THE LAW ON COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
I. SUBJECTMATTER OF THE LAW
Article 1
This Law shall regulate the rights of the authors of literary, scientific and artistic works
(hereinafter: the copyright), right of performers, right of the first publisher of a free
work, rights of producers of phonograms, videograms, broadcasts and databases, and rights
of the editors of printed editions as rights related to the copyright (hereinafter: the related
rights), the way of exercising the
copyright and related rights and the judicial protection of such rights.
II. COPYRIGHT
1. WORK OF AUTHORSHIP
Article 2
(1) A work of authorship is an author’s original intellectual creation, expressed in a
certain form, regardless of its artistic, scientific or some other value, its purpose,
size, contents and way of manifestation, as well as the permissibility of public
communication of its contents.
(2) The following shall be deemed works of authorship in particular:
1) Written works (e.g. books, brochures, articles, translations, computer programs
in any form of their expression, including their preparatory design material
and other);
2) Spoken works (lectures, speeches, orations, etc.);
3) Dramatic, dramaticmusical, choreographic and pantomime works, as well as
works originating from folklore;
4) Works of music, with or without words;
5) Films (cinema and television);
6) Fine art works (paintings, drawings, sketches, graphics, sculptures, etc.);
7) Works of architecture, applied art and industrial design;
8) Cartographic works (geographic and topographic maps);
9) Drawings, sketches, dummies and photographs;
10) The direction of a theatre play.
Article 3
(1) An unfinished work of authorship, parts of a work of authorship, as well as the
title of a work of authorship, shall be deemed a work of authorship, subject to
meeting the requirements set out in Article 2, Paragraph 1, of this Law.
Article 4
(1) Modifications of works of authorship shall be deemed works of authorship, subject
to the requirements referred to in Article 2, Paragraph 1, of this Law.
(2) A work of modification shall be a work in which the characteristic elements of the
modified (original) work (musical remixes, arrangements, adaptations and other) are
recognizable.
(3) The protection of a copyright referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article shall in no
way limit the rights of the author of the original work.
Article 5
(1) A collection of the works of authorship, which in view of the selection and
arrangement of its integral parts, meets the requirements referred to in Article 2,
Paragraph 1, of this Law (an encyclopedia, collection of works, anthology, selected
works, music collection, photograph collection, graphic map, exhibition and the
like), shall also be deemed a work of authorship.
(2) A collection of folk literary and artistic creations, as well as a collection of
documents, court decisions and similar materials, which in view of their selection
and arrangement, meets the requirements referred to in Article 2, Paragraph 1, of
this Law, shall also be deemed a work of authorship.
(3) A collection shall also be understood to mean a database, regardless of whether it is
in a mechanically or otherwise legible form, which in view of the selection and
arrangement of its integral parts, meets the requirements referred to in Article 2,
Paragraph 1, of this Law.
(4) The protection of a collection shall in no way restrict the rights of authors of the
works constituting an integral part of the collection.
Article 6
(1) The protection of copyright shall not apply to general ideas, procedures and methods of
operations or mathematical concepts as such, as well as concepts, principles and
instructions included in a work of authorship.
(2) The following shall not be deemed works of authorship:
1) Laws, decrees and other regulations;
2) Official materials of state bodies and bodies performing public functions;
3) Official translations of regulations and official materials of state bodies and
bodies performing public functions;
4) Submissions and other documents presented in the administrative or court
proceedings.
Article 7
(1) A work of authorship shall be deemed disclosed once it is communicated to the
public for the first time by its author or a person duly authorized by him/her, in
any way and anywhere in the world.
(2) A work of authorship has been communicated to the public if it has been made available
to a larger number of persons not connected by family or other personal ties.
(3) A work of authorship shall be deemed published once the copies of it are released
by its author or a person duly authorized by him/her, in a number, which in view
of the kind and nature of the work, can satisfy the needs of the public.
(4) A work of fine arts shall also be deemed published when the original or at least a
copy of that work is made accessible to the public on a permanent basis by its
author or a person duly authorized by him/her.
2. COMMENCEMENT OF RIGHTS
Article 8
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Any author shall enjoy moral and pecuniary rights with regard to his/her work of
authorship from the moment of its creation.
3. HOLDER OF COPYRIGHT
Article 9
(1) An author is a natural person who has created a work of authorship (hereinafter:
the work).
(2) An author shall be understood to mean a person whose name, pseudonym or mark is stated on copies of the work or is referred to on the occasion of publication of
the work, until proven to the contrary. Exceptionally, legal or natural person
whose title and/or name is in the usual way displayed on the film work shall be
considered as the producer of that work, until proven to the contrary.
(3) The author of the work shall be the holder of copyright.
(4) Besides the author, the holder of copyright may also be a person who is not an
author who has acquired the copyright in accordance with this Law.
Article 10
(1) A coauthor is a natural person who has created a work on the basis of creative
work with another person.
(2) Coauthors shall be joint holders of the copyright on a work of authorship, unless
otherwise provided by this Law or a contract governing their mutual relations.
(3) The consent of all coauthors shall be necessary for the exercise of a copyright and
its assignment. A coauthor may not withhold his/her consent contrary to the
principle of good faith and fair dealing, or do anything that is harmful or could be
harmful to the interests of other coauthors.
(4) Each coauthor shall be authorized to file an action for the protection of right with
respect to the coauthored work, in which case he/she may file claims only in
his/her own name and for his/her own behalf.
(5) Coauthors shall share the economic benefit from exploiting a coauthored work
in proportion to the actual contribution made by each of them to the creation of
such work, unless otherwise agreed on among them.
Article 11
(1) The scriptwriter, director and chief cameraman shall be regarded as coauthors of
a film.
(2) If music makes up an essential component of a film (musical film) and it has been
composed for that film, then also the composer shall be regarded as a coauthor of
that film.
(3) In a cartoon and/or animated film, or in a film where drawings or animation are its
essential elements, the main filmanimator shall also be deemed to be the coauthor
of the film.
Article 12
(1) If two or more authors combine their works for the sake of joint exploitation, each
author shall reserve his/her right on his/her work.
(2) The relations between the authors of combined works shall be determined by
contract.
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Article 13
(1) The copyright on a work of authorship, the author of which is unknown (an
anonymous work or a work under pseudonym), shall be held by the following:
1) If published, by its publisher;
2) If disclosed, but not published, by the person who has disclosed it.
(2) If proved that persons referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article have not acquired
the permission to publish and/or disclose the work from its author or his/her
successor, Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply.
(3) Once the identity of the author of a work referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article
is established, the rights of the publisher and/or the person who has disclosed it
shall be terminated
4. CONTENT OF THE COPYRIGHT
4.1. Author’s Moral Rights
4.1.1. Right of Authorship
Article 14
Any author shall have the exclusive right to be recognized as the author of his work.
4.1.2 Right to be Named
Article 15
Any author shall have the exclusive right to his/her name, pseudonym or mark
being put on each copy of his work or be quoted at each public communication of
that work, unless that is technically impossible or unfeasible in regard to the
concrete form of the public communication of the work.
4.1.3. Right of Disclosure
Article 16
(1) Any author shall have the exclusive right to disclose his/her work and set the way
in which it is to be disclosed.
(2) Pending the disclosure of a work, only its author shall have the exclusive right to
give information in public about the contents of his/her work or to describe it.
4.1.4. Right of Protection of the Work’s Integrity
Article 17
Any author shall have the exclusive right to protect the integrity of his/her work,
particularly by the following actions:
1) Opposing the alterations to his/her work by unauthorized persons;
2) Opposing the communication of his/her work to the public in an altered or
incomplete form, taking into account the concrete technical form of
communication of the work and good business practices.
3) Giving permission for his work to be modified.
4.1.5. Right to Oppose Unbecoming Exploitation of the Work
Article 18
Any author shall have the exclusive right to oppose the exploitation of his/her work in a
manner that is posing or could pose a threat to his honour or reputation.
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4.2. Author’s Pecuniary Rights
Article 19
(1) Any author shall have the right to commercial exploitation of his/her work, as well
as of a work resulting from the modification of his/her work.
(2) Any author shall be entitled to remuneration for the exploitation of his work by
another person, unless otherwise provided by this Law or a contract.
4.2.1. Right to Reproduce
Article 20
(1) The author shall have the exclusive right to authorize or prohibit fixation or
reproduction of his work in total or partially, by any means, in any shape, in any manner,
permanently or temporarily, directly or indirectly.
(2) Work is copied, in particular, by graphic procedures, photocopying and other
photographic procedures giving the same result, sound or visual recording, erecting the work
of architecture, storage of the work in electronic form into the memory of the computer.
(3) Reproduction of the works shall exist regardless of the number of their copies, technique by which they are multiplied or the durability of the copy.
(4) If the work of authorship is a computer program, reproduction shall also be
understood to mean the operation of the program in the computer.
4.2.2. The Right to Place in Circulation Copies of the Work.
Article 21
(1) The author shall have the exclusive right to prohibit anybody from placing originals or
multiplied copies of his work on the market or to permit him/her to do so by sale or other
means of property transfer.
(2) Placing copies of a work on the market shall also include the following:
1) Offering copies of the work for the purposes of placing it in circulation;
2) Storing copies of the work for the purposes of placing it in circulation;
3) Importing copies of the work.
(3) The right of an author to place copies of the work on the market shall not affect
any owner of a copy of the work who has legally acquired in the Republic of Serbia that copy
from the author or the author’s legal successor (the exhaustion of right). The owner of the
copy of a work, who has legally obtained it from its author or his legal successor, may freely
dispose of the copy of the work.
4.2.3. The Right to Rent Copies of the Work
Article 22
(1) The author shall have the exclusive right to give permission or prohibit renting the
the originals or the multiplied copies of his/her work. For the purposes of this Law, “renting”
means making the originals or the copies of the work available for use to other persons for a
limited period of time and for the purpose of realizing direct or indirect pecuniary benefit.
(2) If an author licenses his/her right referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article to a
producer of phonograms and/or videograms, he/she shall retain the right to obtain
an equitable remuneration for the rental of the work (work recorded on a video
cassette, audio cassette, compact disc and the like).
(3) The author may not waive the right to remuneration referred to in Paragraph 2 of
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this Article.
(4) The right from the paragraph 1 of this article is not exhausted by sale or other acts of
marketing the originals or multiplied copies of the work.
Article 23
The author shall not enjoy the right referred to in Article 22, Paragraph 1, of this Law, if
any of the following is involved:
1) A built work of architecture;
2) A work of applied art materialized in the form of an industrial or artisan
product;
3) A work that came into being or was reproduced for the purpose of being rented
as the exclusive form of the exploited work agreed upon between the author
and owner of a copy of the work.
4.2. 5. The Right to Perform
Article 25
(1) The author shall have the exclusive right to permit or prohibit performance of
his/her work.
(2) For the purposes of Paragraph 1 of this Article, performance shall be understood
to mean public communication of nonstage works (speech, music) live to the
audience.
4.2.6. The Right to Present
Article 26
(1) The author shall have the exclusive right to give permission or prohibit
presentations of his/her work.
(2) For the purposes of Paragraph 1 of this Article, presentation shall be understood to
mean public communication of stage works (dramatic, dramaticmusical,
choreographic, pantomimic) live to the audience.
4.2.7. The Right to Transmit Performance or Presentation
Article 27
(1) The author shall have the exclusive right to give permission or prohibit
transmitting of the performance or presentation of his/her work.
(2) For the purposes of Paragraph 1 of this Article, transmission shall be understood
to mean the simultaneous public communication of a work that is being performed
or presented to the audience present outside the premises on which the work is
being performed or presented live, with the means of technical devices, such as a
loudspeaker or a screen and a loudspeaker.
4.2.8. The Right to Broadcast
Article 28
(1) The author shall have the exclusive right to give permission or prohibit
broadcasting of his/her work.
(2) For the purposes of Paragraph 1 of this Article, broadcasting shall be understood
to mean public communication of a work by wire or wireless transmission of
radio or television programme signals intended for public reception (radio broadcasting and
cable broadcasting).
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(3) The wireless and wire broadcasting are two different ways of exploiting a work
and they make up the subjectmatter of two different copyright authorizations,
except in the following cases:
1) If the rebroadcasting of a work by wire is a technically essential condition for
the reception of a broadcast;
2) If the rebroadcasting by wire of a work that is broadcast wireless supplies less
than a hundred receivers with signal on a noncommercial basis.
(4) For the purposes of Paragraph 2 of this Article, special broadcasting operation
shall also be deemed to exist when signals intended for public reception are
transmitted in an uninterrupted communication chain to a satellite and back to the
ground, under the control of a broadcaster (hereinafter: the broadcasting
organization), which shall be responsible therefore.
(5) If the program signals are coded, transmission via satellite shall be deemed to exist on
condition that the signal decoding devices are accessible to the public through a
broadcasting organization referred to in Paragraph 4 of this Article or through a third
party duly authorized by the broadcasting organization.
4.2.9 The Right of ReBroadcasting
Article 29.
(1)The author has the exclusive right to forbid or allow some other person that the copyright
protected work broadcasted in radio diffusion should be simultaneously communicated to the
public in the unchanged shape and as a whole:
1) when the communication to the public is performed by another broadcasting organization,
and not the one that has originally broadcasted the work;
2) when the communication to the public is performed by the cable or micro wave system or
when the work is originally broadcasted from another country (cable rebroadcasting).
(2) In the case of cable rebroadcasting or works, the right of the author is realized only
through the collective management organization for copyright and related rights.
(3) The provision of the paragraph 2 of this article is not applied in the case of cable re
broadcasting if it concerns the emissions belonging to the broadcasting organizations,
regardless whether those are the original rights of the broadcasting organizations or the rights
transferred to them by the other holders of rights.
4.2.10 The Right to Public Communication, including the Interactive Communication of
the Work to the Public
Article 30
The author shall have the exclusive right to give permission or prohibit communication
of his/ her work to the public by wire or wireless means including the making available
in such a way that member of the public may individually access the work from a place
and at a time he/she chooses.
4.2.11 The Right to Adapt, Arrange or Alter the Work in Some Other Manner
Article 31
The author shall have the exclusive right to prohibit or permit adaptation, arrangement
or other alterations of his/her work.
4.2.12 The Right to Communicate a Broadcasted Work to the Public
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Article 32
The author shall have the exclusive right to give permission or prohibit communication
of his/her work that is being broadcasted, or rebroadcasted, simultaneously to audience at
public places,
such as means of public transport, restaurants, waiting rooms and the like, with the
means of such devices as radio receivers or television sets.
4.2.13 The Right to Communicate a Work from a Sound or Picture Carrier to the Public
Article 33
The author shall have the exclusive right to give permission or prohibit communication
to the public of his/her work recorded on a sound carrier or picture carrier (a record,
compact disc, audio cassette, video cassette, film tape, optic disc, slide) with the means
of technical devices for the reproduction of sound and/or picture.
4.3. Author’s Rights in Relation to the Owner of a
Work of Authorship
4.3.1. Right of Access to a Copy of the Work
Article 34
(1) Any author shall have the right to request an owner of a copy of his work to allow
him/her access to that copy, if so is necessary for the reproduction of that work
and if that is not a threat to justified interests of the owner or the person keeping
the work in his/her possession.
(2) The owner of a work or the person keeping it in his/her possession referred to in
Paragraph 1 of this Article, shall not have to hand over a copy of the work to the
author.
4.3.2. Droit de Suite
Article 35
(1) If the original of the work of fine art, after the first sale by the author, is sold again, the
author has the right to be informed of the sale and the new owner and to ask for remuneration
in the scope prescribed by this article.
(2) As the originals of the works of the fine art, from paragraph 1 of this article, are
considered to be pictures, drawings, collages, graphics, photographs, tapestries, sculptures,
works of art made in ceramics, glass or other material and similar works made by the artists
own hand.
(3) Originals of the work of the fine art, from paragraph 1 of this article are taken to be also
the multiplied copies of that work (reproductions) if they have been made in the limited
number by the author or the person he authorized. Such copies must be numerated in the
usual way and signed or in some other manner marked by the author.
(4) The provision of paragraph 1 of this article is applied to all the works of resale which
include as salesmen, buyers or agents, persons which are professionally engaged in the sale
of works of art, such as sales salons, art galleries, auction houses, etc.
(5) The obligations from paragraph 1 of this Article are the equal responsibility of the seller,
buyer and agent in solidarity.
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(6) The remuneration on the basis of the droit de suite is paid in the percentage from the price
of sale of the original without taxes:
(7) The remuneration from paragraph 6 of this article is:
1) 4% from the sales price realized in the amount of 100.000 – 5.000.000 dinars
2) 3% from the sales price realized in the amount 5.000.000 – 20,000.000 dinars
3) 1% from the sales price realized in the amount of 20.000.000 – 35.000.000 dinars
4) 0.4% from the sales price realized in the amount of 35.000.000 50.000.000 dinars
5) 0.25% from the sales price realized in the amount of 50.000.001 dinars.
(8) With no regard to the sales price of the original, the compensation on the basis of the droit
de suite can not amount to more than 1.300.000 dinars.
(9) Persons mentioned in paragraph 5 of this article have the obligation, in the term of 30
days from the date of the sale, to inform the author on the amount of the sales price, name or
title or address of the seller, buyer and agent. The obligation for the payment of remuneration
from this article is due in the term of 30 days from the date when the sales has been
performed.
Article 36
(1)Author can not renounce droit de suite nor can he dispose with it. After the death of the
author, the droit de suite passes to his heirs.
(2)Droit de suite can not be the subject of the judicial enforcement.
(3)Author has the right, in the term of three years from the resale of the original of the work
of fine arts, to demand from the persons mentioned in article 35, paragraph 5 of this Law, any
information which is necessary for the securing of the payment of remuneration which
belongs to him, on the basis of that resale.
4.3.3. Right to Prohibit the Exhibition of the
Original Copy of a Work of Fine Arts
Article 37
(1) The owner of the original version of a painting, sculpture and photograph shall
have the right to exhibit such item, regardless of whether it has been disclosed,
unless expressly prohibited by the author in writing, a the time original version
was disposed of.
(2) No author may prohibit the displaying of the original version of a work belonging
to a museum, art gallery or a similar public institution.
4.3.4. Author’s Priority Right of Modification
of a Work of Architecture
Article 38
(1) If the owner of a building, which is a materialized work of architecture, intends to
make certain alterations on that building, he/she shall first offer the author to make
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such alteration, if he/she is accessible. Author has the obligation to make a declaration
concerning the offer of the owner of the building in the term of 30 days from the reception
date of the offer.
(2)The author of the work of architecture can not oppose to the alterations of his work if the
need to make alterations came out of the circumstances involving safety risk or technical
reasons.
(3) The author’s moral rights shall be observed if alterations in a building are not
made in accordance with the modification of the work made by the author.
4.4. Authors’ Right to Special Remuneration
Article 39
(1) When the copyright protected work is copied without the permission of the author, in
compliance with provisions of article 46, paragraph 1 and 2 of this Law, the authors of the
works for which, bearing in mind their nature, it can be expected that they will be multiplied
by photocopying or recording onto the carriers of sound, picture or text for personal non
commercial needs of the natural persons (literary works, music, films, etc.) have a right for
special remuneration from import or sale of technical devices and empty carriers of sound,
picture and text for whom we can justifiably assume that they shall be used for such
multiplication.
(2)The remuneration from paragraph 1 of this article are paid by the producers of devices for
sound or visual recording, producers of photocopying devices or other devices with the
similar technology for multiplication, the producers of empty carriers of sound, picture and
text, and in solidarity with them, the importers of devices for sound or visual recording,
photocopying devices or other devices with the similar technology for reproduction and
empty carriers of sound, picture or text, with the exception of the import of small amounts
intended for the private and non commercial use, as part of the personal luggage.
(3) If the devices and items from paragraph 1 of this article are not produced in the Republic
of Serbia, the remuneration is paid by the importer.
(4) The obligation for the payment of remuneration from paragraph 1 of this article orginates:
1) at the fist sale in the Republic of Serbia or import in the Republic of Serbia of new devices
for sound or visual recording;
2) at the first sale in the Republic of Serbia or import in the Republic of Serbia, of empty
carriers of sound, picture and text;
3) at the first sale in the Republic of Serbia or import in the Republic of Serbia, of new
devices for photocopying or other devices with the similar technology of copying.
(5) In the case of copying works protected by copyright by photocopying or similar
technology, apart from the right to remuneration from paragraph 1 of this article, the author
has the right to remuneration from the legal or natural person providing commercial services
of photocopying.
(6) Persons from paragraph 2 of this article do not pay remuneration for the:
1) technical devices and empty carriers of sound, picture and text if they are intended for
export,
2) technical devices which are usually not used for the copying of works for personal non
commercial purposes (for example, studio equipment and devices, dictaphone, and similar),
3) empty carriers of sound, picture and text applicable exclusively with technical devices
from item 2 of this paragraph.
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(7) Persons from paragraphs 2 and 5 of this article have an obligation, at the request of the
organizations for collective management of copyright and related rights, to forward
information on the type and number of sold or imported devices or carriers of sound, picture
and text, as well as information on the number of photocopies made, as the ground for the
calculation of compensation. Information obtained in such a way can be used by the
organization only for the calculation of the remuneration and must not be used for any other
purposes.
(8) Remuneration from paragraphs 1 and 5 of this article must be the fair compensation and
the determination of its amount must take into account the probable damage suffered by the
author when his work is copied without his permission for personal non commercial use, the
application of technical measures of protection and other circumstances that can influence the
correct calculation of the amount of this special remuneration.
(9) The authors may realize their right to remuneration from paragraphs 1 and 5 of this article
only through the organizations for collective management of copyright and related rights.
(10) Author can not renounce the right to special remuneration from paragraphs 1 and 5 of
this article. Right to special remuneration can not be the subject matter of abandonment,
disposition for life and judicial enforcement.
(11) At the proposal of the bodies of government administration competent for the
intellectual property matters (henceforward: competent body), with the previously obtained
opinion of the body of government administration competent for the development of
information society, the Government shall establish the list of technical devices and objects
for which there is an obligation of payment of special remuneration under the conditions of
paragraphs 1 to 9 of this article.
4.5 Right of the author to remuneration in the case of lending
Article 40
(1)In the case of lending the originals or the multiplied copies of the work, by public libraries
or other institutions engaged in lending on a professional basis, the author has a right to
suitable remuneration.
(2)Lending, in the meaning of this Law, is giving the originals or multiplied copies of works
to be used in the limited period of time, without realizing direct or indirect economic benefit.
(3)Provisions of Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article are not applied when lending
1) originals or multiplied copies of library material in the national libraries, libraries of the
public education institutions and public specialized libraries,
2) originals or multiplied copies of works of the applied art or industrial designs,
3) works of architecture,
4) originals or multiplied copies of works mutually lent by the institutions from paragraph 1
of this article.
(4) The right from paragraph 1 of this article can be realized only through the organizations
for collective management of copyright and related rights.
5. LIMITATIONS ON COPYRIGHT
5.1. Common Provision
Article 41
(1) In the cases in which a work of authorship is exploited pursuant to the provisions
of this Law dealing with limitations on copyright, the name of that work’s author
and the source from which the work was taken (publisher of the work, year and
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place of publication, periodical, newspaper, television or radio station where the
work or a part of it was originally published or directly taken from, and the like),
shall be quoted.
(2) In any specific case, the scope of limitation of exclusive rights may not conflict
with a normal exploitation of the work nor may unreasonably prejudice the
legitimate interests of the author.
5.2. Suspension of Exclusive Rights and Right to Remuneration
Article 42
A work of authorship may be reproduced and communicated to the public without the
author’s permission and without paying remuneration for the purpose of conducting an
official procedure before a court or other state bodies or for the purpose of securing public
safety.
Article 43
(1) In the scope of informing the public on current events with the means of the press,
radio and television, it shall be permissible to make copies of a work, as well as to
communicate the work in all other forms to the public without its author’s
permission and without paying remuneration, on the following conditions:
1) the multiplication of the copies of the published works which appear as the integral part of
the current event that the public is being informed about;
2) preparation and multiplication of the short extracts or digest from the press and other
articles in the press reviews.
3) multiplication of public political, religious and other speeches gave in the government
bodies, religious institutions or during the state or religious festivities.
4) free use of daily information and news which have the nature of the news report.
(2) The provision of the paragraph 1 of this article is duly applied to all forms of public
communication of the mentioned works.
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Article 44
It is allowed, without the permission of the author and without payment of remuneration to
the author, for the non commercial purposes of education:
1) to perform publicly or represent the published works in the shape of direct
presentation of a lecture in the process of tuition,
2) public performance or representation of the published works at the school festivals
providing the interpreters are not given compensation for their performance and the
entrance is not charged,
3) communication to the public of the broadcasted school emissions by means of
technical devices internally within the educational establishment.
Article 45
It is allowed, without the permission of the author and without payment of the copyright
remuneration to multiply works by public libraries, educational institutions, museums and
archives, only for the own archive needs, if the work is copied from the copy in their
possession and if by such copying these institutions have no intention to realize direct or
indirect economic or commercial benefit.
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Article 46
(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 208, Paragraph 1, Items 4 and 5 of
this Law, any natural person shall have the right to reproduce for personal noncommercial
purposes a disclosed work without the author’s permission and
without paying remuneration.
(2) The copies referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be placed on the
market or be used for any other form of public communication of that work.
(3) The provisions of Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to the following:
1) Recording of the performance, presentation or showing the work;
2) Threedimensional realization of drawings for works of fine arts;
3) Constructed works of architecture;
4) Construction of a new building after an existing building, which is a work of
authorship;
5) Computer programs and electronic data bases,
6) Multiplication of the written works in the scope of an entire book, unless if copies of that
book have been sold out for at least two years,
7) Multiplication of the sheet music, except by manual copying.
(4) The author shall have the right of remuneration in accordance with the provisions
of Article 39 of this Law for the use of its work in a manner prescribed by paragraphs 1 and 2
of this Article.
Article 47
(1) If a work of authorship is a computer program, the person who has legitimately
obtained a copy of that computer program for his/her own usual use, may do the
following without its author’s permission and without paying any remuneration:
1) Store the program in the computer memory and run the program;
2) Eliminate errors in the program, as well as make any other necessary changes
in it, in accordance with its purpose, unless otherwise provided by contract;
3) Make a one backup copy of the program on a lasting tangible carrier;
4) Decompile the program exclusively for the purpose of obtaining the data
necessary for making that program interoperational with some other
independently developed program or some hardware, on condition that such
data were not accessible in some other way and that decompilation is limited
only to those parts of the program which are necessary to achieve
interoperability.
(2) The data obtained in the way referred to in Paragraph 1, Item 4, of this Article
may not be communicated to others or be used for other purposes, particularly for
the purpose of developing or selling another computer program that would
infringe on the copyright on the original one.
(3) Act referred to in Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 4 of this Article may be directly
conducted by a person who has legally obtained a copy of a computer program, or
by some other qualified person acting under his/her instructions.
Article 48
Any person shall have the right of temporary reproduction of the work of authorship
without the author’s permission and without paying any remuneration, under the
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following conditions:
1) Reproduction is transient or incidental,
2) Reproduction is an integral and essential part of a technological process,
3) Purpose of reproduction is to enable a transmission of data in a network
between two or more persons through an intermediary, or to enable a lawful
use of a work of authorship, and
4) Reproduction does not have independent economic significance.
Article 49
Short excerpts of a work of authorship, or individual short copyright protected works, may be
reproduced or be communicated to the public (right of quotation), without the author’s
permission and without paying remuneration, on the following conditions:
1) The work has been disclosed;
2) The mentioned parts or short works, are integrated into another work without alterations,
for the sake of illustration, confirmation or reference, with a clear indication that a reference
is involved and in compliance with the fair practices;
3) The name of the quoted author, the title of the quoted work and when and where the
quoted work was disclosed or published are noted in a suitable place, if those data are known.
Article 50
(1) A broadcasting enterprise possessing the permission to broadcast a work may
record it using its own facilities on a sound carrier or picture carrier or on a sound
and picture carrier, for its own broadcasting purposes, without the author’s
permission and without paying any remuneration.
(2) The recording of the work referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article shall be
deleted within three months from the date on which such work was broadcasted at
the latest.
(3) The recording referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article may be retained in official
public archives, if it has a documentary value.
(4) Any work recorded pursuant to Paragraph 1 of this Article may not be rebroadcast
without author’s permission.
Article 51
Any work that is permanently displayed in a street, a square or some other open public
places may be reproduced in two dimensions and its copies thus made may be put on the
market, as well as communicated to the public in some other way, without the author’s
permission and without paying remuneration.
Article 52
Displayed works may be reproduced in a suitable way and their copies thus made may
be marketed, for the purpose of making public exhibition catalogues or conducting
public sales, without the authors’ permission and without paying any remuneration.
Article 53
(1) In shops, at trade fairs and other places where the operation of the sound and
picture recording reproducing and transmitting devices is demonstrated, works
may be reproduced on a sound and picture carrier and communicated to public
therefrom without their authors’ permission and without paying remuneration,
though only to the extent necessary to demonstrate the operation of such devices.
14
(2) Any recording made pursuant to the provision of Paragraph 1 of this Article shall
be deleted without any delay.
Article 54
For the needs of the persons with invalidity, it is allowed, without the permission of the
author and without payment of the remuneration, to copy and distribute the work protected
by copyright, if such a work does not exist in the required form, if its use is in direct
connection with the invalidity of persons concerned and in the scope that is required by a
specific kind of invalidity providing the copying and distribution has not been made for the
sake of realizing direct or indirect commercial gain.
Article 54a
Free adaptation of the published copyright protected work is allowed when it concerns:
1) parody or caricature, if that does not create confusion or does not lead to the creation
of confusion with regard to the source of the work,
2) adaptation of work for personal needs which is not intended and not available to the
public,
3) adaptation connected to the allowed use of the work , which is caused by the very
nature or manner of use.
Article 54b
(1)The authorized user of the published data base or its multiplied copy can freely multiply
and adapt that data base if that is necessary for the access to its contents and the regular use
of that contents. If the user is authorized just for the part of that data base, he is allowed to
multiply or adapt just that part.
(2) The provisions of the contract which are contrary to paragraph 1 of this article are null
and void.
Article 45c
Published works which represent insignificant component in relation to the main corpus of
work which includes them or in relation to the item they are used with, are free to be used
during the utilization of that main corpus of work or that thing
5.3. Statutory License
Article 55
(1) Without the permission of the author, and with the obligation of payment the
remuneration for copyright, it is allowed, in the form of a manual intended for tuition,
examination or scientific research, to copy on the paper or similar carrier, by photocopying or
some other form of photographic or similar technology which gives similar results, the parts
of the published copyright protected works, individual short published copyright protected
works in the field of science, literature and music or individual published copyright protected
works in the field of photography, industrial and graphic design and cartography, if it
concerns published works of several different authors, unless the author explicitly prohibits
that.
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(2) Provision of Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to sheet music.
Article 56
The articles published in mass media may be reproduced, marketed or in other
way communicated to the public by other mass media, without the author’s
permission, with the obligation to pay the remuneration, provided that such
articles relate to current economic, political or religious issues and that such
activity is not expressly forbidden by the author concerned.
Article 57
Threedimensional reproduction of works permanently displayed in the streets, squares
and other open public places may be made and such copies may be marketed, without
their authors’ permission, with the obligation to pay remuneration, except in the
following cases:
1) If the copy of a sculpture is obtained as a casting from the original mould,
from which also the copy permanently displayed at an open public place or
from a mould made by casting the sculpture;
2) If a building is built after an existing building;
3) If the product is formed after a work of applied arts.
6. TRANSFER OF THE COPYRIGHT
6.1. Transfer by Inheritance
Article 58
(1) The author’s heirs may exercise all powers with respect to the author’s moral
rights, except for the right to publish an undisclosed work, if the author has
prohibited it, and the right to modify the work.
(2) Besides his/her heirs, associations of authors, as well as institutions in the fields of
culture, science and arts, may also protect an author’s rights relating to authorship,
integrity of the work and prohibition of unbecoming exploitation of the work.
Article 59
The pecuniary rights of any author shall be inheritable.
6.2. Transfer by Contract
6.2.1. Author’s Moral Rights
Article 60
The moral rights of any author are not transferable by a contract.
6.2.2. Author’s Pecuniary Rights
Article 61
The author or his/her successor in rights may licence to another person some or all of
the pecuniary rights on his/her work.
Article 62
(1) The licensing of pecuniary rights may be either exclusive or nonexclusive.
(2) In the case of exclusive licensing of pecuniary rights, only the licensee shall be
authorized to exploit the work of authorship in the way stipulated by contract, as
well as to license such rights to somebody else, with the author’s or his/her
successor’s special permission. The right a licensee licences to others shall be a
16
nonexclusive right, unless otherwise provided by contract.
(3) In the case of nonexclusive licensing of pecuniary rights, the licensee shall not be
authorized neither to prohibit somebody else from exercising the copyright nor to
a license his/her right to somebody else.
(4) Where the contract does not state whether exclusive or nonexclusive licensing is
implicated, concerned licensing of pecuniary rights shall be deemed to be nonexclusive.
Article 63
(1) The licensing of pecuniary rights may be limited in terms of subjectmatter,
territory and time.
(2) In the case of limitation relating to subjectmatter, the licensee shall be authorized
to perform one or several specified operations towards exploiting the work of
authorship.
(3) In the case of territorial limitation, the licensee shall be authorized to exploit the
work of authorship within a specified territory, which is smaller than the one in
which the right of authorship exists.
(4) In the case of temporal limitation, the licensee shall be authorized to exploit the
work of authorship within a specified period, which is shorter than the period of
validity of the copyright with respect to such work.
Article 64
(1) Any person who has acquired pecuniary rights by a licence from the author or
his/her heir may cede such right wholly to another person, subject to the
permission of the author or his/her heir.
(2) The permission of the author or his/her heir shall not be needed in the event of
transfer of the enterprise holding the pecuniary right.
Article 65
The transfer of title on an original of a work of authorship shall not imply the
acquisition of copyright on that work.
Article 66
(1) The licensing of pecuniary right on a work which has not been created yet shall be
permissible on condition that the kind of the future work and ways of exploiting it
are determined.
(2) Any licensing of pecuniary rights on all future works of an author, as well as on
still unknown forms of exploiting a work, shall be null and void.
6.2.3. Copyright Contract
Article 67
(1) Copyright may be licensed or ceded in whole by the copyright contract.
(2) The provisions of the law that regulates contracts and torts shall apply to copyright
contracts, unless otherwise provided by this Law.
(3) Copyright contracts shall be made in writing, unless otherwise provided by this
Law.
Article 68
(1) In the event of doubt as to the contents and scope of the rights being licensed or
ceded by the copyright contract, it shall be deemed that less rights have been
17
licensed or assigned.
(2) The licence for the publication of a work, for the recording a work on a sound or a
picture carrier, and the licence for broadcasting shall be contracted expressly,
unless otherwise provided by this Law.
(3) The licensing or cession of a right to exploitation of a work shall not be
understood to also mean the licensing or cession of the right to remuneration in the
case of exploitation of a work of authorship on the basis of a statutory licence.
(4) The licensing and/or cession of a right to exploit a work shall also mean the
licence for making such changes in the work that are technically inevitable or
usual for such exploitation of the work.
Article 69
A copyright contract shall include the following: names of contracting parties, title
and/or identification of the work of authorship, rights that the subjectmatter of
licensing or cession, amount of remuneration if any, and the method and terms for its
payment, as well as limitations related to content, territory and time, if any.
Article 70
(1) If the profit made by exploiting a work of authorship is evidently disproportionate
to the contractual remuneration, the author or his/her heir shall have the right to
request the contract to be modified for the purpose of eliminating such
disproportion.
(2) If the author’s remuneration is not agreed upon and if the profit made by the use of
the work of an author exceeds the costs of its use, allowing therewith the payment
of author’s remuneration, the author or his/her heir shall have the right to request
the contract to be modified by including such remuneration in the contract.
(3) The right referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall become
unenforceable two years after the existence of such disproportion and /or profit
made by the use of work of an author became known, but not later than six years
from the end of the year in which the disproportion had arisen, and/or profit has
been made.
(4) The author and/or his/her heir may not waive in advance the right referred to in
Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
(5) In order to exercise rights referred to in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, the user
of the work of authorship shall have a duty to present credible information on
economic effects of the use of a work of authorship to the author, and/or his/her
heir within period not exceeding a month as of the day of the request.
Article 71
(1) The author or his/her heir may withhold the permission granted or revoke a
licensed pecuniary right, if the acquirer of permission or licensee is not exercising
the acquired right or if the right is exercised to a lesser extent than agreed,
whereby jeopardizing the interests of the author or his/her heir.
(2) The author or his heir may not withhold the permission granted or revoke a
licensed pecuniary right if the acquirer is not exercising the right or is doing so
inadequately for reasons for which the author or his/her heir is responsible.
(3) The author or his/her heir may not exercise the right referred to in Paragraph 1 of
this Article prior to the expiration of two years as of the date of the copyright
contract, or the handover of the copy of the work to the acquirer of the right, if
18
such handover had taken place after the conclusion of contract.
(4) If a contribution (article, illustration and the like) intended to be disclosed and/or
published in a newspaper or periodical is involved, the period referred to in
Paragraph 3 shall be six months.
(5) Prior to withholding the permission or revoking the right, the author or his/her heir
shall notify the acquirer of the permission or right accordingly, providing a
reasonable period of time within which the acquirer is to commence exercising the
acquired right or doing so to the agreed extent.
(6) The author or his/her heir may not waive in advance the right referred to in
Paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 72
(1) The author may withhold the permission granted or revoke the licensed pecuniary
right, if he/she is of the opinion that the exploitation of the work could be
detrimental to his/her creative or personal reputation, for reasons arisen
subsequent to the conclusion of the copyright contract, for which the acquirer of
the right is not responsible.
(2) The author shall indemnify the acquirer of the right for the real damage sustained.
(3) The statement of withholding the permission or right referred to in Paragraph 1 of
this Article shall be effective as of the date on which the author deposits a security
for the indemnity referred to in Paragraph 2 of this Article.
(4) At the author’s request, the acquirer of the right shall notify the author of the
amount of costs he/she has had in connection with preparations for the
exploitation of the work until the date of the notice of withholding the permission
or right, within three months from receipt of the statement of withholding the
permission or right referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article. Should the acquirer
fail to perform his/her duty referred to in this paragraph, the statement of
withholding the permission or right shall be effective as of the expiration of the
term referred to in this Paragraph.
(5) The author may not waive in advance his/her right referred to in Paragraph 1 of
this Article.
6.2.3.1. Publishing Contract
Article 73
(1) A publishing contract shall be a contract under which an author or any other
copyright holder licences or cedes to a publisher the right to reproduce a work of
authorship by printing and market thus reproduced copies, and where the publisher
undertakes to reproduce that work and market, as well as to remunerate, if agreed
upon, the author or any other copyright holder.
(2) If the work of authorship referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article has not been
disclosed, the publisher shall be permitted under the publishing contract, to
disclose such work.
(3) The author or any other copyright holder may licence or cede to the publisher,
under a publishing contract, the right to have the work translated, as well as the
authority to reproduce and market the translated work.
Article 74
A publishing contract, the subjectmatter of which is the publication of articles,
drawings and other authors’ contributions in newspapers and periodicals, need not be
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concluded in writing.
Article 75
(1) The licensing of rights by the publishing contract shall be exclusive, unless
otherwise agreed upon.
(2) The provision of Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to the publishing of
articles, drawings and other authors’ contributions in newspapers and periodicals.
Article 76
(1) Besides the particulars referred to in Article 71 of this Law, a publishing contract
shall also include the following:
1) Term within which the author or other copyright holder shall hand over to the
publisher a proper manuscript or other original of the work, so as to make it
possible for the publisher to reproduce the work. That term shall be a year
from the date of contract, unless otherwise agreed upon;
2) Term within which the publisher shall start marketing copies of the work. Such
term shall be a year from receipt of a proper manuscript or other original of the
work, unless otherwise agreed upon;
3) Number of editions the publisher is authorized to publish. The publisher shall
have the right to publish only one edition of the work, unless otherwise agreed
upon;
4) Number of copies of one edition. If the number of copies has not been
stipulated, it shall be 500, unless business practices and other circumstances
evidently call for it to be different;
5) Term within which the publisher has to start marketing copies of the next
edition upon depletion of the previous one, if so has been stipulated. Such term
shall be a year from the date on which the author had made a request to that
effect, unless otherwise agreed upon.
6) Appearance and design of copies of the work.
(2) In the event of a breach of the contractual obligation referred to in Paragraph 1,
Items 1, 2 and 5, of this Article, the other contracting party shall have the right to
void the contract and to be indemnified because of the failure to execute the
contract.
Article 77
The duties of the publisher shall the following:
1) To take care of the sale of copies of the work and to notify the author or any
other copyright holder periodically, at his/her request;
2) To make it possible for the author or any other copyright holder, at his/her
request, to proof reads in an appropriate phase of reproduction;
3) To make it possible for the author to make appropriate changes in the
preparation of each subsequent edition, on condition that this does not alter the
work’s character and that in view of the publishing contract as a whole, it does
not make up a disproportionately immense obligation for the publisher.
Article 78
A manuscript or any other original of a work of authorship that has been handed over to
the publisher shall not become the latter’s property, with the exception of articles,
drawings and other contributions in newspapers and periodicals or unless otherwise
20
provided by contract.
Article 79
If the sole existing copy of a work of authorship perishes because of force majeure after
it was handed over to the publisher for the purpose of being published, the author or any
other copyright holder shall have the right to a fair compensation, which would have
been due to him/her had the work been published.
Article 80
(1) A publisher who has acquired the right to publish a work in the form of a book
shall have priority in the acquisition of the right to reproduce the work and market
the copies thereof in the form of an electronic recording, within three years from
the date of the publishing contract.
(2) The priority referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article shall expire if the publisher
does not accept in writing the offer made by the author or any other copyright
holder within 30 days as of the date of the offer.
Article 81
If the publisher intends to sell the unsold copies of a work as scrap paper, before such
sale, it shall offer the author or any other copyright holder, if accessible, to buyup such
copies at the price payable for scrap paper.
6.2.3.2. Contract on Presentation and Contract on Performance
Article 82
Based on a contract on presentation or a contract on performance, the author or any
other copyright holder licences a beneficiary to present or to perform of a work of
authorship, and the beneficiary undertakes to present or perform such work within a
specified period of time, in the way and under the conditions established by contract.
Article 83
If the author or any other copyright holder fails to hand over the work (manuscript,
musical score and the like) to the beneficiary within the agreed term or if the beneficiary
fails to present or perform it within the agreed term, the author or any other copyright
holder or the beneficiary may opt to void the contract of presentation on the contract on
performance and claim damages.
Article 84
The manuscript, musical score or any other original work being the subjectmatter of a
contract on presentation or a contract on performance shall remain author’s property,
unless otherwise provided by the contract.
Article 85
The beneficiary of a contract on presentation or a contract on performance shall make it
possible for the author or any other copyright holder to see the presentation or
performance of the work, as well as to send him/her the programme and to notify
him/her periodically of the proceeds from the presentation or performance of the work.
6.2.3.3. Contract of Modification of a Work of Authorship
Article 86
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Under a contract of modification of a work of authorship, the author or other holder of
copyright gives some other person the permission to modify the work in order to present
or perform it on the stage, make a film or for other purposes.
Article 87
(1) Unless otherwise provided by the contract on modification of a work of authorship
for the purpose of making a film, the author or his/her heir shall cede under such
contract the following exclusive rights:
1) To modify of the work for the purpose of making a film;
2) To reproduce and market of copies of the film thus made;
3) To show the film;
4) To broadcasting the film;
5) To subtitle and dub the film in other languages.
(2) The contract referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article shall authorize the acquirer
of the right to only one modification and one making of a film, unless otherwise
provided by the contract.
(3) The provisions of Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis
to a contract of modification of a work of authorship for the purpose of making a
television work.
6.2.3.4. Contract on Film Production
Article 88
Under a contract on film production, one or several persons undertake to creatively cooperate
with a film producer in the production of a film and they assign their pecuniary
rights on such work to the producer.
Article 89
The scriptwriter and composer of film music, as coauthors of the cinematographic
work within the meaning of Article 11 of this Law, reserve the right to exploit their
work independently, separately from the film, unless otherwise provided by the contract
on film production.
Article 90
A film shall be deemed completed once an agreement is reached on its final version
between the coauthors and film producer.
Article 91
If a film producer intends to exploit the film in a version that differs from that referred
to in Article 88 of this Law, it shall obtain the consent of the majority of the film’s coauthors,
including the chief director.
Article 92
(1) The provisions on remuneration, if any, in the contract on film production shall
determine which amount of remuneration corresponds to which form and extent of
exploitation of the film.
(2) The contractual remuneration for shooting a film shall not include remuneration
for other forms of exploitation of a film.
(3) The film producer must exploit the completed film.
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(4) The film producer shall notify the film coauthors, as well as the authors of any
contributions to the film, of the actual revenue, and make it possible for them to
inspect the business records.
Article 93
(1) The coauthors of a film shall have the right to void the contract, as well as the
right to retain the contractual remuneration, if the film producer fails to complete
the film within three years from the date of the film production contract, unless
otherwise agreed upon.
(2) Besides the rights referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article, the coauthors of a
film shall have the right to compensation of damages, if the film producer fails to
start exploiting the film within a year from completion of its first standard copy,
unless some other term is provided by the contract.
Article 94
(1) Should a coauthor of a film or an author of a contribution to the film refuse to cooperate
in the production of the film or if due to force majeure is unable to
continue cooperating, he/she may not object to the result of his/her creative work
being used towards completing the film.
(2) The coauthor of a film or the author of a contribution to a film referred to in
Paragraph 1 of this Article, shall have the appropriate author’s right with respect
to his/her contribution to the film.
6.2.3.5. Contract of Commissioning a Work of Authorship
Article 95
(1) Under a contract of commissioning a work of authorship, the author undertakes to
produce a work of authorship and to hand it over to for the commissioning party.
(2) The commissioning party shall have the right to disclose the work and market the
copy of the work handed over by its author and the author shall retain other
author’s right, unless otherwise provided by the contract on commissioning.
(3) If a computer program was produced on the basis of a contract on commissioning
a work of authorship, the commissioning party shall acquire all rights to the
exploitation of that computer program, unless otherwise provided by the contract.
Article 96
The party commissioning a work of authorship shall have the right to direct and control
the production of that work, though without substantially restricting the author’s
freedom of artistic, technical or scientific expression by doing so.
Article 97
(1) A work of authorship that was created by putting together the contributions of a
large number of authors (an encyclopedia, anthology, computer program,
database and the like) shall be regarded as a collective work of authorship.
(2) The authors of contributions to a collective work of authorship shall in an
exclusive way license all their pecuniary rights to the organizer of the production
of such collective work, unless otherwise provided by the contract.
(3) The organizer of the production of a collective work of authorship shall have the
right to disclose and exploit such work under its own name, on condition that the
authors whose contributions are contained in the collective work are listed on each
23
copy of the work.
7. WORK OF AUTHORSHIP CREATED AS AN EMPLOYEE
Article 98
(1) If an author has created a work as an employee in the performance of his/her
duties, the employer shall be authorized to disclose such work and to hold
exclusive pecuniary rights on its exploitation within the scope of the employer’s
registered business for the period of five years from completion of that work,
unless otherwise provided by a general regulation or employment contract. The
author shall have the right to special remuneration, depending on the proceeds of
the work’s exploitation.
(2) The author of a work created of an employee shall reserve all copyrights on that
work, other than the rights referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article.
(3) Upon the expiration of the term referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article, the
author shall acquire the exclusive pecuniary rights on the work.
(4) If the work of authorship is a computer program, the permanent holder of all
exclusive pecuniary rights on such work shall be the employer, unless otherwise
provided for in the contract.
Article 99
The criteria for setting the amount and the method of payment of the remuneration
referred to in Article 96, Paragraph 1, of this Law, shall be established by a general
regulation or the employment contract.
Article 100
(1) In the case of publication of the complete works, the author shall have the right to
disclose his/her work that was produced during employment even before the
expiration of the term referred to in Article 96, Paragraph 1, of this Law.
(2) The employer’s permission shall not be needed for the disclosure of the work
referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 101
When using a work created by an employee, the employer shall quote the author’s
name, pseudonym or mark.
8. DURATION OF COPYRIGHT
Article 102
(1) Pecuniary rights shall last for the life of an author and 70 years after his/her death.
(2) Moral rights of an author shall last even after the expiration of his/her pecuniary
rights.
Article 103
(1) Coauthors’ pecuniary rights shall expire after 70 years elapse from the death of
the author that was the last to die.
(2) Pecuniary rights with respect to the work whose author is unknown (anonymous
work or work under a pseudonym) shall expire after 70 years elapse from the date
of its disclosure. Should its author reveal his/her identity before the expiration of
the such term, the pecuniary right shall last the same as if its author’s identity has
been known since the date of its disclosure.
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(3) Copyright on the collective works lasts for 70 years from the date of the legal publication
of the work.
Article 104
(1) Where the term of copyright protection runs from the time of disclosure of the
work and where the work was disclosed in installments, the term of protection shall
run for each such installment separately.
(2) The term of protection of a film shall expire after 70 years elapse from the death
of director, scriptwriter, dialogue author or the author of the music specifically
composed for the film, whoever dies last.
Article 105
The term of copyright protection shall expire after 70 years elapses from the creation of
the work if the term of its protection is not calculated from the date of death of the
author or coauthor and if such work has not been lawfully published during such period
of time.
Article 106
All time periods used to determine expiration date of pecuniary rights of an author shall
be calculated from the 1st of January of the year following the one in which the event
relevant for the beginning of the period had occurred.
Article 107
(1) Upon the expiration of the authors’ pecuniary rights, the associations of authors
and institutions in the fields of culture, science and arts shall take care of the protection of
authors’ moral rights.
(2) Besides the parties referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article, any person shall have
the right to protect the right of authorship and integrity of the works, as well as to
oppose any form of unbecoming exploitation of the works of authorship.
9. FOREIGN PERSONS TO WHICH THE LAW APPLIES Article 108
(1) The author’s work of the foreign citizens shall be protected the Serbia and
Montenegro provided that:
1) the author is a person who whose copyright is recognized on the basis of an
international agreement ratified by Serbia and Montenegro, or
2) there is reciprocity between Serbia and Montenegro and the author’s country.
(2) Person invoking the reciprocity referred to in paragraph 1, item 2 of this Article
shall bare the burden of proof of its existence.
Article 109
Droit de suite referred to in Article 34 of this Law shall recognized to a foreign citizen
exclusively on the basis of reciprocity.
Article 110
Author’s moral rights of any foreign citizen shall be recognized regardless of whether
the requirements referred to in Article 106, paragraph 1, of this Law have been met.
III. RELATED RIGHTS
1. PERFORMERS’ RIGHTS
1.1. Establishment of the Right
Article 111
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A performer shall enjoy moral rights and pecuniary rights in accordance with this Law
for his/her performance of a work of authorship.
1.2. Performance
Article 112
(1) For the purposes of this Law, the performance shall be understood to mean an
intellectual commodity that originates from personal engagement of a performer
during audio, visual, or audiovisual communication of the author’s work.
(2) The work being performed need not be a protected work of authorship.
1.3 Performer
Article 113
(1) For the purpose of this Law, a performer shall be understood to mean an
individual who engages personally in the performance of works (a musician, actor,
dancer, performer of pantomimes, singer, conductor).
(2) Persons making only a technical contribution to the performance of works are not
performers.
(3) Provisions of this Law regulating relations of coauthors shall apply mutatis
mutandis to relationships of two or more performers participating in the
performance of one work.
1.4. Scope of the Right
1.4.1. Performer’s Moral Rights
Article 114
(1) A performer shall have the following exclusive rights:
1) To be recognized as such;
2) To have his/her name indicated on each copy of the recording, in the
programme or in any other suitable way each time his/her performance is
exploited, unless where that is technically impossible or impracticable due to
the actual form of the public communication of the work;
3) To oppose the alterations to his/her performance or any exploitation of the
performance in an altered form, should that jeopardize his/her creative or
professional reputation;
4) To oppose marketing of a recording of his/her performance, if such recording
has technical deficiencies that jeopardize the integrity of the performance, and
thereby the performer’s reputation;
5) To oppose the exploitation of his/her performance in a way that jeopardizes or
could jeopardize his/her honour or reputation.
(2) If a group of performers gives a performance, the right referred to in Paragraph 1,
Item 2, of this Article shall be enjoyed both by the group as a whole and the
soloists.
Article 115
If several performers participate in the performance of one work, the exercise of moral
rights by any of them shall not be detrimental to the interests of others.
1.4.2. Performer’s Pecuniary Rights
Article 116
(1) A performer shall have the exclusive right to prohibit or permit any person to:
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1) Record his/her unrecorded performance and reproduce such copies of the performance in
any form or manner in the meaning of Article 20, Paragraph 1 of this Law;
2) Market the recordings of his/her performance;
3) Rent the recordings of his/her performance;
4) Broadcast or communicate to the public his unrecorded performance, except in the case
when it is the case of already broadcasted performance:
5) Making the performance available to the public interactively by wire or wirelessly, in the
sense of article 30 of this Law.
(2) The performer shall not have the exclusive right on broadcasting of his/her
performance that is recorded and published on a sound carrier or of a performance
that was recorded on a sound and picture carrier with the performer’s permission.
(3) Should a performer licence to a producer of phonograms and/or videograms
his/her right referred to in Paragraph 1, Item 3, of this Article, he/she retains the
right to an equitable remuneration for the rental of the recording of the
performance.
(4) If the contract between the performer and a film producer does not specify
otherwise, it shall be deemed that under such contract the performer has licensed
the producer the right to rent copies of the performance.
Article 117
(1) A performer shall have the right to be remunerated for the following:
1) Broadcasting and rebroadcasting of his/her performance from a published recording on a
sound
carrier;
2) Public communication of his/her performance, which is broadcast from a
recording published on a sound carrier;
3) Public communication of his/her performance from a recording published on a
sound carrier.
(2) The right to remuneration referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article the performers can
realize only through the organization for collective management of copyright and related
rights. The manner of payment of the remuneration from Paragraph 1 of this article has been
determined by Article 127 of this Law.
1.5. Transfer of the Right
Article 118
(1) A performer may licence or cede his/her pecuniary rights referred to in Article 114
of this Law to another person under the contract on performance.
(2) The person to whom the right referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article has been
licensed may not licence that right to a third party without the performer’s
consent, unless otherwise provided by the contract on performance.
Article 119
(1) If more than five performers, other the conductor and soloists, participate in the
performance of a work, it shall be deemed that the performance is given by an
ensemble (a choir, orchestra, drama ensemble, ballet ensemble, opera ensemble).
(2) In the exercise of the rights in accordance with this Law, an ensemble shall be
represented by a person duly authorized by the majority of members of such
ensemble.
(3) If besides the ensemble, also the director, soloists and players of chief roles, who
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are not members of that ensemble, participate in the performance of a work, the
exercise of the rights in accordance with Law shall be also subject to the consent
of these persons, unless otherwise agreed upon between them and the ensemble.
Article 120
(1) The contract on performance shall include the following: names of contracting
parties, type and the manner of exploiting the performance, name of author and
name of the work of authorship performed and the amount, mode and terms of
payment of the remuneration, if agreed upon.
(2) Besides the particulars referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the contract on
performance with respect to the broadcasting of a performance shall also include
the number of broadcasts and the period in which the broadcasting shall take
place, and a performance contract with respect to the recording and reproduction
of copies of the recording of a performance, shall also include the number of
copies that may be made.
(3) Contract on performance shall be made in writing.
Article 121
The person to whom the right referred to in Article 114 of this Law has been licensed
shall forward to the performer complete data on the exploitation of the performance.
1.6. Rights of the Performer Arising From Employment
Article 122
Provisions of this Law regulating the relations between authors and their employers
shall apply mutatis mutandis to the rights of the performers who created their
performance on the basis of the employment contract.
2. THE RIGHT OF THE PHONOGRAM PRODUCER
2.1. Establishment of the Right
Article 123
The phonogram producer, with respect to its phonogram, shall have the pecuniary
rights in accordance with this Law.
2.2. Phonogram
Article 124
(1) Phonogram is the recording of a sound and/or a sequence of sounds on a sound carrier.
(2) The recording of a sound is the fixation of sounds on the carrier from which they can be
listened to, copied or communicated by means of a device.
(3) Right on the existing phonogram is by no ways limited by the incorporation of that
phonogram into a videogram.
2.3. Producer of Phonogram
Article 125
The producer of a phonogram shall be understood to mean any natural or legal person,
that has organized and paid for the production of the phonogram and that bears the
responsibility for the first recording of a sound or a sequence of sounds.
2.4. Scope of the Right
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Article 126
A producer of a phonogram shall have the exclusive right to prohibit or permit any
person to:
1) Reproduce the phonogram in any form or manner in the meaning of Article 20, Paragraph
1 of this Law and market the copies of the phonogram thus reproduced;
2) Rent the copies of the phonogram;
3) Make the phonogram available to the public in an interactive manner by wire
or wireless means, within the meaning of Article 30 of this Law.
Article 127
(1) The producer of a published phonogram shall have the right to be remunerated for
the following:
1) Broadcasting and rebroadcasting of the phonogram;
2) Public communication of the phonogram;
3) Public communication of the phonogram being broadcast.
(2) The right for remuneration from Paragraph 1 of this Article the producer of phonograms
can realize only through the organization for collective management of copyright and related
rights.
(3) The remuneration from paragraph 1 of this Article and the remuneration for performers
from paragraph 117 of this Law are collected from the user in the form of the single
remuneration. The collection of the single equitable remuneration is performed by one
organization, determined by a contract concluded between the organization of performers and
organization of the producers of phonograms.
(4) In the contract from Paragraph 3 of this Article, the organizations have the obligation to
determine the amount of expenses for the collection of the single equitable remuneration and
the frequency of transfer of that single equitable remuneration to the other organization. The
Contract is published at the expense of the organizations in the “Official Gazette of the
Republic of Serbia”.
(5) If the organization of the producers of phonograms and the organization of the
interpreters do not conclude the contract from paragraph 3 of this article in the period of six
months from the date of the enforcement of this Law, the Government shall, at the proposal
of the Ministry competent for science and technological development determine the
organization which will perform the collection of the single equitable remuneration.
(6)The organization of the producers of phonograms and the organization of the performers
have the obligation to determine the tariff of remunerations jointly in a manner prescribed by
Article 177 of this Law.
(7) The single equitable remuneration collected in a manner prescribed by this Article is
distributed to organizations within the terms of the agreement concluded between the
organization of the producers of phonograms and the organization of the performers. If the
contract between the organizations does not stipulate otherwise, the organization which
collects the single equitable remuneration has the obligation, after the deduction of the
amount of expenses made on account of the collection of a single equitable remuneration,
which can not be more than 10% of its value, to transfer one half of the collected
remuneration to the other organization, without delay, and at least on a quarterly basis.
(8) If the contract between organizations does not stipulate otherwise, the organization which
collects the single equitable remuneration can not perform the distribution of the collected
single equitable remuneration amongst its members before it transfers the contracted part of
the legally determined part of the single equitable remuneration to the other organization.
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(9) If the contract between the organizations does not stipulate otherwise, the organization
which collects the single equitable remuneration has the obligation to hand over to the other
organization the copies of all the data concerning the utilization of phonograms and
performances recorded on them obtained from the users that broadcast and publicly
communicate the phonograms and performances recorded on them , at the latest in the period
of 30 days from the date when the part of the collected remuneration has been handed over.
3. THE RIGHT OF THE VIDEOGRAM PRODUCER
3.1. Establishment of the Right
Article 128
A producer of a videogram, the film producer (producer of videogram), shall have the
pecuniary rights in accordance with this Law.
3.2. Videogram
Article 129
Videogram is a recording of a film work as well as a definite sequence of motion pictures
with or without the accompanying sound on the carrier of picture, or the carrier of picture and
sound.
3.3. Film Producer (Producer of a Videogram)
Article 130
Film producer (producer of videograms) is natural or legal person that on one`s own behalf
gives initiative, gathers financial means, organizes, manages and takes responsibility for the
first recording of a film or motion pictures accompanied by a sound or without a sound
(videogram).
3.4. Contents of the Right
Article 129
Film producer (producer of videogram) shall have the exclusive right to prohibit or permit
any person to:
1) Reproduce his videogram in any form and in any manner in the meaning of Article 20,
Paragraph 1 of this Law or market the copies thus reproduced;
2) Communicate his videogram to the public from a picture carrier or picture and
sound carrier (picture show);
3) Rent copies of his videogram;
4) Make the videogram available to the public in an interactive manner by wire or
wireless means, within the meaning of Article 30 of this Law.
Article 132
The producer of a videogram shall have the right to oppose the exploitation of his
videogram in altered form, if such exploitation can jeopardize his justified economic
interests.
4. THE RIGHT OF THE BROADCAST PRODUCER
4.1. Establishment of the Right
Article 133
The producer of a broadcast shall have pecuniary rights in accordance with this Law.
4.2. Broadcast
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Article 134
A broadcast shall be understood to mean an electrical, electromagnetic or some other
signal converted into audio, visual or audiovisual content that is broadcast for the
purpose of being communicated to the public.
4.3. Producer of Broadcast
Article 135
The producer of a broadcast shall be understood to mean any natural or legal person,
which has organized and paid for the production of the broadcast.
4.4. The Contents of the Right
Article 136
The producer of a broadcast shall have the exclusive right to prohibit or permit any
other person to:
1) Rebroadcast his broadcast wirelessly or by cable;
2) Record his broadcast on a sound or picture or a sound and picture carrier;
3) Reproduce the recording in any shape and in any way in the sense of Article 20, Paragraph
1 of this Law and market the copies of the recording thus reproduced;
4) Rent copies of the broadcast recording;
5) Publicly communicate the broadcast at places accessible to the public against
the payment of an entrance fee;
6) Make the broadcast available to the public in an interactive manner by wire or
wireless means, within the meaning of Article 30 of this Law.
5. THE RIGHT OF A DATABASE PRODUCER
5.1. Establishment of the Right
Article 137
The producer of a database shall have pecuniary rights in accordance with this Law.
5.2. Database
Article 138
(1) For the purposes of this Law the database shall mean a collection of independent
data, works or other materials arranged in a systematic or methodical way,
individually accessible by electronic or other means.
(2) The protection of a data base includes:
1) total contents of the data base,
2) every part of the contents of the data base which is significant in a qualitative or
quantitative way,
3) qualitatively or quantitatively irrelevant parts of the contents of the data base, if such parts
are used repeatedly and systematically and that use is contrary to the usual use of that data
base or unreasonably hinders the legitimate interests of the data base producers.
(3) Protection does not refer to computer programs which are used for the elaboration of the
data base or work with data bases available by electronic means.
5.3. Producer of Database
Article 139
The producer of a database shall be understood to mean any natural or legal person that
has created a database, by qualitative and/or quantitative substantial investment in
obtaining, verification or presentation of its contents
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5.4. Contents of the Right
Article 140
(1) The producer of a database shall have the exclusive right to prohibit or permit any
person to:
1) Occasionally or permanently reproduce a database as a whole or its
essential parts by any means, for any purpose and in any form;
2) Market or rent copies of the database or its substantial parts;
3) Interactive making available to the public by cable or wireless in the meaning of article 30
of this Law and every other form of public communication of the data base in total or its
essential parts.
Article 140a
(1)The authorized user of the published data base or its multiplied copy can freely use for any
purpose the qualitatively and quantitatively irrelevant parts of its contents. If the user is
authorized only with regard to the part of the data base, this paragraph is applied only to that
part.
(2)The authorized user of the published data base must not perform acts contrary to the usual
utilization of such data base which irrationally damages the legitimate interests of the data
base producer.
(3)The authorized user of the published data base must not cause damage to the copyright or
related rights with regard to the part or subject matter of protection contained in the data
base.
(4)The provisions of the contract contrary to the provisions of this article are null and void.
6. The right of the publisher
6.1. THE RIGHT OF THE FIRST PUBLISHER OF A FREE WORK
Article 141
Any person who, after the expiry of protection of the author’s pecuniary rights, for the
first time lawfully publishes or communicates to the public a previously unpublished
work, shall have the rights equivalent to pecuniary rights of the author.
6.2 The right of the publisher of printed editions to special remuneration.
Article 142
(1) The publishers of printed editions have the right to a special remuneration prescribed in
the Article 39, Paragraphs 1and 5 of this Law under the same conditions which are valid for
the authors.
(2)The publishers of printed editions and the authors of works issued in the printed form can
realize their rights from Article 39, Paragraphs 1 and 5 of this Law and this Article only
through the organization for collective management of copyright and related rights.
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(3) The remuneration collected on the basis of the Article 39, Paragraphs 1 and 5 of this Law
and this Article, which is paid by the producers or importers of the photocopying devices or
other devices with the similar technology of multiplication and natural and legal persons
which give services of photocopying for compensation, is divided between the author and the
publisher in equal halves (50% : 50%)
7. COMMON PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO RELATED RIGHTS
7.1. Relationship between the Copyright and Related Rights
Article 143
(1)Related rights shall in no way affect protection of the rights of authors with regard to
their works.
(2) The provisions concerning publishing, communication to the public and releasing of
copyright protected work from article 7 of this Law are accordingly applied to related rights.
7.2. Limitations on Related Rights and Exhaustion of
Rights
Article 144
The provisions of this Law regulating limitations and exhaustion of copyright shall apply
accordingly to related rights.
7.3. Transfer of Related Rights
Article 145
Related rights shall be transferable, with the exception of the performers’ personal
rights.
7.4. Right to Special Remuneration
Article 146
The producer of phonograms, performers and the producer of videograms have the right to a
special remuneration, which has been prescribed in the article 39 of this Law, under the same
conditions applicable to the authors.
7.5. Duration of Rights
Article 147
(1) Pecuniary rights of the performer shall last for 50 years from the date of the
performance. If a performance was recorded and lawfully published or
communicated to the public within this period, the term of protection shall expire
50 years from the date of the first publication or communication to the public,
whichever date is earlier. A performer’s moral rights shall last even after the
expiration of his/her pecuniary rights.
(2) The rights of the phonogram producer or a videogram producer shall last for 50
years after the production of the phonogram or videogram. If the phonogram or
videogram has been lawfully published or communicated to the public within this
period, the term of protection shall expire 50 years from the date of the first
publication or communication to the public, whichever date is earlier.
(3) The rights of the broadcast producer shall last for 50 years from the date of the
protected broadcast’s first broadcasting.
(4) The rights of the database producer shall last for 15 years from the date of the
database’s creation. If a database was made available to the public in whatever
33
manner before expiry of that term, the term of protection shall expire 15 years
from the date when database was first made available to the public.
(5) If substantial changes occur in the selection or arrangement of the contents of a
database, the term referred to in Paragraph 4 of this Article shall be extended for
another 15 years. Any additions, deletions or improvements of a database as a whole
or the part thereof, resulting in a new version of such database, shall be deemed to be
substantial changes in the selection or arrangement of the contents of a database.
(6) The rights of the first publisher of a free work shall last for 25 years from the date
of the first publication or first communication to the public in any other manner.
(7) The right of the publisher of printed editions to a special remuneration lasts for 50 years
from the legal publication of the work.
(8) The deadlines for the need of establishing the date of the termination of the pecuniary
rights of the holders of related rights are calculated from January 1st of the year which
immediately follows the year in which the event relevant for the beginning of the calculation
of deadlines occurred.
7.6. Persons to which the Law Applies
Article 148
(1) Any performer, phonogram producer, videogram producer, broadcast producer,
database producer and a publisher of a printed edition and the editor of a free work which is a
foreign person shall have the rights prescribed by this Law in accordance with the
international agreements ratified by the Republic of Serbia or in accordance with the
reciprocity principle between the Republic of Serbia and the country he/she belongs to.
(2) Exceptionally to the provision of Paragraph 1 of this Article, a database producer
being a legal person without corporate domicile in the Republic of Serbia shall be
granted the rights under this Law only if its business operations are linked directly and
on an ongoing basis with the economy of Serbia and Montenegro.
(3) Where the existence of reciprocity is doubtful, the explanation shall be given by
the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia.
(4) For foreign authors and holders of related rights which enjoy protection on the basis of
this Law, the terms of duration of those rights from this Law are valid, but those terms expire,
at the latest, on the day when the protection expires in the state where they have citizenship
or business seat, and they can not be longer than the terms prescribed by this Law.
Article 149
Any performer who is a foreign citizen shall be accorded the moral rights, regardless of
whether the requirements referred to in Article 148 have been met.
IV. EXERCISE OF COPYRIGHT
AND RELATED RIGHTS
Article 150
Any holder of copyright or related right shall be authorized to exercise his/her right
either individually or collectively, except in the cases when the collective exercise of
copyright and related rights is mandatory (Article 29, Paragraph 2, Article 39, 40, 117, 127,
142 and 146).
1. INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE
Article 151
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(1) Copyright and related rights can be exercised individually either directly or
through a duly authorized representative.
(2) Both natural or legal persons may act as representatives in the exercise of
copyrights and related rights.
2. COLLECTIVE EXERCISE
2.1. Organization for Collective Exercise of
Copyright and Related Rights
Article 152
(1) Copyright and related rights can be collectively exercised through organizations
for the collective exercise of such rights (hereinafter: the organization).
(2) The organization shall not be established for the purpose of earning profit.
(3) The organization shall specialize in the exercise of certain kinds of rights in
connection with certain subjectmatters of protection, in conformity with its
statute.
Article 153
(1) Through the organization, the holders of copyright or related rights collectively
exercise exclusive pecuniary rights stemming from copyright and/or related rights,
as well as the right to claim the remuneration for their works and/or the subject matters
of related rights.
(2) In the case of exercising exclusive pecuniary rights, the holders of copyright
and/or related rights shall, by the contract, licence their rights exclusively to the
organization, instructing it to conclude contracts on the nonexclusive licensing of
such rights, in its own name and for their behalf, with the users of works of
authorship and subjectmatter of related rights (hereinafter: the users).
(3) In the case of exercise of the right to remuneration, the holders of copyright and/or
related rights shall instruct the organization to collect that remuneration from the
users, in its own name and for their behalf.
(4) The organization has the right to perform control over the exploitation of the subject
matters of protection on its repertoire
(5) The organization shall have the right to protect the rights entrusted to it by the
holders of copyrights and/or related rights to be collectively exercised, before
courts and other authorities.
(6) Upon the request of the organization, any authority responsible for maintaining the
records of data that are relevant for determining the amount of remuneration, shall
make such data available to the organization.
2.2. Foundation of the Organization
Article 154
The organization may be founded by authors and/or holders of copyright or related
rights and/or their associations (hereinafter: the founders).
Article 155
(1) Memorandum of association shall be the founding document of the organization.
(2) The founding decision shall be the founding document of an organization founded
by one association.
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Article 156
(1) The Organization can not perform any other activity except the activities provided for
in the article 153 of this Law. (2) With the exception of the stipulations of Paragraph 1 of this Article, the organization may
1) perform activities realizing the artistic, expert or social interests of the holders of rights,
and
2) perform specific administrative and technical services in the name and on the account of
another organization,or in its own name but on the account of another organization, on the
basis of a written contract.
(3) For the sake of more rational and efficient collection and distribution of the compensation
for the use of copyright and related rights by means of a unified data base, the organizations
for the collective management of copyright and related rights can form a joint Service.
(4) The special agreement shall determine the scope of its activities, competences, amount of
the remuneration for its work and the systemization of the working posts of the personnel
employed in the Service.
Article 157
(1) The founders of the organization shall obtain from the competent body the organization’s
operating license for performing the activities of that organization
(2) Only one organization can obtain an operating license for collective management of
copyright or related rights for the same kind of rights on the same kind of work or subject
matter of related rights.
(3) The application by the founders for the operating license shall be accompanied
with the organization’s founding document, statute, excerpt from the Register of Legal
persons if the founders are legal persons, proof of the business seat of the organization, data
on the number of authors or holders of right that empowered the organization to realize the
rights regarding their works or subject matter of related rights, list of works or subject matter
of related rights which will constitute the repertoire of the organization, proof on the
fulfillment of the staff, technical and organizational conditions for the efficient collective
management of rights entrusted to them and proof of payment of the prescribed
administrative fee which is the income of the budget of the Republic of Serbia.
Article 158
The operating licence shall be issued to an organization that filed a request in compliance
with the Article 157, paragraph 3 of this Law, if it fulfills the following conditions:
1) It has a business seat in the Republic of Serbia;
2) Its members, who gave it authority, on the basis of power of attorney or contract, to realize
rights over their works, or subject matter of related rights, represent the majority of the
holders of copyright or related rights in the field that the activity of the organization covers,
and have residence or seat in the Republic of Serbia or have the Serbian citizenship,
3) In terms of staff, finances, equipment and organization, it is capable to
efficiently exercise the rights of domestic and foreign holders of copyrights
and/or related rights in the Republic of Serbia, and/or the
rights of domestic holders of copyrights and/or related rights abroad in the
fields to which its business relates.
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4) foundation act and statute of the organization in compliance with the stipulations of this
Law
Article 159
(1) It shall be taken that the organization realizes the conditions from Article 158,
Paragraph 1, Item 3 of this Law if it has the following:
1) business premises equipped with the usual communication and information
equipment;
2) employee with the diploma of the Faculty of Law and at least two years of expert
experience and the knowledge of one of the world languages;
3) employee who meets the prescribed demands for book keeping and has at least two
years of working experience on the tasks of organizing and performing book keeping.
(2) Expert education and knowledge of languages is proved by the appropriate
documents, and the working experience by documentation from which it is obvious how
the experience has been gained.
Article 160
(1) The competent authority shall render a decision granting the operating licence or a
decision rejecting the application, within 30 days from the filing date of the
application for the operating licence
(2)If the request filed for the grant of the permission has been formally incorrect in the
meaning of Article 157 and 159 of this Law or if the forwarded foundation actor the statute
contain regulations which are contrary to the stipulations of this law, the competent body
shall invite the person filing the request to correct the request filed according to the
mentioned objections, in the term of 15 days from the receipt of the objections
(3) If in the tem provided, the person filing the request does not correct his request in
compliance with the objections of the competent body, the competent body shall reject the
request.
(4) Based on the decision granting the operating license, the organization shall acquire
the right to engage in the collective management of copyright and/or related rights for
the period of five years as of the date of rendering the decision.
(5) The organization shall have the right to apply for the renewal of its operating
licence for an unlimited number of times in the way and following the procedure prescribed
by this law for the obtaining of the license.
(6) The request for the renewal of license for the performing of activities is filed to the
competent body, at the latest, 90 days before the expiry of the valid license.
(7) The decisions of the competent body from paragraphs 1 and 3 of this article are final and
the administrative suit can be initiated against them.
Article 161
(1) The organization shall acquire the status of a legal person once it is entered in the
register of associations in compliance with the Law that regulates the legal position of
associations.
(2) The application the founders of the organization for entry in the register referred to
in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be accompanied with the decision of the
competent authority granting its operating licence.
(3) Any organization that does not renew its operating licence before the expiration of
the term referred to in Article 160, paragraph 4, of this Law, or the one whose
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operating license is revoked pursuant to Article 162 of this Law, after the performed
procedure of liquidation or bankruptcy in compliance with the law regulating the procedure
of liquidation or bankruptcy shall be deleted from the register referred to in paragraph 1 of
this Article or the register from Article 163 of this Law.
Article 162
(1) The competent authority shall revoke the organization’s operating license where it
establishes that:
1) The operating license was issued on the basis of false data;
2) The organization has stopped fulfilling some of the prescribed conditions for issuing a
license from Article 158 of this Law;
3) The organization has seriously and repeatedly violated the provisions of this Law;
4) The organization has not fulfilled its obligation in compliance with Article 187 of this
Law.
(2) Before the revocation of the operating license, from the reasons stated in Paragraph 1,
items 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, the competent body shall state in writing the mistakes in the
work of the organization, direct measures for the correction of mistakes and determine the
deadline for their removal.
(3) The decision on revoking the operating license referred to in Paragraph 1 of this
Article shall be final and an administrative dispute can be initiated against it.
(4) The competent authority shall notify the authority competent for maintaining the
register in which the organization is registered, of the decision referred to in
Paragraph 1 of this Article.
(5) The decision on granting, renewing and revoking of an operating licence shall be
published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia.
Article 163
(1) The organization shall be entered in the register of organizations for the collective
exercise of copyrights and related rights maintained by the competent authority.
(2) The following shall be entered in the register of organizations for the collective
exercise of copyright and related rights referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article:
name and corporate domicile of the organization, business activity of the
organization, date of entry, date of renewal of entry and the date deletion of the
organization from the register, contracts on cooperation with foreign
organizations and the data on membership in international organizations.
(3) The organization shall notify the competent authority of any change of data
entered in the register of organizations for the collective exercise of copyrights and
related rights, within fifteen days from the occurrence of such change.
(4) The changes referred to in Paragraph 3 of this Article shall be entered in the
register of organizations for the collective exercise of copyrights and related
rights.
(5) The data concerning the register of the organization for collective management of
copyright and related rights are available to all the interested parties.
2.3. Bodies of the Organization
Article 164
(1) The organization shall be governed by its founders and members in accordance with the
organization’s statute.
(2) The organization’s bodies shall be: General Assembly, Board of Directors,
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2.5.1
Managing Director and the Supervisory Board.
2.4. General Acts of the Organization
Article 165
(1) The organization’s general acts shall be: the Statute, Schedule of fees, Distribution
plan and other general acts dealing with certain matters concerning the business
activity of the organization.
(2) The Statute shall be the organization’s basic act and other general acts shall be
compliant with it.
(3) The individual acts adopted by the organization’s bodies and authorized officers
of the organization shall be compliant with the organization’s general act.
Article 166
(1) The Statute of the organization shall include provisions on the kind and subject matter
of the rights collectively exercised through the organization.
(2) The Statute of the organization shall be adopted by the organization’s General
Assembly, by simple majority of votes of the members of the Assembly.
Article 167
(1)The distribution plan contains criteria on the basis of which the organization distributes to
the holders of copyright and related rights the income collected from the users in the form of
the remuneration for the use of the subject matter of protection.
(2)The principles of the distribution plan are the following: proportionality, appropriateness
and justice, that depend on the: kind of the subject matter of protection, manner of use of the
subject matter of protection, scope of use of the subject matter of protection and other goals
established by the foundation act of the organization.
(3) The distribution plan is established by the assembly of the organization.
Article 168
In compliance with the statute and the decisions of its bodies, the organization takes part of
the income collected from the users to cover the costs of its operations.
2.5 The concept of Tariff
Article 169
Tariff is the general act of the organization that determines the amount and way of
determining remuneration that the organization charges from users for specific kinds of use
of copyright protected works and subject matter of related rights and pays special
remuneration to the obligors.
Rules for the Determination of the Tariff
Article 170
(1) Tariff must be appropriate to the kind and manner of use of the copyright protected
work or the subject matter of related rights.
(2) If the use of the subject matter of protection is indispensable for the performing of the
activities of the user (in the case of broadcasting or concert use of the subject matter
of protection, and similar) the tariff is determined, as a rule, in the percentual amount
39
from the income that the user realizes by performing activity in the framework of
which the subject matter of protection is being used. That amount must be
proportional to the importance that the use of the subject matter of protection from
the repertoire of the organization has for the income of the user.
(3) If by using the subject matter of protection the user from Paragraph 2 of this Article
does not realize an income, the tariff is determined in the percentual amount of the
expenses necessary for the performing of that activity in the framework of which the
subject matter of protection is being used, taking into account the importance of the
use of the subject matter of protection for the activities of the user.
(4) Along with the remuneration determined in a way prescribed by the Paragraphs 2and
3 of this Article, the tariff also determines the lowest amount of remuneration for the
use of the subject matter of protection from the repertoire of the organization.
(5) In the course of determing the tariff, the tariffs of the collective management
organizations of the states which have the similar value of gross domestic product to
the GDP of the Republic of Serbia are taken into consideration.
Article 171
(1) If the use of the subject matter of protection is not necessary for the performing of
activity of the user, but only useful or pleasant (such as in transport, hotelier and
catering industry, merchant and manufacture shops, sopping malls, exhibition spaces
and similar) and under condition that the determination of tariff in percentual amount
would be impossible or unreasonably difficult, the tariff can be determined as a lump
sum.
(2) During the determination of the amount of the lump sum remuneration, the following
shall be taken into consideration:
1) kind and manner of use of the subject matter of protection;
2) geographical location of the seat of the user;
3) kind and size of the space where the subject matter of protection is being used;
4) duration and scope of use and prices of services offered by the user.
Article 172
(1) If the use of the copyright protected works is performed together with the use of the
subject matter of related rights, i.e. if there are more holders of rights involved in one
use of work, the tariffs are determined proportionally.
(2) For the calculation of proportion between the tariffs of remuneration for the copyright
and related rights, the usual international practice is meritory.
2.5.2 Negotiations and Agreement on the Tariff
2.5.2.1 Negotiations on the Tariff
Article 173
The organization initiates negotiations about the tariff by the publication of the invitation to
the representative associations of users and individual users in the “Official Gazette of the
Republic of Serbia”, on its internet page and in one of the daily papers with high circulation.
2.5.2.2
Article 174
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(1) After the concluded negotiations between the organization and the representative
association of users, the tariff is determined by agreement in writing. We take as
representative the association of users which on the territory of the Republic of Serbia
represents the majority of users from a certain profession, or the one which can be
acknowledged as representative on the basis of other regulations. If there is no such
association, the representation authority shall be determined based on the number of
the users that the association represents, the activity of the association, the degree of
competent organization within the association and the similar.
(2) The tariff can be determined also by the agreement in writing between the
organization and the individual user, if the nature of conducting business of that user
is such that makes him the only person performing that kind of activity in the
Republic of Serbia. The provisions of this Law referring to the representative
association of users also apply to the individual user.
(3) The companies of the public broadcasting service are the individual users with whom
the organizations determine the tariff by written contract in the meaning of Paragraph
2 of this Article.
(4) The tariff, determined in a way prescribed in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, is
published by the organization in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, and
the tariff is enforced on the eight day from the publication date.
(5) Until the termination of the procedure for the determination of the tariff in a way
prescribed by this Article, the remuneration is paid according to the existing tariff.
2.5.2.3 Mandatory Content of the Written Agreement
Article 175
The written agreement from article 174 must contain:
1) the amount of remuneration for the use of copyright protected work or the subject
matter of related rights from the repertoire of the organization;
2) conditions for the use of copyright protected work or subject matter of related rights
from the repertoire of the organization;
3) deadline and way of payment of the remuneration;
4) conditions of use which influence the increase or decrease of the certain amount of
remuneration in the tariff.
2.5.2.4 Determination of the Draft Tariff by the Administrative Board of the Organization
Article 176
(1) If in the term of two months from the publication of invitation from article 173 of this
Law, agreement is not reached, the proposal of the tariff is determined by the
administrative board of the organization. The draft tariff thus determined is
communicated to the Commission for Copyright and Related Rights (henceforward:
Commission) for opinion.
(2) Until the finalization of procedure concerning the determination of the tariff in a way
prescribed by this Article, the remuneration is paid according to the existing tariff.
2.5.2.5 Determination of the Single Equitable Tariffs for the Exercise of Rights from Articles
117 and 127 of This Law
Article 177
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(1) The single equitable tariffs for the exercise of rights from Articles 117 and 127 of this
Law are determined by an agreement in writing between the organization of the
producers of phonograms and the organization of the performers from one side, and
the representative association of users from the other side.
(2) The organization of the producers of phonograms and the organization of the
interpreters initiate together the negotiations on the single equitable tariffs and
negotiate jointly with the representative association of users in the procedure and in a
way determined by article 173 and 174 of this Law.
(3) The single equitable tariff determined in a way prescribed by Paragraph 1 of this
Article is published jointly in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”.
(4) The tariff is enforced on the eight day from the date of publication in the “Official
Gazette of the republic of Serbia”.
(5) If, in the term of 2 months from the publication date of the invitation from Article
173 of this law, agreement from paragraph 1 of this article is not reached, the
proposal of a single equitable remuneration is determined by the administrative
boards of the organizations on the basis of a written agreement.
(6) The proposal of a single equitable tariff is forwarded to the Commission for an
opinion.
(7) If in the term of 90 days from the date of the publication of the invitation from article
173 of this Law, the organization of the producers of phonograms and the
organization of the interpreters do not file to the Commission the request for the
opinion on the proposal of the single equitable tariff, that tariff shall be determined by
the Commission.
2.5.2.6 The Determination of a Single Equitable Tariff for the Payment of a Special
Remuneration
Article 178.
(1) The single equitable remuneration for the realization of right to a special
remuneration from article 39 and 146 of this Law, which is paid from the first sale or
import into the Republic of Serbia of devices to sound or visual recording and empty
carriers of sound, picture and text, is determined by agreement in writing between
the organizations which exercise the right of those holders of copyright and related
rights that by the virtue of this law enjoy the right to a special remuneration on one
side and on the other side the representative association of producers or importers of
devices for sound and visual recording and importers of empty carriers of sound,
picture and text.
(2) The organizations from Paragraph 1 of this Article jointly initiate the negotiations on
the single equitable tariff, jointly negotiate in the procedure and in a way determined
by article 173 and 174 of this Law and jointly publish the single equitable
remuneration from paragraph 1 of this article in the “Official Gazette of the Republic
of Serbia”.
(3) The single equitable remuneration determined in a way prescribed by Paragraphs 1
and 2 of this Article is enforced on the eight day from the publication date in the
“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”.
(4) If in the term of two months from the date of the publication of the invitation from
Article 174 of this Law, the agreement from Paragraph 1 of this Article has not been
reached, the proposal of the single equitable tariff from Paragraph 1 of this Article is
42
determined by the administrative boards of the organizations on the basis of a written
agreement.
(5) The proposal of a single equitable remuneration is communicated to the Commission
for an opinion.
(6) If in the term from 90 days from the publication of the invitation from the article 173
of this Law, the organizations from paragraph 1 of this article do not file to the
Commission the request for the opinion on the proposal of a single equitable tariff,
that tariff shall be determined by the Commission.
(7) The collection of the single equitable remuneration from Paragraph 1 of this Article is
performed by the organization for the collective management of musical rights with
the previously reached agreement in writing with the organizations that participated
in the negotiations on the single equitable tariff and the amount of the expenses of
collecting the special remuneration and the regime of distribution of the special
remuneration among the organizations from this paragraph.
(8) The organization for the collective management of musical rights has the obligation
to devide the totally collected special remuneration, after the deduction of expenses
of collection of the special remuneration determined as agreed, to the authors and
direct to the organizations of the interpreters and the producers of phonograms or
videograms in the following way: 40% to the authors, 30% to the interpreters and
30% to the producers and phonograms and the producers of videograms.
2.6. Application of Other LawsMutatis Mutandis
Article 179
The provisions of the law regulating the legal status of associations shall apply accordingly to
the organization, unless otherwise provided by this Law.
2.7. Duties of the Organization
Article 180
(1) In the conduct of the organization’s business, it shall be assumed that organization
is authorized to act on behalf of all holders of the copyright and/or related rights
with respect to any rights and any kind of subjectmatters of protection that are
within the scope of its business activity.
(2) Any holder of a copyright and/or related right that has not concluded the contract
referred to in Article 153 of this Law with the organization, may notify the
organization in writing of his/her intention to exercise the rights individually, except in the
case when this Law prescribes the compulsory collective management of copyright and
related rights (Article 29, Paragraph 2, Articles 39, 40. 117, 127, 142 and 146).
(3) The organization shall notify the users of the names of the holders of copyright
and/or related rights referred to in Paragraph 2 of this Article.
(4) Whit respect to the distribution of remuneration, the organization shall treat the
holders of copyright and/or related rights who have not notified the organization of
their intention to exercise their rights individually equally to the holders of
copyright and related rights who have concluded the contract referred to in Article
153 of this Law with the organization.
Article 181
(1) The organization has an obligation to inform regularly the users and interested parties
through the mass media and by electronic publishing on its Internet page on the
following:
43
1) categories of the holders of right it represents;
2) pecuniary rights that are realized;
3) categories of users of the subject matter of protection and other natural and legal
persons that are obligors to pay the remuneration;
4) contents of the general acts of the organization (statute, tariff, distribution plan, etc)
5) number and list of bilateral contracts concluded with the foreign organizations;
6) data on the authorized representatives of the organization;
7) working hours of the organization.
(2) The organization has the obligation to give information, to every user or other person
having legal interest, about its repertoire and the conditions for the exercise of
copyright and related rights.
Article 182
The organization has the obligation to make the following information available to the
members of its organization, apart from the information from Article 181 of this Law, on its
internet page:
1) list of the members of the assembly, administrative board and supervisory board;
2) annual repot on conducting business;
3) information on the sessions of the assembly (date, time, venue, agenda and decisions
of the assembly);
4) decisions of the administrative board and the supervisory board.
Article 183
(1) The organization shall conclude a contract of nonexclusive licensing of the right
of exploiting the subjectmatter of protection from its repertoire with each
interested user and/or association of users, under equal and appropriate terms.
(2) The contract referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article shall include the following
in particular: kind of the subjectmatter of protection, mode of exploiting the
subjectmatter of protection, amount of remuneration and manner of its payment
to the organization and a period in which the contract is to be effective.
Article 184
The organization shall distribute to the holders of copyright and/or related rights who
have concluded with it the contract referred to in Article 153 of this Law and the holders
of copyright and related rights referred to in Article 180, Paragraph 4, of this Law, the
income from the remuneration collected from users, except for funds designated for the
purposes referred to in Article 165 of this Law, in accordance with the Distribution
Plan.
Article 185
(1) The distribution referred to in Article 184 of this Law shall be based on accurate
Data concerning the use of the subject matter of protection.
(2) If accurate data are not available and/or if the collection of accurate data would
create an unacceptable organizational and financial burden for the organization,
the distribution plan may be based on estimates stemming from relevant and
verifiable facts.
Article 186
(1) The organization shall provide for the collective exercise of copyrights and related
44
rights of domestic holders abroad, as well as those of foreign holders in the Republic of
Serbia, on the basis of contracts concluded with appropriate foreign organizations.
(2) The organization has the duty to fulfill the obligation from Paragraph 1 of this Article in
the period of five years from the date of acquisition of the first operating license.
2.8. Duties of the Users
Article 187
(1) The users have an obligation to acquire from the organization the rights for the use of the
subjectmatter of the protection before the begining of the actual utilization of the subject
matter of protection in all cases when the obtaining of license for the utilization of the subject
matter of protection is prescribed by this Law.
(2) The users have the obligation to notify the organization of the title of the subjectmatter of
protection, frequency and extent of its exploitation, as well as of other
circumstances of relevance for the calculation and distribution of the remuneration payable in
accordance with the tariff.
(3) The data referred to in Paragraph 2 of this Article shall be forwarded to the
organization within 15 days from the date of the beginning of exploitation of the
subject matter of protection, in a way and in a form prescribed by the general acts of the
organization.
(4) The users who are authorized under this Law to exploit subjectmatter of
protection without permission of the right holders, and with the obligation of payment of the
remuneration, shall forward the data referred to in Paragraph 2 of this Article
monthly, in a way and in a form prescribed by the general acts of the organization.
(5) The broadcasting organizations have an obligation to send once a month a list of
broadcasted subject matters of protection to the organizations whose subject matters of
protection have been used in a way and in a form determined by the general acts of the
organization.
(6) The users have the obligation to enable to the authorized persons from the organization, in
the course of control of the use of the subject matters of protection, the insight into the
documentation and the data relevant for the calculation of the remuneration which must be
paid according to the tariff.
(7) An owner, holder and lessee of the premises in which the subjectmatter of the
protection was used, as well as the organizer of the activity by which the subject matter
was used, shall be jointly and severally liable for the user’s obligations.
(8) In case of a dispute between the organization and the user regarding the amount of
remuneration, the user shall pay to the organization the amount determined by the previously
valid tariff, until the dispute is resolved by the final and enforceable decision .If the amount
in question refers to the tariff number which did not exist in the previously valid tariff, the
user has the obligation to pay to the organization the amount envisaged in the new tariff into
the special fund which is not distributed to the holders of right until the legal dispute has been
finally resolved.
2.9. Supervision over the Organization’s Activity
Article 188
(1) The supervision over the operations of the organization shall be done by the competent
authority that supervises whether the organization performs its tasks in compliance with the
license granted and in compliance with the provisions of this Law.
(2) For purposes of the supervision, the organization shall submit the following to the
competent authority:
45
1) Annual business report and annual account of remunerations and the report of the
competent auditor;
2) agreements between the organization and the representative associations of users;
3)Amendments to the Statute, tariff and amendments thereto,
remuneration distribution plan and amendments thereto, all other general acts and their
amendments, contracts with appropriate foreign organizations and court and administrative
decisions where the organization was party.
(3) The organization shall submit the documents and data referred to in Paragraph 2 of
this Article within 15 days from their adoption, or the receipt of the repot, and/or the date of
change.
Article 189
(1) The organization has an obligation to adopt or obtain the following for very
previous business year, in the period of six months after its termination:
1) annual reports of the management bodies and the supervisory bodies
concerning the amount of the collected remuneration, its distribution, the
business of the collective management organization, the execution of the
agreements concluded with the representative association of users and the
execution of contracts concluded with the foreign organizations;
2) report of the empowered auditor;
3) proposal of the financial plan of the organization for the following year which
includes the plan of its business expenses.
(2) The provisions of this Article do not influence the obligations which the
organization has regarding other legislation concerning financial
management, reports and auditing.
Article 190
(1) The annual report on conducting business, the balance sheet of the remunerations and
book keeping must be submitted to auditing.
(2) The auditing of the management of the organization can be performed only by a
competent auditor, in compliance with the Law on Accounting and Auditing.
(3) The auditor report is accordingly subject to the regulations of the Law on Accounting
and Auditing.
Article 191
(1) The competent authority shall have the right to have its representatives present at
the sessions of the organization’s bodies, as well as the right to inspect business
records and other business documentation
(2) The representative of the competent authority has the right to state its opinion on all the
issues referring to the issues of collective management of copyright and related rights and the
compliance with the legislation without the right to vote at all the sessions of the bodies of
the organization.
(3) The competent body may demand from the organization a written answer concerning all
the issues referring to the activities and management of the organization.
(4) If the competent authority establishes the irregularities in the organization’s activity, it
shall indicate them, issue an order for the application of measures for the elimination of
irregularities and set a term for their elimination.
V COMMISSION FOR COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
46
1. Commission for Copyright and Related Rights
Article 192
(1) The Commission for Copyright and Related Rights is an expert body competent to give
opinion in the field of management of copyright and related rights concerning the draft tariff
proposed by the organizations.
(2) The Commission is not a permanent body.
1.1 Composition of the Commission
Article 193
(1) The Commission is composed of a president and four members.
(2) The president and members of the Commission are nominated from the ranks of well
known experts whose previous work and knowledge of the problems of the exercise of the
copyright and related rights can contribute to the realization of goals inspiring the
establishment of the Commission.
1.2 The Nomination of the Commission
Article 194
(1) The president and the members of the Commission are nominated by the Government at
the proposal of the manager of the competent body. Apart from the president and the
members, the vicepresident and two deputy members of the Commission shall also be
nominated who must fulfill the requests provided by Article 193 of this Law.
(2) For the preparation of the proposal from Paragraph 1 of this Article, the manager of the
competent body publishes in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, on its internet
page and in one daily paper with high circulation, the invitation to the organizations and
representative associations of users to propose the candidates for the members of the
Commission and their deputies, in particular: two members of the Commission and one
deputy member of the Commission each. The president and the vice president are proposed
by the competent body.
(3) The organizations and representative associations of the users can communicate to the
competent body the written reasoned proposals for the candidates for the members of the
Commission and their deputies in the period of one month from the publication date of the of
the public invitation from Paragraph 2 of this Article.
(4) On the basis of the received proposals from Paragraph 3 of this Article, the competent
body proposes to the Government the composition of the Commission.
(5) If the competent body considers that the proposed candidates do not meet the conditions
from Article 193 it can repeat the public invitation.
(6) The mandate of the president and the members of the Commission, as well as their
deputies, last for four years. After the expiration of the mandate of the president and the
members of the Commission, as well as their deputies, the competent body again implements
the procedure of proposal according to the regulations of this Article.
(7) The president and the members of the Commission, as well as their deputies whose
mandate has elapsed, can be nominated again.
1.3 Termination of the function of the president or the member of the Commission
47
Article 195
(1)The member of the Commission can be removed from duty before the expiration of time
for his nomination if:
1) he does not perform his duty in a conscientious or impartial way;
2) he permanently loses capacity for performing his duty due to illness or other justified
causes;
3) he personally asks to be relieved from duty for other justified reasons.
(2) The member of the Commission is relieved from duty by the Government.
1.4 Clerical Jobs and Administrative Assistance
Article 196
(1) The competent body secures the premises and equipment for the
operations of the Commission and provides the necessary
administrative and technical conditions for work.
(2) The competent body performs all the accounting tasks connected to
the payment of the compensation for work and expenses to the
members of the Commission.
1.5 Initiating procedure before the Commission for Copyright and Related Rights
Article 197
(1) Procedure for the obtaining of opinion on the proposal of tariff is initiated by the
written request submitted by the Organization to the Commission in the period of
three months from the date of the publication of the invitation mentioned in article
173 of this Law, at the latest.
(2) If the proposal of a single equitable tariff has been agreed upon by two or more
organizations, those organizations jointly initiate the procedure before the
Commission for obtaining the opinion on the proposal of a single equitable tariff.
1.5.1 Contents of a Request for Obtaining the Opinion on the Proposal of a Tariff
Article 198
(1) The request for the obtaining of opinion on the proposal of the tariff must contain:
1) data on the person or persons submitting the request;
2) proposal of the tariff;
3) if negotiations have been held, the citations of the present course and results of the
negotiations on the tariff, as well as explanation why the agreement on the tariff has
not been reached;
4) proof on the payment of the relevant part of remuneration for the work of the
Commission.
(2) The request for the obtaining of opinion on the proposal of the tariff is forwarded in
two copies.
1.6 Procedure before the Commission
Article 199
48
(1) One copy of the request from article 198 of this Law is forwarded by the Commission
to the representative association of users or the individual user inviting it to make a
statement about the issue in the course of 30 days from the reception date.
(2) With the declaration from paragraph 1 of this article, the representative association of
users, or the individual user, furnishes also the proof on the payment of the
corresponding part of remuneration for the work of the Commission.
(3) If the representative association of users does not make a statement in the envisaged
term concerning the forwarded request, the Commission states an opinion on the
basis of the submitted request.
(4) The Commission can make an appointment for consultations with the representatives
of the organization and the representative association of users if it considers it
necessary.
1.7 The Opinion of the Commission
Article 200
(1) The opinion of the Commission from Article 192 of this Law contains the evaluation
whether the proposal of the tariff of the organization includes those rights for which
the organization has the license for collective management issued on the part of the
competent body and whether the compensation has been determined in harmony with
the rules for the determination of the tariff prescribed by this Law.
(2) The Commission gives an opinion at the session, by the majority of votes of the
Commission. The opinion of the Commission is signed by the president of the
Commission.
(3) The opinion from Paragraph 1 of this Article is given by the Commission in the term
of 60 days from the date of the receipt of the request from Paragraph 198 of this Law.
(4) The opinion is forwarded to the organization and the representative association of
users or the individual user.
(5) The organization publishes a tariff in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”
in the term of 15 days from the receipt of the opinion, if the Commission has
evaluated in its opinion that the proposal of the tariff includes the collective
management of all the rights covered by the license issued by the competent body,
and that the remuneration has been determined in compliance with the regulations for
the determination of a tariff prescribed by this Law.
(6) If the Commission holds the opinion that the proposal of the tariff does not include all
those rights for which the organization holds the license for collective management
issued by the competent body or that the remuneration has not been determined in
harmony with the regulations for the determination of the tariff prescribed by this
Law, the organization has the obligation to repeat the negotiations with the
representative association of users, in the period of 30 days from the receipt of the
opinion of the Commission mentioned in this Article, or to forward a new proposal of
tariff to the Commission for an opinion in the same term.
(7) If, after the consideration of the new proposal of the tariff from paragraph 6 of this
article, the Commission evaluates that the remuneration is not determined in
compliance with the rules for the determination of the tariff prescribed by this Law, it
shall pass alone the decision about the tariff.
1.8 Expenses of the Procedure before the Commission
49
Article 201
(1) The president and the members of the Commission have the right to compensation for
their work. The compensation shall be covered by the parties participating in the
procedure before the Commission, in equal parts.
(2) The amount of compensation for the work of the members of the Commission equals
20% from the basic monthly salary of the judge of the Higher Court for every
initiated month of the course of procedure, and the amount of the compensation for
the work of the president of the Commission equals the amount of the compensation
for the member increased for 10%
(3) The government shall regulate by special provision the manner of payment of the
compensation for the work of the Commission.
VI. RECORDS OF WORKS OF AUTHORSHIP AND
SUBJECTMATTERS OF RELATED RIGHTS
Article 202
(1) For the purpose of securing the evidence, the holders of copyright and related
rights may deposit copies of their works and subjectmatters of related rights with
the competent authority.
(2) The copies of works and subjectmatters of related rights to be deposited shall be in
the form of a written document (manuscript, printed text, musical score), sound,
visual or audiovisual recording or in digital form.
(3) The competent authority shall keep a record of each kind of works of authorship
and subjectmatters of related rights.
(4) When a work of authorship or subjectmatter of related rights is being deposited
and entered into records, the holder of copyright or related right concerned shall
give true and complete data about his/her work of authorship or subjectmatter of
related right.
(5) The data entered in the records shall be deemed true until proven to the contrary.
(6) Any bona fide person, who has infringed somebody else’s copyright or related right in
reliance on the accuracy of the data entered in the records, shall not be liable for
damages for such infringement.
(7) The entry in records and depositing of the copies of works of authorship and
subjectmatters of related rights, shall in no way affect the onset and duration of
the rights determined by this Law.
(8) The contents of the records referred to in Paragraph 3 of this Article and the
requirements to be met by the copies of works and subjectmatters of related rights
that are being deposited shall be determined by a specific regulation.
Article 203
The prescribed fee shall be paid for entering the copies of authorship in the records and
depositing them.
VII. PROTECTION OF COPYRIGHT
AND RELATED RIGHTS
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Article 204
The infringement of the copyright or related rights is the unauthorized performance of any act
encompassed by the exclusive rights of the holder of copyright or related rights, not paying
remuneration prescribed by this Law or contract, as well as inobservance of other obligations
due to the holder of copyright or related rights, as prescribed by this Law.
Article 205
(1) Any holder of copyright, performer, producer of a phonogram, producer of a
videogram, producer of a broadcast, producer of a database and acquirer of
exclusive license for copyright and related rights, may file a suit and request
particularly the following:
1) Determination of the infringement of a right;
2) Termination of the infringement of a right;
3) Destruction or alteration of the objects instrumental to the infringement on
rights, including copies of the subjectmatter of protection, their packaging,
stencils, negatives and the like;
4) Destruction or alteration of the tools and equipment that has been used for
production of the objects instrumental to the infringement of rights, if so is
necessary for the protection of rights;
5) Compensation for material damages;
6) Publication of the court decision at the defendant’s expense.
(2) Any author and/or performer shall have the right to file a suit and request
compensation for nonmaterial damage for infringement of his/her moral rights.
(3) The provision of Paragraph 1, Item 3, of this Article shall not apply to the
following:
1) Constructed works of architecture;
2) Separable parts of the object which was instrumental to the infringement of
rights, if the production of such parts and marketing thereof are not illegal.
(4) The plaintiff may, instead of a request for the destruction or alteration of the
objects that were instrumental to the infringement on a right (Paragraph 1, Item 3,
of this Article), request such objects to be handed over to him/her.
Article 206
If the infringement of a pecuniary right was done intentionally or by gross negligence,
the plaintiff may, instead of indemnity for material damage, claim up to threefold
amount of usual remuneration that would have been paid had the concrete protected
subjectmatter been used lawfully.
Article 207
(1) Notwithstanding the provision in Article 9, Paragraph 2 of this Law, if the
plaintiff’s name is stated on the copy or other form of materialization of the
author’s work and/or subjectmatter of related right, he will be considered to be
the holder of copyright to that work and/or related right to that subjectmatter of
protection, until proven otherwise.
(2) Proceedings for the infringement on copyright and related rights shall be urgent.
Article 208
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Apart from the cases envisaged by the provision of article 204 of this Law, the following
shall be deemed to be an infringement of right:
(1) Any of the following shall be deemed to be an infringement of the right:
1) The exploitation of any of the subjectmatters of protection involving the use
of copies of such subjectmatter of protection that were made without
authorization, and/or are based on the unauthorized broadcasting;
2) Holding copies of the work of authorship or subjectmatter of related right for
commercial purposes, if the holder knows or has reason to know that such
copies are produced without authorization;
3) Production, import, marketing, sale, rental, advertising for the purposes of sale
or rental or holding for commercial purposes of the devices, products, composite parts,
computer programs primarily constructed, produced or adjusted for enabling or facilitating
the circumvention of any efficient technological measure, which do not have any other
significant purpose than the said one;
4) Circumvention of any technological measure, or supply or advertising of
services enabling or facilitating such circumvention;
5) Removal or alteration of the electronic information regarding rights, or
marketing, import, broadcasting or public communication in any other manner
of the work of authorship or the subjectmatter of the related rights, from
which the electronic information on rights is removed or altered without
authorization, where the perpetrator knows or has reason to know that by
doing so he induces, enables, facilitates or conceals infringement of copyright
or related right.
(2) For the purposes of Paragraph 1 of this Law:
1) The term “technological measures” shall mean any technology, device or
component constructed in such manner as to prevent or restrict, during the
normal course of its operation, the acts regarding the works of authorship or
any other protected subjectmatter, which are not authorized by the holder of
copyright or holder of related rights. Technological measures are considered efficient when
the holders of rights mentioned in this Law, limit the use of their works and subject matter of
related rights by means of the control of access or by means of the protective procedure, such
as encryption, deformation or other transformation of copyright protected work or subject
matter of related rights, or by means of mechanisms for the control of multiplication,
achieving thus the aim of protection.
2) The term “information on rights” shall mean any information originating from
the holder of the right that identifies the work of authorship or the subject matter
of related right, the author, and/or the holder of the right, or the
information on the conditions of the use of a work or subjectmatter of related
right, or any number or code representing such information.
Article 208a
(1)The holder of right who uses technological measures, according to the provisions of this
Law, has an obligation to enable to the persons that have, on the basis of the provisions of
this Law on the limitations of copyright, a legal access to the copy of the work or the subject
matter of related rights, to realize the material limitations of rights, at their request, in the
shortest term possible by the alteration or removal of technological measures or in some other
way.
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(2) The provision of paragraph 1 of this article is not applied to works or other subject
matters of protection made available to the public on the basis of agreed contractual
conditions in a manner enabling the representatives of the public to have access to them from
the place and at the time of their own choice.
(3) The holder of right, importer or another person that applied technological measures or
who has authority to remove them, must notify, on every copy of the work or subject matter
of related rights, made or imported for commercial purposes, of the use of technological
measures, clearly and visibly, according to the provision of this Law, and he must state:
1) data on the used technological measure and its effects,
2) his name or title and contact address for the enabling of the efficient realization of the
substantive limitation of right from paragraph 1 of this article.
(3) If the holder of right does not act in compliance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this
article, stating that there are no conditions permitting the utilization of work or the subject
matter of related rights, on the basis of provisions on limitations of copyright and related
rights, which are prescribed by the provisions of this Law, the person who wants to realize
the substantive limitations of rights can file suit against the holder of right and demand access
to the copyright protected work or the subject matter of related rights, and the use in
compliance with the provisions of this Law, referring to the limitations of copyright .
Article 209
(1) Copyright and performers’ rights may not be the subject of the judicial
enforcement
(2) Only specific pecuniary claims stemming from the rights referred to in Paragraph
1 of this Article may be the subject of the judicial enforcement.
(3) Unfinished works and unpublished manuscripts may not be the subject the judicial
enforcement.
Article 210
At the request of a holder of the right who makes it credible that his/her copyright or
related right has been infringed on or will be infringed on, the court may order a
provisional measure involving the seizure or removal from the market of the object with
which the infringement is made and/or a provisional measure involving a prohibition
against the acts under way, which could be conducive to infringement.
Article 211
(1) At the request of the holder of the right who makes it credible that his/her
copyright or related right has been infringed, or that such infringement is
imminent or that irreparable harm is likely to occur, as well as that there is justified
apprehension that the evidence of that will be destroyed or that it will not be
possible to obtain it later on, the court may order a measure to secure evidence
without giving prior notice to or hearing the person from which evidence is to be
collected.
(2) For the purposes of Paragraph 1 of this Article, the securing of evidence shall
mean the inspection of premises, books, documents, databases, etc., as well as the
seizure of documents and infringing goods, interrogation of witnesses and expert
witnesses
(3) The court order for measures to secure evidence shall be served to the person from
which evidence is to be collected, on the occasion of the collection of evidence,
and to an absent person, as soon as that becomes possible.
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Article 212
(1) Temporary injunctions or the securing of evidence from Articles 210 and 211 of this Law
may be requested even before filing an action, providing the action is filed in the period of 30
days from the passing of decision on the temporary measure or the decision on the furnishing
of evidence.
(2) In the case the legal suit is not filed in the term of 30 days from the date of passing
decision on the temporary injunction or the decision on the securing of evidence, the
provisions of the Law regulating the judicial enforcement are applied.
(3) An appeal filed against a decision ordering a provisional measure referred to in
Article 210 shall not postpone the execution of the decision.
Article 213
(1) The court may order the defendant to furnish information about third parties
related to the infringement or hand over documents relating to the infringement.
(2) The person that fails to perform its obligation referred to in Paragraph 1 of this
Article shall be liable for the damage thus incurred.
Article 214
In the event of a dispute for the determination of rights of a publisher and/or a person
who published a work whose author is unknown (Article 13), the court shall provide for
the author’s anonymity to be preserved.
VIII. PENAL PROVISIONS
Article 215
(1) A punishment is envisaged for the economic transgression as a pecuniary penalty in the
amount of 100,000 to 3,000,000 dinars against business company or any other legal person
that:
1) discloses, records, reproduces or communicates to the public in any manner
wholly or partly, a work of authorship, performance, phonogram, videogram,
broadcast or database without permission, or markets or rents or holds in
possession in commercial purposes copies of works of authorship,
performances of phonograms, videograms, broadcasts or databases that have
been reproduced or placed on the market without authorization (Articles 16,
20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 116, 126, 131, 136 and 140 of this Law);
2) markets or rents copies of works referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, for the
purpose of deriving pecuniary benefit for itself or somebody else, knowing that
they were disclosed, recorded or reproduced without authorization (Articles 16,
20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 116, 126, 131, 136 and 140 of this Law);
3) produces, imports, markets, sells, rents, advertises for the purposes of sale or
renting, or holds for commercial purposes devices, products, composite parts, computer
programs primarily constructed, produced or adjusted for enabling or facilitating the
circumvention of any efficient technological measure, which do not have any other
significant purpose than the said one (Article 208, paragraph. 1 item 3 of this Law);
4) circumvents any efficient technological measure, or supplies or advertises the services
which enable or facilitate such circumvention (Article 208, paragraph 1, item
4 of this Law);
5) removes or alters electronic information on rights, or markets, imports,
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broadcasts or in any other manner communicates the work of authorship or the
subjectmatter of related right to the public, from which the electronic
information on rights has illegally been removed or altered, while knowing or
having reason to know that by doing so it instigates, enables, facilitates or
conceals the infringement of a copyright or related right (Article 208,
Paragraph 1, Item 5 of this Law);
6) being the owner of a building, makes an alteration on the building which is
materialized copy of the work of architecture without prior offering the author
to do the alterations of the work (Article 38 of this Law);
7) does not forward to the organization or does not forward in the prescribed period the data
on the title of the subject matter of protection, frequency and scope of utilization, as well as
other circumstances which are relevant for the calculation and distribution of the
remuneration that must be paid according to the tariff (Article 39, Paragraph 7 and Article
187, Paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Law).
8) conducts collective exercise of copyright and/or related rights without
permission of the competent authority (Article 160, paragraph 4 of this Law).52
(2) The responsible person in the business company or other legal person concerned
shall also be punished for economic transgression by a pecuniary penalty in the amount of
50,000 to 200,000 dinars for any of the acts referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article.
(3)Objects implying performing economic transgression and objects which were
instrumented for the performing of economic transgression from Paragraph 1 of this Article
shall be confiscated and all the objects implying performing economic transgression shall
also be destroyed.
(4) The decision pronouncing the punishment for the economic transgression from Paragraph
1 of this Article to the offender is published publicly.
Article 216
(1) The entrepreneur shall be punished for economic transgression by a pecuniary penalty in
the amount of 50,000 to 500,000 dinars for any of the acts referred to in Article 215,
Paragraph 1, Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7.
(2) The natural person shall be punished for the economic transgression by a pecuniary
penalty in the amount of 10,000 to 50,000 dinars for acts referred to in Article 215, Paragraph
1, Item 6 of this Law.
(3)Objects implying performing economic transgression and objects which were
instrumented for the performing of economic transgression from Paragraphs 1and 2 of this
Article shall be confiscated and all the objects implying performing economic transgression
shall also be destroyed.
Article 217
(1) A punishment is envisaged for the economic transgression as a pecuniary penalty in the
amount of 100,000 to 1,000,000 dinars against business company or any other legal person
that:
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1) without stating the author’s or performer’s name or under different name,
wholly or partially discloses, performs, presents, communicates the
performance or presentation or broadcasts work of authorship or performance
of another person (Article 15 and 114, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of this Law);
2) without permission of the author modifies or adapts work of authorship or
recorded performance of another person (Article 17, 31 and 114, Paragraph 1.
Item 3 of this Law.);
3) in the capacity of the professional art dealer (sales saloons, art galleries, auction houses,
etc.), in the term of 30 days from the date of sale of the original work of the fine art, does not
inform the author of the work on the title and name and address of the salesman, agent and
buyer of his work, and the price for which the work has been sold, and does not pay to the
author the amount of remuneration, from the sales price of the work (Article 35, Paragraphs 1
, 4,5,6,7 and 9 of this Law);
4) gives incorrect data or deceives true data about its work of authorship or
subjectmatter of related rights when entering into the records and depositing
work of authorship or subjectmatter or related right with the competent
authority (Article 202, Paragraph 4 of this Law);
5) as a publisher sells the unsold copies of the work as scrap paper without
previously offering it to the author or his/her heirs for purchase (Article 81 of this Law);
6)does not enable to the persons, that on the basis of the provisions of this Law on the
limitations of copyright have legal access to the copies of work or subject matter of related
rights to realize the substantive limitations of rights, by alteration or removal of technological
measures or in some other way (article 208a, paragraph 1);
7)on the copy of work or subject matter of related rights elaborated or imported for
commercial purposes, does not indicate clearly and visibly the use of technological measures
(article 208a, paragraph 3).
(2) The responsible person in the business company or other legal person concerned
shall also be punished for the economic transgression by a pecuniary penalty amounting from
10,000 to 50,000 dinars for any of the acts referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article.
(3) The entrepreneur shall be punished for an economic transgression by a pecuniary penalty
amounting from 10,000 to 200,000 dinars for acts from Paragraph 1 of this Article.
(4) Natural person shall be punished for economic transgression by a pecuniary penalty
amounting from 10,000 to 50,000 dinars for any acts referred to in Paragraph 1, Items 4 and 5
of this Article.
(5) The natural person who in the period of 30 days from the date of sale of the copy of the
original work of fine art , does not inform the author of the work about the title and the name
and address of the seller, agent and buyer of his work and the price and does not pay the
author the amount of remuneration from the sale price of the work (Article 35, Paragraph
1,4,5,6,7 and 9) shall be punished by a pecuniary penalty in the amount from 10,000 to
50,000 dinars.
IX. TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
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Article 218
Author, interpreter, producer of phonograms, producer of videograms and producer of
broadcasting, whose duration of right expired before the day this Law enters into force can
not ask the establishment of rights according to this Law.
Article 219
(1) The existing organizations for collective management of copyright and related rights
which performed the tasks of the management of these rights before the entry into force of
this Law shall continue working after this Law enters into force.
(2) All subjects from Paragraph 1 of this Article have an obligation to harmonize its statutory
composition and way of doing business with the provisions of this Law in the term of one
year from the date this Law enters into force. For the sake of harmonization of legal form, the
existing organizations have an obligation to perform the application of entry into the Register
of associations and change of legal form and submit the request for the delete from the
Company Register where they had been previously entered.
(3)The subjects from Paragraph 1 of this Article have the obligation, in the term of 60 days
from the date this Law enters into force, to announce the invitation from article 173 of this
Law.
Article 220
The implementation of Article 29, paragraph 2 of this Law is postponed until the
establishment of the appropriate organization for the collective management of rights in the
Republic of Serbia, and at the latest until the date of the accession of the Republic of Serbia
to the European Union.
Article 221
(1) Provisions of this Law related to protection of copyright, performer’s right,
phonogram producer’s right and broadcast producer’s right, except for provisions
of Articles 14 to 18, shall apply to both natural and legal persons as defined under
the Article 1, Paragraph 3 of the TRIPs Agreement after ratification of this
Agreement.
(2) Provisions of Articles 35 and 36 of this Law shall apply to nationals or residents
of the member state of the World Trade Organizations only if the condition of
reciprocity.
Article 222
(1) In the term of 30 days from the date this Law enters into force, the competent
body shall publish the invitation from Article 194, Paragraph 2 of this Law,
and at the latest at the expiry of two months from the date of the publication
of the invitation, the head of the competent body shall propose to the
Government the candidates for the selection of the members of the
Commission and their deputies.
(2) The Government shall nominate the candidates for the president and members
of the Commission as well as their deputies in the term of 30 days from the
date of the reception of the proposal from the competent body.
(3) In the term of 30 days from the date of the entry into force of this Law, the
competent body shall propose to the Government the list of technical devices
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and objects for which there is an obligation of payment of a special
remuneration on the basis of Article 39 of this Law.
(4) The Government shall establish a list of devices and objects mentioned in
Article 29, paragraph 10 of this Law in the term of 60 days from the reception
of proposal from the competent body.
(5) Until the establishment of the list from Paragraph 4 of this Article, the
persons mentioned in Article 39, Paragraph 2 of this Law do not pay
remuneration for computers, computer equipment and components, as well as
all kinds of computer memories.
Article 223
The Commission has an obligation to pass the Rules of procedure of the Commission in the
period of 30 days from the date of the establishment of the Commission.
Article 224
(1) Bylaws for the enforcement of this Law shall be passed in the term of four months
from the date this Law enters into force.
(2) Until the passing of bylaws prescribed by this Law, the provisions of regulations
passed on the basis of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights (“Official Gazette of
Serbia and Montenegro”, number 61/04) are enforced with the exception of the
provisions which are contrary to this Law.
Article 225
On the date this Law enters into force, the following shall cease to be effective:
1) Law on Copyright and Related Rights (“Official Gazette of Serbia and Montenegro”,
number 61/04);
2) Provisions of Articles 34, 35, 42, 43 and 44, paragraph 1, Item 1 and 3 of The Law on
Special Authorities for the Sake of Efficient Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
(“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, number 46/06).
Article 226
This Law shall come into force on the eight day from its publication in the “Official
Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”.
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