geography, topography and other sciences;
• computer programs;
• other works.

A part of a work (including the title of a work), which has originated as a result of creative activity and can be used independently, is also a subject matter of copyright.

To subject matters of copyright there also refer:

• derived works (translations, adaptations, annotations, abstracts, summaries, reviews, screen adaptations, arrangements and other transformations of scientific, literary and artistic works);
• collections (encyclopedias, anthologies, databases) and other composite works if the selection and arrangement of the materials constitute the result of creative activity.

Arising of Copyright

Copyright in works arises in virtue of the fact of their creation. For arising and realization of copyright it is not necessary to comply with any formalities.

For the notification of his exclusive rights a holder is entitled to use a copyright notice, which is placed on each copy of a work and should consist of three elements: the circled Latin letter C; the name (denomination) of a holder of exclusive rights; the year of the first publication of the work.

A person indicated as the author on the original or on a copy of the work is deemed to be its author in the absence of proof to the contrary (copyright holder presumption).

Proprietors of Copyright

Only the authors of works are proprietors of moral rights.

What concerns proprietors of economic rights, they can be:

• an author (authors) of a work;
• employers (in case of service works);
• producers of audiovisual works;
• persons publishing encyclopedias, encyclopedic dictionaries, periodical and proceeding collections of scientific works, newspapers, magazines and other periodical publications;
• successors of an author;
• persons, on whom economic rights have devolved through legal succession as a result of reorganization of a legal entity – the rightholder;
• persons, on whom economic rights to works have devolved in accordance with an assignment contract or a contract of property rights transfer, an agreement on creation and use of intellectual activity results and other contracts.

Co-Authorship

Copyright in a work created by joint creative activity of two or more persons (co-authorship) belongs to the co-authors in common whether such a work constitutes the single indissoluble whole or consists of parts, each of which has its own significance.

Each of the co-authors has the right to use a part created by him and having independent significance at his own discretion unless otherwise provided in an agreement between them. The right to use the work as a whole belongs to the co-authors in common. Relations among the co-authors can be defined by an agreement between them.

Moral and Economic Copyright

The Law of the Republic of Belarus on Copyright and Related Rights vests an author with moral and economic rights, which should be observed with any use of a protected work.

The moral rights (the right of authorship, the right to name attribution, the right to protection of author’s reputation, the right of disclosure of a work and the right to disavow) belong to the author of a work and may not be assigned or transferred to other persons in accordance with an agreement.

An author with respect to his work or other copyright holder enjoys the exclusive right to execute or to authorize the following actions (economic rights):

• reproduction of a work;
• distribution of the original or copies of a work by sale or other transfer of property right;
• rental of originals or copies of computer programs, databases, audiovisual works, note texts of musical works and works embodied in phonograms whatever the ownership of an original or copies of the said works;
• importation of copies of a work including copies produced with the permission of an author or other copyright holder;
• public display of the original or a copy of a work;
• public performance of a work;
• broadcasting of a work;
• other communication of a work to public; ;
• translation of a work into another language; ;
• alteration or other adaptation of a work.

An author has the right to remuneration for each type of the work exploitation. The amount of the author’s remuneration is provided for in a contract between the author and a user of the work. However, it cannot be lower than the minimal rates set by the Council of Ministers.

Employee’s Works

The moral rights to a work created in the course of performance of a service task or official duties (an employee’s work) belong to an author.

The economic rights to an employee’s work belong to an employer unless otherwise provided in an agreement between them.

An author of a work created as an employee’s one has no right to prevent its disclosure by an employer.

Term of Protection

The right of authorship, the right to name attribution and the right to protection of author’s reputation are protected perpetually.

The economic rights are in effect for the entire lifetime of an author and for 50 years after his death.

In respect of an anonymous or pseudonymous work the term of protection is 50 years from the moment of the first lawful publication of the work.

In the absence of lawful publication for 50 years from the moment of creation of such a work the term of protection constitutes 50 years from the moment of the first communication of the work to public with the consent of an author in a form different than publication.

In the absence of the said lawful publication or any other communication to public with the consent of an author for 50 years from the moment of creation of such a work the term of protection constitutes 50 years from the moment of the work creation.

The economic rights to a work created in co-authorship are in effect for the entire lifetime and 50 years after the death of the last survived co-author.

Expiration of the economic rights to copyright subject matters means falling of these subject matters into public domain.

Copyright subject matters, which fell into public domain, may be freely used by a natural person or a legal entity without payment of the remuneration. In this case moral rights should be observed.

Transfer of Economic Rights

The economic rights of an author may be assigned in full or partly and may be transferred for exploitation by an author’s contract.

Any assignment of the economic rights should be registered by a contract in a written form signed by an author and a person (a rightholder), to whom the economic rights are assigned. Only those rights, which are clearly indicated in the contract, are considered to be assigned.

An author’ contract for transferring the exclusive economic rights authorizes a user to use a work in a specific way and within the limits established by the contract only by a person, to whom these rights are transferred, and entitles this person to prohibit such an exploitation of the work by other persons.

An author’s contract for transferring the non-exclusive economic rights authorizes a user to use a work equally with a holder of economic rights, who transferred such rights, and (or) with other persons, who received authorization to use this work in the same way.

An author’s contract should provide for the ways of work exploitation (specific rights transferred by a given contract); the term, for which the right is transferred, and the territory, to which the effect of this right spreads for the said term; the amount of remuneration and (or) the procedure for determining the amount of remuneration for each way of work exploitation, the procedure and the term of its payment as well as other conditions, which the parties regard as necessary.