Patent Attorneys
of the Republic of Belarus
Eurasian Patent Attorneys

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Copyright and Related Rights

Copyright

According to the legislation of the Republic of Belarus copyright shall extend to works of scientific, literary and artistic works resulting from the creative activity, whether or not disclosed, and existing in any tangible form:

  • in the territory of the Republic of Belarus irrespective of citizenship of the authors and their successors;
  • outside of the borders of the Republic of Belarus and belongs to the authors who are citizens of the Republic of Belarus and their successors;
  • outside of the borders of the Republic of Belarus and belongs to the authors (their successors being citizens of other countries) according to international treaties of the Republic of Belarus.

Copyright protects works that exist in an tangible form, namely:

  • written form (manuscript, typewritten text, musical score, etc.);
  • oral form (public pronouncing, public execution, etc.);
  • audio or visual recording (mechanical, magnetic, digital, optical, etc.);
  • image (drawing, sketch, painting, plan, drawing, cinematographic, television or video film, etc.);
  • three-dimensional form (sculpture, model, breadboard, construction, etc.);
  • other forms.

The work is considered published in the Republic of Belarus in case, within 30 days following the date of first publication outside the Republic of Belarus, it has been published on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.

When protection is granted to a work on the territory of the Republic of Belarus in compliance with the international treaties of the Republic of Belarus, the authorship of the work shall be defined by the legislation of the country where the legal act or event occurred that gave rise to the ownership of copyright.

The following works are protected by copyright:

  • literary works (books, brochures, articles, etc.);
  • dramatic and dramatic-musical works, choreographic and mimed works and other works with a scenario;
  • musical works with or without accompanying text;
  • audiovisual works (cinematographic, television, video films, slide shows and other cinematographic and television productions);
  • works of sculpture, painting, graphics, lithography and other works of fine art;
  • works of applied art;
  • works of architecture, urban planning and landscape gardening art;
  • photographic works and works obtained by processes similar to photography;
  • maps, plans, sketches, illustrations and plastic works related to geography, topography and other sciences;
  • computer programs*;
  • derived works (translations, adaptations, annotations, abstracts, summaries, reviews, stage adaptations, musical 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;
  • other works.

Derived works and composite works shall be protected by copyright irrespective of the fact, whether the works on which they are based, or which they include, are subject matters of copyright.

Protection of computer programs shall extend to all types of computer programs (including operating systems), which can be expressed in any language and in any form, including the original text and an object code

Ideas, methods, processes, systems, means, concepts, principles, discoveries and fact as such may not be protected by copyright.

Term of Copyright

The term of copyright is the lifetime of the author plus 50 years after his death.

Related Rights

The objects of related rights are performances, productions, phonograms, transmissions of broadcasting and cable distribution organizations. The origin and exercise of related rights shall not require any act of formality

The rights of performers are recognized if:

  • a performer is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus;
  • a performance took place on the territory of the Republic of Belarus for the first time;
  • a performance has been recorded on a phonogram;
  • a performance has not been recorded on a phonogram but is included in a program broadcast or transmitted by cable

The rights of the phonogram producer shall be protected if:

  1. a phonogram producer is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus or a legal entity officially located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus;
  2. a phonogram is published on the territory of the Republic of Belarus for the first time.

The rights of the broadcasting or cable distribution organization shall be protected under the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus and other acts of legislation related to copyright if the said organization is officially located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus and broadcasts via transmitters located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.

Copyright and right to trademarks

Under the p. 3.4 Art. 5 of the Law “On Trademarks and Service Marks” the following signs shall not be registered as trademarks if they reproduce: known in the Republic of Belarus titles of works of science, literature and art, quotations or characters from them, works of art or their fragments without the consent of a copyright owner or his successor.

The said norm is applied in a disputed case where the third parties reproduce in their trademarks the specified objects of the copyright. According to the legislation of the Republic of Belarus the registration of such trademarks can be recognized invalid.

Legislation:

LexPatent © 2010