Subject of the Act

Art. 1. This Act regulates the relationships which are related to the creation and distribution of literary, artistic and scientific works. Inception of Copyright

Art. 2. The copyright over literary, artistic and scientific works shall arise for the author with the creation of the literary, artistic or scientific work

Protected Objects

Art. 3. (1) Any literary, artistic and scientific work resulting from a creative endeavor and expressed by any mode and in any objective form shall be the object of copyright such as:

1. literary works, including works of scientific and technical literature, publicism and computer software;

2. musical works;

3. performing arts works; dramatic or dramatico-musical works, entertainments in dumb show, choreography, etc.;

4. films and other audio-visual material;

5. works of fine art, including works of applied art, design and crafts;

6. architectural works;

7. photographic works to which are assimilated works expressed by a process analogous to photography;

8. blueprints, maps, sketches, plans and others related to architecture, urban planning, geography, topography, museum research and any other area of science and technology;

9. graphic design of publications;

(2) The following shall also be considered objects of copyright;

1. translations and adaptations of existing works and folklore;

2. arrangements of musical works and folklore;

3. periodicals, encyclopedias, collected works, anthologies, bibliographies, data bases and other similar objects that include two or more works or products.

(3) Parts of works under paragraphs 1 and 2, preliminary drawings, diagrams, etc., may also be objects of copyright.

Exceptions

Art. 4. The following shall not be considered objects of copyright:

1. normative and individual acts of government bodies and official translations thereof;

2. ideas and concepts;

3. works of folklore;

4. news, facts, information and data.

Authors and Other Copyright Proprietors

Art. 5. An author is a natural person whose creative endeavors have resulted in the creation of a literary, artistic or scientific work. Other natural or legal persons may be copyright proprietors only in the cases provided for under this Act.

Presumption of Authorship

Art. 6. Until proved otherwise, the person whose name or other identifying mark is inscribed in the customary manner on the literary, artistic or scientific work, shall be considered its author.

Authorship of Pseudonymous or Anonymous Works

Art. 7. (1) Literary, artistic or scientific works may be made available to the public under a pseudonym or anonymously.

(2) Until the identity of the author is disclosed his copyright shall be exercised by the natural or legal person who for the first time made the work available to the public with the author’s consent.

(3) The provision of paragraph 2 shall not apply if the pseudonym leaves no doubt as to the identity of the author.

Joint Authorship

Art. 8. (1) Copyright over works created by two or more persons shall belong to them jointly irrespective of whether the said works constitute one indivisible entity or consist of separate parts each having individual significance.

(2) The consent of all authors shall be required for every instance of use or revision of the work. In the event that the authors fail to reach agreement among themselves the issue shall be resolved by the court.

(3) If authorization has been granted to use a literary, artistic or scientific work in a given manner, or a court ruling has been rendered to that effect, none of the joint authors is entitled without reasonable grounds to object to that work’s use in the said manner.

(4) The compensation due to the authors for the use of their work, shall be distributed among them in shares by mutual agreement. In the event that no agreement exists, it shall be considered that all the joint authors’ shares are equal. In case of disputes, individual shares shall be determined in court pursuant to the contribution of each of the authors.

(5) Whenever a work created by joint authors consists of components each having individual significance, each of the joint authors may permit the individual use of his own component unless the authors have agreed otherwise and if this does not hinder the use of the work as a whole.

Copyright over Translations and Adaptations

Art. 9. Copyright over translations and adaptations shall belong to the person that has made them and shall not prejudice the rights of the original author of the work. This shall not deprive other persons from the right to make their own translations or adaptations of the same work.

Copyright over Periodicals and Encyclopedias (Amended SG. No. 28/2000)

Art. 10. Copyright over periodicals and encyclopedias shall belong to the natural or legal person responsible for the creation and publishing of the publication. Copyright over individual components included in such publications having the nature of literary, artistic or scientific works, shall belong to their individual authors.

Copyright over Collections, Anthologies, Bibliographies and Data Bases (Amended SG. No. 28/2000)

Art. 11. (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) (1) Copyright over collections, anthologies, bibliographies, data bases and other similar materials shall belong to the person who has collected or arranged the works and/or material contained therein, unless agreed upon otherwise in a contract. Copyright over the individual parts of which such a work may consist and which themselves constitute literary, artistic or scientific works, shall belong to their individual authors.

(2) The permission of the authors shall be required, unless provided otherwise by a law, for the inclusion of works or parts thereof into collections.

Copyright over Works of Fine Art and Architecture

Art. 12. Copyright over works of fine art and architecture shall belong to the person who has created those works even in such cases when the said works are the property of another person.

Copyright over Portraits

Art. 13. Copyright over works of fine art or photography constituting a portrait of a person different from the author shall belong to the author. The author may negotiate with the person who appears on the portrait the terms of the use of such works.

Copyright over Computer Software and Data Bases Developed under an Employment Contract

Art. 14. Unless agreed upon otherwise, copyright over computer software and data bases developed under an employment contract shall belong to the employer.

Section I Non-Economic Rights

Types of Non-Economic Copyright

Art. 15. (1) The author shall be entitled to:

1. decide whether the work created by him may be made available to the public and to determine the time, place and manner in which this may be done, with the exceptions of the objects under Article 3, paragraph 1, items 4, 6 and 8, for which such rights shall be arranged by contract;

2. claim the copyright over such works;

3. decide whether such works shall be made available to the public anonymously or pseudonymously;

4. require that his name, pseudonym or other identifying mark be identified in a suitable manner whenever his work is used;

5. require that the entirety of his work is preserved and oppose any changes therein as well as any other actions that may violate his legitimate interests or personal dignity;

6. make alterations in the work inasmuch as this does not prejudice rights acquired by other persons;

7. have access to the original of the work when it is in the possession of another person and whenever such access is necessary for exercising non-economic or economic rights under this Act;

8. halt the use of the work due to changes in his beliefs, with the exception of already implemented architectural works, providing compensation for the damages incurred by persons who have lawfully obtained the right to use the work.

(2) The author of an architectural design shall not be entitled to oppose the wish of the owner of the already completed structure to destroy the latter, reconstruct it, add a superstructure or an annex thereto, as long as such actions are undertaken in conformity with existing regulations.

Non-Transferability of Non-Economic Rights

Art. 16. Non-economic rights under items 2 and 4 of paragraph 1 of the preceding article are non-transferable. Transfer of other non-economic rights may only be explicit and in writing.

Exercising Non-Economic Rights after the Death of the Author

Art. 17. After the death of the author and until the expiration of the term of copyright protection, the non-economic rights, with the exception of those under Article 15, paragraph 1, items 6 and 8, shall be exercised by the author’s heirs.

Section II Economic Rights

Types of Economic Copyright

Art. 18. (1) The author shall be entitled to the exclusive right to use the work created by him and to permit its use by other persons except in the cases when this Act provides otherwise.

(2) Actions such as the ones listed below shall be considered as uses within the meaning of paragraph 1:

1. reproduction of the work:

2. distribution of the original of the work or copies thereof among an unlimited number of persons;

3. public presentation or performance of the work;

4. wireless transmission of the work;

5. transmission of the work by cable or other technical means;

6. public display of a work of art or a work created by photographic or similar means;

7. translation of the work into another language;

8. (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) revision of the work, Revision shall be the adapting of the work and the introduction of any modifications thereto as well as the use of the work to create a new derivative work;

9. implementation of an architectural design through the building or manufacture of the object described in it;

10. (New SG. No. 28/2000) transmission by wireless, cable or other technical means of access to the work or part thereof for an unlimited number of persons in a manner which permits that access to occur from a place and at a time individually chosen by each one of them.

(3) Use under paragraph 2, items 3 through 8 shall be considered as having occurred whenever the actions described above have been performed in such a manner as would enable an unlimited number of people to perceive the work.

(4) The first sale or other transaction, performed by the copyright proprietor or with his consent, with which the ownership of the original of the work or a copy thereof is transferred, shall terminate the right to distribute that work or copy, with the exception of the right to permit their further leasing. This provision shall not prejudice the rights under Article 20.

Right to Compensation for All Types of Use

Art. 19. The author shall be entitled to compensation for all types of use of his work and for each successive use of the same type.

Rights at Subsequent Sales

Art. 20. (1) For a second and subsequent sales of the original of a work of fine art, sculpture or engraving through an intermediary or at a public auction, the author shall be entitled to compensation to the amount of five per cent of the selling price, unless a higher percentage has been agreed upon.

(2) (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) The intermediary or auction organizer shall inform the author two months prior to the sale of the work and shall pay him the compensation due either directly or through an organization conducting collective copyright management, providing him with information about the price at which the work has been sold. The author and the collective copyright management organization shall not disclose this information, if the new owner has wished so.

Permitted Cable Transmissions

Art. 21. (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) The permission for wireless broadcasting of a work shall include a permission to the same organization to broadcast the work by cable or other technical means without paying additional compensation, provided that the transmission is conducted simultaneously with the broadcasting, in an unchanged form and does not extend beyond the territory for which the right to broadcast has been granted.

Permitted Transmission by Telecommunications Satellite

Art. 22. (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) (1) The permission to broadcast a work by wireless means shall include the right of the broadcasting organization to transmit the work by signal to a satellite and back to Earth in a manner permitting its reception by the public either directly and individually, or through an intermediary organization different from the transmitting authority. This shall be permissible provided that it is received through an intermediary organization only if the author has agreed to grant to the receiving organization the right to broadcast the work by wireless means, to transmit it by cable or another technical means, or to present it to the public in another manner. In such instances no compensation shall be required from the organization which transmits the signal to the satellite.

(2) (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) When the signal under paragraph 1 is encoded, the permission shall be considered granted only if the decoding device has been provided by the broadcasting organization or with its consent.

Permissible Free Use

Art. 23. No permission from the author and no compensation shall be due in the case of:

1. the use of quotations from works by other persons provided that due indication is given of the source and name of the author if it is disclosed. Quotations shall be made in the customary manner and their volume shall be justified by their purpose:

2. (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) the use of parts of published works or of a moderate number of small works, with the exception of computer programs and data bases, in other works in such a volume as is necessary for the purposes of an analysis, commentary or another kind of scientific research. Such use shall be permissible only for scientific and educational purposes, shall include reference to the source and name of the author, and only when it does not prejudice the normal use of the work and does not result in unjustified damage to the legitimate interests of the authors;

3. the use as current news in the press and other media of addresses, reports, sermons and others or parts thereof delivered at public gatherings, as well as speeches delivered in the course of legal proceedings;

4. reproduction by photographic, cinematographic or similar manner, as well as audio or video recordings of works related to a current event for the use of such works by the media in a limited volume for the purpose of providing news coverage;

5. reproduction of works that are on permanent display on streets, squares and other public places without their being subjected to mechanical contact copying, as well as their broadcasting by wireless means, by cable or other technical means, if this is done for the purpose of providing information or for other non-commercial purposes;

6. the public performance of published works in educational institutions if this does not involve the collection of revenues from such performance and if the participants in the preparatory work and the actual public performance do not receive compensation;

7. reproduction by copier or other similar means of parts of published works or of small works, as well as the recording of parts of films and other audio-visual works on audio or video media by educational institutions and their use for educational purposes;

8. reproduction of works already made available to the public through Braille script or similar method if this is done for non-profit purposes;

9. reproduction in small quantities of already published works, with the exception of computer software and data bases, by using copier, photographic or other means by public libraries, document centers, research institutions, etc., if this is done for scientific purposes or to preserve the works and if the copies are not circulated outside the framework of the organization which has made them;

10. use of details, fragments and individual components of buildings and architectural designs by providing reference to the name of the author if such has been disclosed. Such uses shall conform to the customary practice and their volume shall not exceed that justified by the purpose.

Permitted Recording for Single Transmission

Art. 24. Radio and television organizations granted by the author the right to broadcast his work by wireless means shall be entitled to make an audio or video recording for the purposes of the single broadcast without seeking the consent of the author and without providing separate compensation to him for such recordings. A subsequent transmission of such a recording shall be permitted only with the consent of the author and for compensation as provided by Article 40.

Free Copying for Personal Use

Art. 25. The copying of already published works shall be made without the consent of the author and without compensation only if it is done for personal use. This shall not be valid for computer software and architectural designs.

Compensation for Recordings for Personal Use ¹

Art. 26. (1) (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) The authors of works recorded on sound or video media, as well as the performers whose performances have been recorded, the phonogram producers and the producers of the initial recording of recorded films shall be entitled to compensation whenever their recordings are recorded for personal use. Such compensation shall also be due to the authors and publishers of all types of printed works when these works have been reproduced reprographically for personal use.

(2) (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) The compensation under paragraph 1, sentence one, shall be due from the persons who manufacture or import blank audio or video media and recording machines, while the compensation under paragraph 1, sentence two, shall be due from the persons who manufacture or import machines designed for reprographic reproduction. The compensation shall amount to five per cent of the manufacturer’s price of the media produced in the country, and to two per cent of the manufacturer’s price of the machines produced on the country, or of the customs dutiable value of imported media and machines.

(3) (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) The compensation payments shall be made to an organization, established according to the procedure stipulated in Article 40 by interested organizations representing individual categories of right-holders under this Act, which shall then distribute the compensations among these organizations. Prior to any such distribution, twenty per cent of all sums collected shall be set aside and credited to the account of the “Culture“ National Fund.

(4) (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) The distribution of the sums thus collected among the various categories of right-holders shall be made as follows:

1. of compensations under paragraph 1, sentence 1:

a).     one third for the authors;

b).     one third for the performing artists;

c).     one third for the producers;

2. of compensations under paragraph 1, sentence 2:

a)     fifty per cent for the authors:

b)     fifty per cent for the publishers.

(5) (New SG. No. 28/2000) The sums collected under paragraph 1 shall be refunded by the collecting organization:

1. whenever the levied blank audio or video media:

a)     have subsequently become an object of an export transaction, without any recordings on them;

b)     have subsequently been fixed with recordings made within the country by a person who has legitimately acquired the right to make such recordings and has settled all copyright and neighbouring rights matters related to the recording;

c)     have been purchased by radio or TV organizations holding legal licenses and have been fixed with recordings and kept by these organizations for the needs of their own broadcasts;

d)     have been purchased by film-makers or creators of other types of audio-visual works and have been fixed with recordings and used by them for their own production or advertising needs;

2. whenever the levied machines designed for recording or reprographic reproduction have subsequently become the object of an export transaction, and if this transaction has been conducted prior to the machines being used in the country.

(6) (New SG. No. 28/2000) Machines designed for recording under this Article shall be all the machines designed for the recording of works on sound or video media from phonograms or video-recordings, or from radio or TV broadcasts, while machines designed for reprographic reproduction shall be all the machines designed for the copying of printed materials by photocopying or any other manner producing a similar result.

(7) (New SG. No. 28/2000) The Council of Ministers shall issue a regulation on the implementation of this Article.

General Rule

Art. 27. (1) (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) Copyright shall be protected for the life of the author and seventy years after his death.

(2) For works having two or more authors the term specified in paragraph 1 shall commence from the death of the last surviving author.

Pseudonymous or Anonymous Works

Art. 28. (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) Copyright over anonymous or pseudonymous works shall be protected for seventy years after the works have been first made available to the public. In the event that within the said term the author’s identity is disclosed, or if the pseudonym throws no doubt upon the author’s personality, the provisions of the preceding article shall apply.

Computer Programs and Data Bases

Art. 28a. (New SG. No. 28/2000) The copyright over a computer program or a data base under Article 14 shall be protected for seventy years after making the work available to the public. If the author’s identity has been established within this term, the provisions of Article 27 shall apply.

Films

Art. 29. (Amended SG. No. 28/2000) The copyright over a film or some other audio-visual work shall be protected for seventy years after the death of the last survivor among the director, the author of the screenplay, the director of photography, the author of the dialogue, or the composer, if the music had been specially made for the film.

Collected Works

Art. 30. (1) Copyrights over encyclopaedias, periodicals and other works under Article 3, paragraph 2, item 3 shall be protected for seventy years after their publication.

(2) (New SG. No. 28/2000) With respect to works which are published in volumes, parts, issues, or episodes, the term under paragraph 1 shall be calculated for each one individually.

Commencement of Terms

Art. 31. The terms mentioned in the preceding articles of this chapter shall commence as of January 1 of the year following the year of the author’s death, or, respectively, the year when the work under Articles 27 through 30 was made, or made available to the public or published.

Inheriting Copyrights

Art. 32. (1) Upon the death of the author copyrights shall be passed on to his heirs by last will or by operation of law under the Inheritance Act.

(2) Copyrights may be inherited until the term of their protection expires.

Exercising Rights in the Absence of Heirs

Art. 33. In the event that an author does not have hairs, or any such heirs die prior to the expiration of the term of protection, copyrights shall be passed on to the state which shall exercise such rights until they expire through the Ministry of culture. In the event that the deceased author had been member of an organization conducting collective management of rights under this Act, that organization shall at its own expense exercise such rights until they expire.

Use of Works after Copyrights Have Expired

Art. 34. After the term of copyright protection has expired literary, artistic and scientific works may be used freely inasmuch as that does not violate rights under Article 15, items 4 and 5, which are of unlimited duration. The bodies under Article 33 shall monitor the observance of such rights and may, as an exception, permit changes to be made in such works.

Protection of Unpublished Works

Art. 34a. (New SG. No. 28/2000) Every person who makes a work available to the public after the term of copyright protection has expired shall enjoy the rights under Article 18, if the work had not been published by then. This right shall be protected for twenty five years as of January 1 of the year, following the year in which the work has been made available to the public.

Section I General Provisions

Author’s Consent for the Use of His Work

Art. 35. A literary, artistic or scientific work may be used with the consent of the author unless otherwise provided for by this Act.

Contracts on Use

Art. 36. (1) By concluding a contract on the use of his work, the author shall grant the user exclusive or non-exclusive rights to use the said work on specific terms and for compensation.

(2) Whenever an author grants a user exclusive rights to use a work he himself may not use it in the manner, for the term and in the territory agreed upon in the contract, nor shall he grant such rights to third parties.

(3) Whenever an author grants a user non-exclusive rights to use a work, he may continue using it himself, as well as grant non-exclusive rights for its use to third parties.

(4) The granting of exclusive rights under paragraph 2 shall be explicit and in writing. Whenever no such provision exists, it shall be considered that non-exclusive rights have been granted.

(5) If no term has been specified in the contract, it shall be assumed that the right to use a work has been granted for a period of three years, or five years for architectural designs.

(6) If the contract does not specify a territory on which a user may use a work, the country of which the user is a national or the country of his seat, if he is a legal person, shall be considered as such territory.

Effect and Duration of Contracts

Art. 37. (1) A contract under which an author has granted use of all works which he may create for the rest of his life shall be considered null and void.

(2) A contract on the use of a work may not be concluded for a term exceeding ten years. Whenever such a contract has been concluded with a longer term of validity, it shall remain in force for ten years only. This limitation shall not apply to contracts for architectural designs.

Amount of Compensation

Art. 38. (1) The compensation of the author may be defined as a portion of the revenues resulting from the use of his work, as a fixed one, time amount or in other forms.

(2) Whenever the one-time compensation proves obviously incommensurate with the revenues resulting from the use of his work, the author may claim an increase of the said compensation. If no agreement can be reached between the parties, the issue shall be resolved through the courts ex aque et bono.

Avoiding a Contract when the Performance has not Commenced

Art. 39. (1) In the event that a contract granting exclusive rights does not specify a deadline by which the user should commence the use of the work, the author may avoid the contract if use of his work has not started within two years of the conclusion of the contract, or of the date of handing over the work, whenever such date is subsequent to the one on which the contract was concluded.

(2) Paragraph 1 shall not apply to architectural designs.

Collective Management Organizations

Art. 40. (1) Authors may at their own free will establish organizations for the collective management of copyrights and grant to such organizations the right to conclude contracts on the use of their works in one or more ways and to collect moneys due.

(2) A publisher who has been granted by the author rights other than the right to publish may transfer management of these rights to an organization described in the preceding paragraph.

(3) The organizations carrying out collective management of copyrights may only be associations of authors and other proprietors of such rights. These organizations shall not operate for profit and shall distribute all moneys received from users among their members after making the deductions necessary for their own operation. The establishment and functioning of such organizations shall be carried out under the procedures established for non-profit associations.

(4) All organizations under paragraph 1 shall submit to the Ministry of culture a copy of the court ruling of incorporation and of any subsequent changes thereof within one month. The Ministry of culture shall keep a register of such organizations.

(5) An organization under paragraph 1 shall not refuse membership to any person who is proprietor of such rights as that organization manages.

(6) The regulations on the distribution of the compensations collected by the organizations described in paragraph 1 among the eligible members shall be proposed by the elected governing body of the organization and adopted by the general meeting of its members.

(7) (Amended SG No. 28/2000) The organizations under paragraph 1 may represent their own members, the kindred organizations abroad with which they have concluded mutual representation contracts, and the members thereof, before all juridical or administrative bodies whenever the rights they manage are to be protected. For the protection of these rights, the organizations under paragraph 1 may take on their behalf any legal action, including filing claims under Articles 94 and 95, or demand the imposition of safeguard measures under Article 96a, as well as measures under Articles 96b, 96c, and 96d.

(8) (New SG No. 28/2000) In cases where this Act stipulates that the author’s consent shall be granted only through a collective copyright management organization, the organization managing the respective rights shall also act on behalf of non-member authors and shall settle its relations with these authors in the manner it does with its members.

Works Created Under an Employment Relationship

Art. 41. (1) Copyright over works created under an employment relationship shall belong to the author unless provided for otherwise in this Act.

(2) (Amended SG No. 28/2000) The employer shall have the exclusive right, without permission from the author and without paying compensation, to the extent the contract of employment does not provide otherwise, to use such a work for his own purposes. The employer may exercise this right in a manner and to a degree corresponding to his customary activity.

(3) Whenever the compensation for the author for the work under paragraph 1 proves incommensurate with the revenues under Article 38, paragraph 2 collected as a result of the use of the work, the author may demand additional compensation. If no agreement can be reached between the parties, the issue shall be resolved through the courts ex aque et bono.

Works Created by Special Order

Art. 42. (1) Copyright over works created by special order shall belong to the authors unless otherwise provided for in the contract.

(2) Unless agreed upon otherwise, the ordering party may use the work without the permission of the author for the purposes for which it was ordered.

Section II Publishing Contract

Definition

Art. 43. With a publishing contract the author grants the publisher the right to reproduce and distribute his work, and the publisher is obliged to perform these acts and to pay the compensation due to the author.

Types

Art. 44. A publishing contract may grant the right to reproduce and distribute a work which has already been written, or one which the author has undertaken to write.

Expanding the Field of Application

Art. 45. (1) Whenever by means of a publishing contract an author has granted a publisher the right to use the work for purposes other than publishing as well, the publisher may grant the use of the work for the said purposes to third parties if this is explicitly agreed upon.

(2) Whenever rights are transferred under paragraph 1 above, the publisher shall inform the author in writing.

Form

Art. 46. A publishing contract shall be concluded in writing.

Special Non-Mandatory Rules

Art. 47. Unless provided for otherwise in the publishing contract, it shall be assumed that:

1. the publisher has been granted rights for one printing only;

2. (Amended SG No. 28/2000) the publisher has been granted the right to publish the work in a circulation not exceeding ten thousand copies:

3. compensation to the amount of fifteen per cent of the retail price of each sold copy of the work shall be due to the author;

4. the number of copies which the publisher may provide to the author free of charge may not be less than five for each printing;

5. the publisher shall publish the work in the language in which he has received it;

6. the publisher may distribute the work only in the territory of his country of nationality or the one in which his seat is situated if he is a legal person.

Amendments

Art. 48. Prior to undertaking a second printing, the publisher shall enable the author to make any amendments and additions to the work deemed necessary.

Returning Originals Offered for Publication

Art. 49. The publisher shall return the originals of works of fine art, original documents, illustrations and other originals offered for publication unless agreed upon otherwise in writing.

Destroyed Copies

Art. 50. In the event that reproduced but not yet offered for sale copies of the work are fully or partially destroyed, but not through the publisher’s fault, the latter may restore the destroyed copies within one year without providing compensation to the author.

Termination of Contract

Art. 51. Unless agreed upon otherwise, a publishing contract shall be terminated on the date of its expiration or when the run is sold out, or when the last run is sold out if more than one printings have been agreed upon.

Cancellation Prior to Expiration of the Contractual Term

Art. 52. (1) Unless agreed upon otherwise, the author may cancel the publishing contract unilaterally by written notice whenever that contract was concluded for more than one printing and the run of the last printing was sold out and no subsequent reproduction and distribution of the work was undertaken by the publisher within one year, provided that the author had requested the publisher to do so within the same term. A print run shall be assumed sold-out whenever the number of unsold copies amount to no more than five per cent of the total circulation.

(2) In the cases under paragraph 1 above, the author shall not be liable to refund the compensation already received.

Publishing at the Expense of the Author

Art. 53. (1) The author may at his own expense place an order with a publisher for the reproduction and distribution of a given number of copies of his work.

(2) An author may conclude an agreement with a publisher to reproduce and distribute copies of a work by assuming part of the expenses and participating in the distribution of the revenues.

Contracts on Reproduction and Distribution of Phonograms

Art. 54. (1) (Amended SG No. 28/2000) Unless provided for otherwise in the contract on reproduction and distribution of the work in the form of phonogram and the author has not granted the management of these rights to a collective management organization, it shall be considered that:

1. the user shall make the recording within six months of the date when the author handed over the work in a form permitting its recording, and for reproduction and distribution, within six months after the recording was made;

2. the user has been granted the right to reproduce the work in a circulation not exceeding five thousand copies;

3. the author shall be entitled to compensation equal to the respective part of 10 per cent of the wholesale price of each piece of the sound medium sold, proportional to the duration of his work versus the total duration of the sound medium;

4. the user shall provide to the author five copies of each manufactured version of the sound media free of charge.

(2) (Repealed SG No. 28/2000)

(3) The right granted by the author for the recording, reproduction and distribution of his work in the form of phonograms shall not include the right to use the recorded work for public performances, or broadcasting by wireless, cable or other technical means. The inclusion of such rights shall be agreed upon explicitly by the parties.

Section III Contract on Public Presentation or Performance

Definition

Art. 55. With a contract on public presentation the author of a performing arts work shall grant a user the right to present the work, and the user shall present the work and pay compensation to the author.

Non-Mandatory Rules

Art. 56. Unless provided for otherwise in a contract, it shall be assumed that:

1. the author may grant the right to public presentation to other users outside the city in which the user has headquarters;

2. the contract shall remain in force for three years;

3. the user shall present the work to the public within one year of receiving it;

4. (Amended SG No. 28/2000) the author’s compensation shall amount to fifteen per cent of the gross revenues of each presentation of the work;

5. the user shall report to the author twice a year on the number of public performances and the amount of revenues raised;

6. the author may cancel the contract whenever the user has halted the public presentations of the work for a period longer than one year.

Contracts on the Use through Wireless, Cable or Other Technical Means

Art. 57. The provisions of items 1, 2, and 3 of Article 56 shall also apply to contracts on broadcasting by wireless, cable or other technical means of performing arts works, as well as of musical or literary works that have not been made available to the public. Unless agreed upon otherwise in the contract it shall be assumed that the author has granted the user the right to a single broadcast of the work.

Contract on Public Performance

Art. 58. (1) (Amended SG No. 28/2000) Consent on the public performance, live or recorded, on broadcasting by wireless, cable or other technical means of musical and literary works which have already been made available to the public, shall be provided in writing by the author or by a duly authorized organization carrying out collective management of copyrights which shall negotiate, collect and pay the compensations due. When the consent is given by a collective management organization, the user shall render to the latter a precise account of the works used and of the authors thereof.

(2) (New SG No. 28/2000) Consent under paragraph 1 for the retransmission of works by cable or other technical means shall be given only by the collective copyright management organization.

Section IV Contract on Publishing in a Periodical

Right to Use a Work Written Under Contract

Art. 59. (1) An author who has written an ordered work may not, without the consent of the publisher, offer that work or parts thereof to other periodicals, for publishing as an individual publication, or for wireless broadcasting prior to its being published by the publisher.

(2) Unless agreed upon otherwise, the restrictions under the preceding paragraph shall not apply whenever fifteen days, for newspapers, and three months, for magazines, have elapsed since the turning in of the manuscript and the publisher has failed to publish or to inform the author within those periods of time that he will publish and to point out the number of the publication in which that will be done.

Right to Second Use

Art. 60. The author may use a work already published in a periodical after the date of publication unless agreed upon otherwise in writing.

Return of Materials Offered for Publication

Art. 61. The publishers of periodicals shall return the originals of works of fine art, original documents and illustrations offered for publication, unless agreed upon otherwise in writing.

Section V Making and Using Films and Other Audio-Visual Material

Proprietors of Rights

Art. 62. (1) Copyright over films and other audio-visual works shall belong to the director, the author of the screenplay and the director of photography.

(2) The authors of the music, dialogue, the already existing literary work upon which the audio-visual work was made, the costumes, the scenographers, and the authors of all other materials contained in it shall retain copyrights over their individual works.

(3) A producer within the meaning of this section shall be the natural or legal person who shall organize the production of the work and provide its financing.

Contracts on Production and Use

Art. 63. (1) The authors under Article 62 shall conclude with producers written contracts that, unless agreed upon otherwise or provided for otherwise in this Act, shall be deemed to grant producers the exclusive right to reproduce, show publicly, broadcast by wireless, cable or other technical means, reproduce and distribute on video media, authorize translation, dubbing and subtitling of the work within the country and abroad.

(2) The producer shall pay the authors under the preceding article compensation for the rights granted. In this case the provisions of Article 41, paragraph 2 and Article 42, paragraph 2 shall not apply.

(3) Whenever any of the authors under Article 62 refuses to complete his part of the film or other audio-visual work, or fails to do so through no fault of his, he shall not prevent the use of the work already completed by him for the completion of the whole project. That shall not prevent him from retaining copyright over the portion of the work he has completed with all ensuing consequences.

(4) An audio-visual work shall be considered completed whenever by agreement between the director and producer a final version has been established.

(5) Any changes in the final version through addition, elimination or change of elements may only be made with the consent of the persons under paragraph 4.

(6) Should a producer become bankrupt, authors under Article 62 shall be entitled to the right to purchase the starting materials of the work at the highest offered price if he wishes so in writing within three days of closing of tender.

(7) In the event that the producer decides to destroy the initial materials for the final version he must before that offer these materials gratuitously to the persons under Article 62, paragraph 1.

(8) (New SG No. 28/2000) Within five years of the date on which the work has been made available to the public, the producer or the persons who have become owners of the initial materials for the final version of the work shall lodge these materials with the National Film Library. This shall apply only to films whose producer is a Bulgarian natural or legal person.

Secondary Use

Art. 64. The producer may grant to third parties, as long as they assume the obligations under Article 65, the right to broadcast the work by wireless, cable or other technical means, to reproduce it on video media for distribution and public showing. He shall however inform the authors under Article 62, paragraph 1 in writing within one month, unless provided for otherwise by this Act.

Compensation

Art. 65. (1) (Amended SG No. 28/2000) The director, the author of the screenplay, the director of photography and the composer shall be entitled to compensation other than the compensation under Article 63, para (2) and for each type of use of the film or audio-visual work, while the other authors named in Article 62, shall be eligible for such compensation if that has been specifically agreed upon.

(2) Compensations for different types of use of a work shall be provided by the respective users and may, upon the authors’ request, be received through the producer or through an organization carrying out collective management of copyrights. In the latter case, the producer shall include such a provision in the contracts concluded on the use of the work.

(3) Whenever an already announced work is shown to the public for an admission fee, the compensation shall be proportional to the revenues of the producer.

(4) Irrespective of the compensation under paragraph 3, the authors under paragraph 1 shall be entitled to a percentage of every revenue of the producer.