The Federation Council approves the law on the use of works created by unknown authors
07.07.2024
On Wednesday, senators of the Federation Council approved a bill on the use of so-called “orphan works”, with the term of copyright protection that presumably hasn’t expired yet, however permission to use them cannot be obtained, since their author and (or) copyright holder is unknown, the press service of the upper House of Parliament reported.
“The document defines the procedure for using “orphan” works on a paid basis by creating special nominal accounts, the funds will be transferred in favor of the authors or copyright holders when they are identified,” the Federation Council reported on its official Telegram.
The bill assumes that in order to obtain a license to use an anonymous work, it is necessary to submit an application to an accredited organization. This document can be issued after a thorough check whether the author or copyright holder of the object is really unknown, whether the applicant has taken appropriate measures to establish the copyright holder.
In the event of a positive decision, the organization is obliged to place an ad about the search for the author in the public domain. Provided that the author is not found within 90 working days, the accredited organization has the right to enter information about the copyright or related right object into the register and publicly available information system, as well as to conclude a license agreement with the applicant, having previously calculated the amount of remuneration due to the author or any other copyright holder.
The bill establishes a limited range of copyright and related right objects that can be used in this way. These include works of literature, fine art, music and photography.
In addition, the Federation Council’s message notes that when finalizing the bill in the second reading, an amendment was taken to prevent the violation of believers’ rights when registering trademarks with religious symbols.
The specifics of the examination of a trademark with religious symbols (semantics) will be established by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia; this will allow experts from the Interreligious Council of Russia to be involved in the consideration of applications for trademarks, the Federation Council materials say.