Copyright in Official Works

Service works are a topic that requires special attention. The question very often arises – when can a work be considered an author’s work, and when it will be official. In order to give the correct answer, you need to know a number of special nuances and rules.

In this article we will take a closer look at all the features of creating and using official works, and also talk about what is copyright to official works .

Official works is a special form of intellectual property. What is their difference? According to Ukrainian law, authors of works have the right to dispose of their objects, to permit or prohibit their use, sell, rent, etc. However, there are separate rules regarding service works. In this case, the author possesses exclusively non-property rights, that is, he has the right only to be called the author, to permit publication under his own name (or pseudonym). At the same time, he does not have any property rights, he cannot dispose of the intellectual property object that he created. Such rights belong to the employer.

This distribution of rights is carried out on the basis of an employment contract, a job assignment, in which one of the main conditions (responsibilities) is the creation of this work. In other words, the author, for a certain fee, performs work, the results of which, namely service works , will belong to the employer (customer).

Who owns the copyrighted work?

As we have already found out, non-property the right to a work work belongs to the author, but property rights – to the employer. Let’s talk about them in more detail.

Non-property rights to the service work belong exclusively to their author. According to Ukrainian legislation, these rights cannot be transferred (sold, donated) to others.

Property rights are much more interesting. If we analyze the Civil Code of Ukraine, then in paragraph 2 of Article 429 we will find a rule that establishes that an object created on the basis of an employment contract belongs to both the employer and the author himself. However, at the end there is such a clarification “unless otherwise provided by the contract”. Therefore, experts always advise you to carefully re-read the employment contract, and in case of any doubts, seek the help of a professional lawyer.

So, let’s look at what property rights mean. This:

• the right to sell or donate a work;
• the right to create instances;
• the right to import;
• the right to publicly display or perform a work;
• the right to rent (rent) the work;
• the right to translate the work or alter it in any way;
• the right to authorize the use (access) of the object to third parties.

How to prove your copyright for a work?

Situations are different. And here is one of the not most pleasant ones when you have to prove your rights to official works . The reason for this may be different cases. For example, an employer refuses to pay you for the creation of an object, or a third party unlawfully arrogates to itself authorship. Here you need to know in what ways you can defend your rights and prove your authorship. Let’s take a look at a few methods.

The first is the presumption of authorship. What does this mean? This principle implies that the author is the person whose name is written on the work itself. Of course, there may be such a situation that the ill-wisher has published the object under his own name. However, it is very easy to refute this if you have materials published earlier. Therefore, always protect yourself from any risk of losing your intellectual property – always sign your work!

The second is copyright for service works by registration. This method is the most effective and correct one. By registering the copyright for a work in advance, you will ensure yourself absolute legal protection. If someone decides to use your work, or if the employer refuses to pay you remuneration for creating a work, then you can always go to court. Having the necessary documents (namely, the Certificate of Registration, which is issued after passing the necessary procedure), the court obliges the offender to compensate you for material and moral (if any) damage, and also in some situations will force you to stop illegal use of your work.

Successful registration Copyright is largely dependent on the expertise of the experts. Therefore, it is very important to choose the right appraisal company. The Wise Group company is a consulting company, which one of the directions of its work is in the field of intellectual property. Our specialists will be able to quickly, professionally and efficiently perform any copyright registration. Each employee of the Wise Group is a certified specialist who has extensive experience and significant theoretical knowledge in order to solve an issue of any complexity. An individual approach to a client and professionalism are one of the main principles of our work!

However, these are not all methods to protect your copyrights and prove your authorship. There are many different ways that can help you solve this problem. It all depends on the specific situation and conditions. For example, a proof that you are the true author of a work can be found in the drafts of the original object. Also, evidence of your authorship may be testimony of witnesses.

What documents are required to register a copyright for a service work?

The procedure for registering copyright for a work work consists of several stages, which have their own characteristics, requirements and rules.

At the very beginning, the author of the work will need to prepare the relevant documents in order to successfully register copyright . Thus, you will need to submit:

1. Information about the person who owns all copyright property rights to the service work (copy of the Extract or Certificate from the Unified State Register).
2. A copy of the original intellectual property object (it can be submitted both electronically and in paper format).
3. A copy of the order, which is written in the name of the director (employer).
4. A copy of the order assigned to the employee (author).
5. Statement from the workplace.
6. A copy of the document that sets out the requirements for creating a Service Work (Service Assignment).
7. A copy of the employment contract that was laid down between the author of the object and his employer.
8. A copy of the Contract Agreement between the co-authors (if any; if there is only one author, this document is not required).
9. A copy of the acceptance certificate.
10. Power of attorney on your behalf for the implementation of the registration procedure by a specialist of the Weis Group company.

This list of documents will need to be provided to the expert of our company in order for him to analyze the entire volume of work, the need to perform certain procedures, as well as to draw up an individual registration plan. During the preparation of the application or the passage of the registration procedure itself, additional documents may be required. In this case, the specialist will warn you in advance about the need to prepare additional papers.

If, for any reason, you do not have certain documents, contact our company Vise Group for advice. This will not be a problem for our experts, they will draw up a special program for you, thanks to which you are guaranteed to receive a Certificate of Registration.

Interesting? Find out more! For example, what permissions and prohibitions exist for the author’s property rights .