The protection of copyright from a civil
Protecting copyright from a civil point of view In the event of copyright infringement, if the parties fail to reach an agreement when in dispute, they shall then apply to the court to resolve the differences between them in a civil way. Also, in the LDA, Article 162 expressly states: “Violation of the rights recognized and guaranteed by this law constitutes civil, administrative, misdemeanor or criminal liability, as the case may be, by applicable legislation.”
Regarding the procedure and civil responsibilities, they are regulated by the provisions of this law and by the requirements of the legislation in force. The following article also provides for persons who have the right to seek the enforcement of appropriate measures, procedures, and reparations, and to require the court to defend their rights from any offender.
The civil process may also use monetary compensation for the moral damage that may have been caused by the author by both the violation of economic rights and the violation of his moral rights. We have moral damage when the author’s honor, personality, and reputation are damaged. On the other hand, after the death of the author, his moral rights belong to his heirs, but they cannot file a claim for moral damages, as this is a suite of personal character. If the heirs were in this situation, then they would have no civil protection.
Protect copyright from an administrative point of view
Copyright law also provides for infringements and organizational measures, so it is a specific provision that reflects all cases that must be prosecuted. But for these provisions to be implemented, the state also plays a significant role in this case, setting up Tax Police control inspectorates, which collect rewards and of course impose sanctions on any beneficiary person for the unauthorized and unlawful use of copyright.
Article 178 of the LDA is definitive regarding the supervision and inspection of copyright enforcement. The third point of this provision specifies explicitly the role of the inspectors at the moment when they encounter an administrative offence and the determination of punishment at the moment when the violation is found.
The law also provides for broader coverage of cases involving administrative offences, as well as increased austerity sanctions.
Criminal protection of copyright is also protected in criminal proceedings. Penal sanctions are also provided for by the Criminal Code, related to moral as well as economic violations of copyright. The provision that provides for this sanction is Article 149 of the code, which explicitly states: “The reproduction, in whole or in part, of a literary, musical, artistic or scientific work belonging to another, or their use without the consent of the author, when they have violated his personal and property rights, constitutes a criminal offense and is punishable by a fine of up to two years of imprisonment.”
The Criminal Code has also forgotten to protect the moral rights of the author, as provided for in Article 148 of the Code, which states: “The publication or use in whole or in part of the name of a literary, musical work, artistic or scientific, belonging to another constitutes criminal contravention and is punishable by a fine of up to two years of imprisonment.”
Criminal sanctions in the copyright field are intended to punish those who knowingly commit acts of commercial piracy. Punishment is served through fines tailored to the case and prison sentences by the level of discipline applied to severe crimes and recidivism cases in particular.
However, both of the provisions above condemn two specific criminal cases, reproduction and publishing, and the use of the work partially or wholly without the author’s consent, which directly infringes on the economic and moral rights of the author. On the other hand, the provision does not prescribe a definite measure of punishment when the offence is e-consumed. Still, I think this should be seen as immediate consequences to the detriment of the author, which may be economic or moral.
The term of copyright protection
Copyright and related rights are essential to human creativity, thereby encouraging creators in the form of recognition and fair economic rewards. Under this system of rights, creators are assured that their works can be distributed without the fear of unauthorized copying and piracy. This helps increase accessibility and creates the enjoyment of culture, knowledge, and entertainment around the world.
When a person creates a literary, musical, scientific, or artistic work, he is the owner of that work and is free to decide on the destination or fate of its use. That person can control the future of his work. Copyright is the legal protection extended to the rights holder of an original work he has created. It consists of two main groups of rights: economic rights and moral rights.
Economic rights include the rights of reproduction, broadcasting, public performance, adaptation, translation, public recitation, global production, distribution, and so on. Moral rights include copyright to oppose any distortion, alteration, or other modification/alteration that may be made to his work and that may damage his honor or reputation.
The author receives remuneration for his creative work through his exploitation of it, authorizing third parties to perform one or more of the actions included in his economic rights, for remuneration.
Of course, the author is only allowed to do so for a set period. After this deadline, the work can be freely used by everyone. Copyright does not go on indefinitely. The law guarantees a period during which the rights of the copyright holder exist. Copyright begins when the work is created or, according to some national laws, when it is expressed in a tangible form.
The term of protection for economic rights spans the life of the author plus 70 years after his death. This term was increased from 50 to 70 years by Council Directive 93/98 of October 29, 1993, harmonizing the term of protection of copyright and other related rights. Each deadline runs until the end of the calendar year. For example, if the author died on May 30, 2015, the work will continue to be copyrighted until December 31, 2085.
The purpose of this provision in the law, namely, the duration of the protection of these rights, is to enable an author’s offspring to profit economically from exploiting the work even after the author’s death. In the countries party to the Berne Convention and many other countries, the duration of copyright guaranteed by national laws is, as a general rule, the life of the author plus 50 years after death. The Berne Convention also defines periods of protection for anonymous, posthumous, and cinematographic works.