Copyright (or author’s right) is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works. The Republic of Armenia is a Member State of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works since October 19, 2000.

Copyright protection is automatic in all states party to the Berne Convention. According to the Article 9 (1) Law of RA on Copyright and Related Rights, a work is protected by the fact of its creation.

Literary and artistic works such as novels, poems, plays, reference works, newspaper articles, paintings, drawings, photographs, sculpture, architecture, etc.

Works differ in their form of expression, as well as in the degree of originality.

No. Copyright protection extends only to expressions, and not to ideas.

Article 4 of the Law of RA on Copyright and Related Rights clearly defines the list of objects that are not protected by Copyright. However, most of the frequently asked questions by the authors concern the protection of ideas. The issue is that if ideas were to be protected as the object of copyright and given an exclusive right, it would obstacle the free development of creative thinking, as different works can be created on the basis of the same idea, which will differ from each other in their originality.

The author is a natural person, as a result of whose creative activities the work has been created. The author may transfer his exclusive economic rights or allow the use of the work to other persons, who, acquiring these rights from the author, become the owner of the economic rights of the work.

Authors of copyrighted works and their heirs and successors enjoy the rights provided by copyright law.

The author may transfer the economic rights of the work in whole or partially to the third parties, or grant them a license to use the work on the basis of agreements, respectively, on the  transfer of economic rights or on license, unless otherwise provided by law.

The copyright agreement is concluded in a written form, which is the guarantee of the parties, as this agreement regulates the rights and obligations of the parties related to the use of the work.

A party to a contract, whose rights and legitimate interests have been infringed, may claim compulsory enforcement of his rights in court.

Copyright protection is obtained automatically without formal confirmation of that right, registration of the work or any other action. Therefore, the Intellectual Property Office does not perform the function of registering Copyright subject matters.

However, there are organizations that manage economic rights of rightsholders on collective basis. Such organizations are established directly by the rightsholders and operate within the framework of the received powers (Articles 63-64 of the Lawof RA on Copyright and Related Rights).

According to the Article 52 of the Law of RA on Copyright and Related Rights, protection for related rights is obtained automatically without formal confirmation of that right, registration or any other action.

Related rights are closely related to copyright, starting from a work that is performed, recorded or broadcast on radio or television, or otherwise provided to the public. Related rights apply to activities that promote the dissemination of a literary or artistic work, not to its creation, but to the presentation of the work to the public.

Over the years, the list of related rights has expanded with performers, film and video producers, sound producers, broadcasters, database makers, etc.

The term of protection to be granted under the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations, shall last at least until the end of a period of twenty years computed from the end of the year in which:

(a) the fixation was made–for phonograms and for performances incorporated therein;

(b) the performance took place–for performances not incorporated in phonograms;

(c) the broadcast took place–for broadcasts.

The terms of protection of related rights are different according to the legislation of the Republic of Armenia (see Article 61 of the Law of RA on Copyright and Related Rights).