Copyright and related rights

COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS

The Law on copyright and related rights (“Official Gazette of Montenegro“, No. 37/11, 53/16, 145/21, 48/24, 84/24 and 100/24) shall govern the right of authors with respect to their works of literature, science and art (copyright), the rights of performers, producers of phonograms, film producers, broadcasting organizations and publishers (related rights), sui generis rights of makers of databases, the copyright contract law, the collective management of copyright and related rights, and the protection of copyright and related rights and sui generis rights of makers of databases. 

A copyright work shall be an individual intellectual creation in the domain of literature, science, and art, which is expressed in a certain mode.

Considered as copyright works shall be in particular the following:

- spoken works (lectures, speeches, orations and the like);

- written works (novels, poetry, articles, manuals, studies, monographs, computer programs and the like);

- musical works with or without lyrics;

- theatrical, theatrical- musical works, choreographic works, puppet theatre works, and works of pantomime;

- photographic works and works produced by a process similar to photography;

- audiovisual works;

- works of fine art (drawings, graphic works, paintings, sculptures, and the like);

- works of architecture (sketches, plans, constructed objects in the field of architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture, and the like);

- works of applied art and industrial design;

- cartographic works (tourist maps, auto maps, topographic maps, thematic maps, and the like;

- presentations of scientific, teaching or technical nature (technical drawings, plans, standards, expert opinions, three-dimensional representations, and the like).

Copyright protection shall not include:

- ideas, principles and inventions;

- official texts and translations in the legislative, administrative and judicial domain;

- traditional culture expressions (works of folklore);

- news of the day or other facts having the character of common media information.

The author shall be the natural person who created a copyright work.

If the work is created in by a joint creative work of two or more persons and constitutes an inseparable whole are co-authors.

Author acquires copyright at the moment of the creation of work.

Copyright includes:

- moral rights protect the author with respect to his intellectual and personal ties to the work (right of first disclosure, right of authorship, right of integrity of the work and right to withdrawal)

- economic rights protect the economic interests the author. (The author shall have the exclusive right to allow or prohibit: the right of reproduction, the right of distribution, the rental right, the lending right, the right of public performance, the right of public communication by phonograms or videograms, the right of public presentation, the right of broadcasting, the right of rebroadcasting, the right of cable retransmission, the right of public communication of a broadcast work, the right of any other communication to the public, the right of making available of the work to the public, the right of adaptation of the work and the right of audio-visual adaptation)

- other rights of the author (right of access to the work, resale right and right to remuneration)

Related rights encompass the rights of individuals who, in the course of their professional activities, utilize the works of others. These individuals invest technical and financial resources, along with their own skills and talents, to present and express the copyrighted works in a particular manner. Related rights:

- the rights of performers

- producers of phonograms,

- film producers,

- broadcasting organizations and

- publishers.

FREE USE

Without acquirement of the corresponding economic right and without payment of a remuneration, it shall be permitted to use a copyright work for the benefit of people with a disability:

1. for its modification if the work is not available in the desired form;

2. provided the use is directly related to the disability of the people;

3. provided the use is limited to the scope required by the specific disability;

4. provided the use is not for direct or indirect economic advantage.

Without acquiring the appropriate property right and without paying compensation: 

1. the beneficiary person or a person acting on their behalf shall be allowed to make an accessible format copy of a copyright work or subject matter of related rights to which the beneficiary person has lawful access, for the purpose of exclusive use by the beneficiary person, and

2. an authorized entity shall be allowed to make an accessible format copy of a copyright work or subject matter of related rights to which the authorized entity has lawful access and to distribute an accessible format copy, communicate it, make it available or lend it to a beneficiary person or other authorized entity on a nonprofit basis, for the exclusive use by the beneficiary person.

Authorized entity,  shall mean the Public Institution Library for the Blind of Montenegro, Public Institution National Library of Montenegro “Durđe Crnojević”, organizations of persons with disabilities and non-governmental organizations that provide beneficiary persons with non-profit education, instructional training, adaptive reading or access to information, as one of the primary goals and activities for which they were established, and which are determined as such by the statute of these organizations, and which are entered in the register of authorized entities.

For the purpose of entry in the register of authorized entities, institutions and organizations shall submit a request to the Ministry of Economic Development. The request referred shall be accompanied by the statute of institutions or organizations and rules referred to in Law.

MANAGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS

An author and holder of related rights may manage their rights individually ot collectively.

Individual management of rights is exercised in person or through a representative.

Collective management of rights is exercised through collective management organisations. The activity of collective management of copyright and related rights may only be exercised on the basis of an authorization by the Ministry of Economic Development.

In Montenegro three organizations are authorized to carry out collective rights management activities, namely:

- Montenegrin Organization for Collective Management of Music Authors' Rights - PAM CG – Prava autora muzike Crne Gore

- Organization for Protection of Film Producers' Rights in Montenegro -  A-PRAVA Montenegro - Organizacija za zaštitu prava filmskih producenata u Crnoj Gori

- NGO “Performers of Montenegro - INCG – Interpretatori Crne Gore

REGISTER OF PROTECTED MATTER

In order to secure evidence of their copyright and related rights rightholders may deposit copies of their protected matter with the Ministry of Economic Development.

The Ministry of Economic Development shall keep the register of deposited copies by categories of copyright works and by subject of related rights.

Depositing is not compulsory and it does not influence the beginning of duration of copyright because author acquires copyright at the moment of the creation of work.

The Rulebook on the depositing and recording of works of copyright and related rights ("Official Gazette of Montenegro", number 30/12) regulates in more detail the conditions that must be met by copies of works of copyright and related rights (subjects of protection) that are deposited with the competent state administration body for intellectual property affairs and content of records of deposited protection items.

The request must be submitted using the following forms:

 - form A for subjects of copyright,

 - form S for subject of related right.

The forms must be submitted in two copies, either directly to the office of the Department for Intellectual Property (archive, 1st floor, Bulevar Svetog Petra Cetinjskog No. 147, Podgorica) or by post.

The following must be attached to the request:

- a copy or another form of the subject of protection with the signature of the right holder,

- a power of attorney, if the request is submitted through a representative,

- a power of attorney from the collective representative of interpreters who collectively participate in the interpretation (members of the orchestra, choir, dance ensemble, theater group, etc.),

- proof of payment of the administrative fee.

Administrative fee for depositing is €25,00. Account for payment Administrative fee is: 832-3161910-97.