International copyright protection in Russia and abroad

The rights of authors of literary or other works are protected not only in Russia but also abroad. The provisions of the Berne Convention, to which Russia became a party in 1995, are used for this purpose.  In most cases, protection of copyrights of Russian citizens abroad is possible after publication of a work in the Russian Federation.

Conditions for international copyright protection

A simplified procedure for establishing and protecting copyright and related rights is possible under the Berne Convention. The following conditions are provided for this:

• authorship arises from the moment of creation of a work or its part in any objective form;
• it is not necessary to register it in order to establish copyright protection, unless it is explicitly stated in regulations or international treaties;
• rights arise in relation to published or unpublished works, but the fact of publication is an additional means of proving authorship.

For member countries of the Berne Convention the fact of publication of a work in their territory is a sufficient condition for the recognition of authorship. In this case, the author or other legal owner has the right to use a special mark of protection. It includes the designation "C" in a circle (copyright), the name or names of the author, information about the year of first publication of the work.

Registration of copyright abroad can be carried out at the request of the author or right holder, if such a procedure is stipulated by a national or international act. A typical example is copyright registration in the USA:

• An application and other accompanying documents are drawn up, defining the future protection regime (e.g., with a clause prohibiting the export of the original copy of the work);
• A copy of the work is deposited in the Library of Congress;
• The applicant pays a registration fee;
• A certificate of copyright registration is issued.

As a general rule, the term of copyright is 50 years, after which the work can be used by other persons without additional permission of the copyright holder. Exceptions may be stipulated by an international treaty or national legislation.

Ways to enforce and protect the right

The author or other legal owner of the rights to a work may freely dispose of it, or use it at his own discretion. For infringers of these rights, including the use of a work without permission, the following protection options are possible:

• demanding an injunction against unlawful acts - for example, a demand to stop the release of tangible media containing someone else's work;
• damages or a compensatory fine for each fact of infringement - this procedure takes place through claims or in court;
• Administrative or civil liability on the grounds set out in the domestic law of each country;
• Compulsory seizure of infringing products, their destruction or transfer to the true right holder;
• recognition or contestation of the right in a judicial procedure, and publication of the judicial act with information about the proper owner of the right.

These protection options can be implemented independently by the right holder or through patent attorneys or lawyers. Prof-Patent specialists will provide any services in Russia and abroad related to the establishment or protection of copyrights at the international level. We will prepare all necessary documents for confirmation or registration of rights, we will represent interests in court disputes about infringement of interests of the right holder. You can learn more about the ways and variants of protection at the consultation with our specialists.