February 02, 2025

Copyright – Key Legal Definitions in Croatia

Copyright is a fundamental area of law that protects creativity and innovation. This blog will provide you with an in-depth overview of key legal definitions related to copyright, including rights holders, types of works, publication, term of protection, and other important issues.

Copyright holders

The copyright belongs to the natural person who creates the copyrighted work. The right holder may also be a natural or legal person who is entitled to a share in the income from the rights under a contract or law.

Publication and public use

A copyrighted work or subject matter of a related right is considered published if it has been made available to the public with the consent of the rightholder.

A copyrighted work or subject matter of related rights is considered to have been issued:

  • if, with the consent of the rightholder, copies of that copyright work or subject matter of related rights have been offered to the public or put into circulation.
  • if the copyrighted work or the subject matter of a related right is made available to the public, wirelessly or by wire, in a way that allows members of the public to access the copyrighted work.

Public use of an author’s work is considered to be any use of a copyrighted work or subject matter of related rights that is accessible to the public.

Types of copyrighted works

An author’s work is an original intellectual creation from the literary, scientific or artistic field that has an individual character, regardless of the manner and form of expression, type, value or purpose.

The author’s works are:

  • language works, such as written works, spoken works and computer programs, which include the expression of a computer program in any form, including preparatory design material,
  • musical works, with or without words,
  • drama and dramatic-musical works,
  • choreographic and pantomime works,
  • works of visual arts in the field of painting, sculpture and graphics, regardless of the material from which they are made, and other works of visual arts,
  • works of architecture, such as sketches, studies, plastic and other representations, plans, conceptual solutions, preliminary designs, main designs, detailed designs, plans, and constructed buildings and interventions in space in the field of architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture,
  • works of applied arts and industrial design,
  • photographic works and works produced by a process similar to photographic,
  • audiovisual works, such as cinematographic, television, documentary, cartoon, advertising or other films,
  • journalistic works, such as articles, photographs and audiovisual contributions;
  • video games and other multimedia works,
  • cartographic works,
  • representations of a scientific or technical nature such as drawings, plans, sketches, tables,
  • other types of original intellectual creations that have an individual character.

The subject of copyright is the copyright work as a whole, including the unfinished copyrighted work, title and parts of the copyrighted work. The title of a copyrighted work that does not meet the prerequisites for being the subject of copyright, and which has already been used for a copyrighted work, cannot be used for a work of the same type if it is likely to cause confusion about the author.

Processing

Translations and other adaptations of a work of authorship, which are original intellectual creations of an individual character, are protected as independent works of authorship. This includes translations, adaptations, adaptations and other modifications to the computer program. Such works must be original intellectual creations of an individual character.

Translations of official texts in the fields of legislation, administration and the judiciary, which are original intellectual creations of an individual character, are protected as independent works of authorship. This does not apply if they are made for the purpose of officially informing the public and published as such.

Slightly processed, adapted or musically arranged musical works with or without words, in respect of which copyright protection has expired, shall not be considered original intellectual creations.

Authors and co-authors

The author of the work is the natural person who created the work. Co-authors are people who have created a work by working together. In the case of a composed work, each author retains the copyright in his work.

If two or more authors compose their created works of authorship for their joint use, each of the authors retains the copyright in their work of authorship. The mutual relations of the authors of the compiled work are regulated by a contract.

Co-authors of a work are persons who have created an author’s work through joint work, and whose contributions cannot be used independently. Co-authors have a joint copyright on the created copyright work. Everyone is entitled to a part of this copyright calculated in proportion to the entire copyright. In case of doubt, the co-authored parts are considered to be the same.

The Moral Rights of the Author

An author has moral rights to his work, including the right to attribution, the right to respect for the work, and the right of revocation.

The moral rights of the author are as follows:

  • determine whether, when, where, how and under what conditions his copyrighted work will be published for the first time (the right of first publication),
  • be recognized and identified as the author of the work (the right to attribution),
  • oppose the deformation, mutilation and similar deterioration of his/her copyrighted work (the right to respect for the copyrighted work);
  • revoke the established right to exploit his or her copyrighted work, with compensation for damage to the holder of that right, if the use of the work would violate his or her honour or reputation (right of revocation).

Author’s economic rights

The author has the exclusive right to do what he wants with his work. This includes the right of reproduction, distribution, communication to the public and the right of adaptation.

Copyright Transfer and Portability

Copyright is inheritable, but not transferable. Only material gains acquired through the use of copyright may be subject to enforcement.

Right of exploitation

According to Croatian law, the author may establish the right to exploit the copyrighted work for another. He can leave it to him to exercise the copyright by contract, granting permission or permission to use. The author may establish a right for another on the basis of which others will be able to use the copyrighted work in any or certain way (the right of exploitation). The right of exploitation may be established as an exclusive or non-exclusive right, limited in content, time or space.

The holder of the exclusive right of exploitation may use the copyrighted work in a manner that is consistent with the content of his right. He may exclude anyone else, including the author, from such use. A non-exclusive right of exploitation entitles its holder to use the copyright work in a manner consistent with the content of his right.

Copyright Agreement

The contract on the basis of which the right to exploit copyright is acquired (copyright agreement) must be concluded in writing. The copyright contract must specify at least the work to which it relates, the manner of use, the remuneration for the use of the work. Instead of compensation, it may have an explicit provision that the right of use is established free of charge. The person authorized to use the copyrighted work must be indicated.

Fee for the use of the copyrighted work

The author shall be entitled to appropriate and proportionate remuneration for any use of his or her copyrighted work. If the amount of the fee is not determined by the legal transaction, the author has the right to demand appropriate and proportionate compensation. The same applies if the amount of the compensation is determined inappropriately or the amount of the compensation is not determined by the collective protection organization.

Appropriate and proportionate remuneration is the one that must be fairly given or determined in legal transactions at the time of concluding the legal transaction, with regard to the type and scope of use of the copyrighted work, and other relevant circumstances.

The author has the right to adapt the originally agreed fees in copyright contracts to changed circumstances.

Publishing contract

By means of a publishing contract, the author undertakes to establish for the publisher the right to reproduce his specific copyrighted work by printing or other similar procedure and the right to distribute copies of the copyrighted work (hereinafter: the right to publish).

Unless otherwise stipulated in the publishing contract, it is considered that the publisher has the exclusive right to publish the work. This presumption does not apply to the right to publish in daily and periodical press, publications or electronic publications for which no written contract has been concluded (hereinafter: small publishing contract).

Contract for the creation of a work to order

By the contract for the creation of a work of authorship to order, the author undertakes to create a certain work of authorship and to hand over a copy of that work to the client, and the client undertakes to pay the author the agreed fee for this and to use the work in accordance with the contract on order, unless otherwise specified in the contract. The contract for the creation of a commissioned copyright work determines the characteristics of the commissioned work, the deadlines for its submission, as well as the manner of exploitation of the work.

Unless otherwise specified in the contract for the creation of a commissioned work of authorship, it shall be considered that the client has acquired exclusive copyright to exploit the copyrighted work created to order, in the content and scope necessary for the realization of the activity it performs, without space and time limitation.

Copyrighted work created in an employment relationship

A copyrighted work created in an employment relationship is a work created by the author during the employment relationship. Relations with regard to a copyrighted work created in an employment relationship are regulated by the Copyright and Related Rights Act, an employment contract or other act regulating the employment relationship, or another contract concluded between the author and the employer.

Unless otherwise stipulated by the employment contract or other act regulating the employment relationship or other contract concluded between the author and the employer, it shall be considered that the employer has acquired exclusive copyright economic rights to exploit the copyrighted work created in the employment relationship. Such is considered in the content and scope necessary for the realization of the activity he performs, without space and time limitation. If the use of a copyrighted work created in an employment relationship has had a significant contribution to the increase of income or profit or to the improvement of the performance of the employer’s activities, the author is entitled to a special appropriate remuneration.

Duration of copyright

Copyright lasts for the lifetime of the author and for 70 years after his death, regardless of when the copyrighted work was lawfully published, unless otherwise provided by law.

The term limits of copyright determined by law are calculated from 1 January of the year immediately following the year in which the event from which the beginning of the term is calculated occurred.

With the termination of copyright, the copyright work becomes a public domain and can be used freely with the obligation of acknowledging authorship, respecting the copyrighted work, and the honor and reputation of the author.

Conclusion

Copyright is a complex area of law that requires careful consideration. We hope this blog has provided you with a useful overview of key legal definitions.

If you need a copyright lawyer, feel free to contact us at:

info@odvjetnik-bistrovic.hr

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