Text consolidated by Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre) with amending laws of:
6 March 2003 [shall come
into force on 4 April 2003];
22 April 2004 [shall come into force on 1 May
2004];
8 February 2007 [shall come into force on 1 March
2007];
6 December 2007 [shall come into force on 5 January
2008];
16 December 2010 [shall come into force on 1 January
2011];
31 March 2011 [shall come into force on 27 April
2011];
18 April 2013 [shall come into force on 22 May
2013];
12 September 2013 [shall come into force on 1 January
2014];
28 November 2013 [shall come into force on 1 January
2014];
18 December 2014 [shall come into force on 31 December
2014];
18 May 2017 [shall come into force on 14 June
2017];
6 December 2018 [shall come into force on 13 December
2018];
29 October 2020 [shall come into force on 11 November
2020].
If a whole or part of a section has been amended, the
date of the amending law appears in square brackets at
the end of the section. If a whole section, paragraph or
clause has been deleted, the date of the deletion appears
in square brackets beside the deleted section, paragraph
or clause.
|
The Saeima1 has adopted and
the President has proclaimed the following Law:
Copyright
Law
Chapter I
General Provisions
Section 1. Terms Used in this
Law
The following terms are used in this Law:
1) author - a natural person, as a result of whose
creative activities a concrete work has been created;
2) work - the results of an author's creative
activities in the literary, scientific or artistic domain,
irrespective of the mode or form of its expression and its
value;
3) database - a collection of independent works, data
or other materials, which are arranged in a systematic or
methodical way and are individually accessible by electronic or
other means;
4) fixation - the embodiment of sound or image into
material form, which provides a possibility to communicate it to
the public, perceive or reproduce it by means of a relevant
device;
5) film - an audio-visual or cinematographic work or
moving images, whether or not accompanied by sound;
6) film producer - a natural or legal person who
finances and organises the creation of a film and is responsible
for its completion;
7) phonogram - fixation of the sounds of a performance,
other sounds or representation of sounds;
8) phonogram producer - a natural or legal person who
or which takes the initiative and has the responsibility for the
first fixation of the sounds of a performance or other sounds, or
the representations of sounds;
9) rights management information - information provided
by a holder of copyright or related rights, as well as a maker of
a database, which identifies the holder of copyright or related
rights, as well as the maker of a database and the object, and
information regarding the terms and conditions of use of the
object of copyright or related rights, as well as databases, as
well as any numbers or codes that represent such information;
10) performer - an actor, singer, musician, dancer, or
other persons who act, read, sing, play, or otherwise perform
literary or artistic works or expressions of folklore, provide
stage, circus or puppet performances;
11) distribution - an activity by which the original or
copy of the object of copyright or related rights is sold or
otherwise alienated;
12) disclosure - an action by means of which a work is
made available to the public for the first time, irrespective of
its form;
11) accessible format copy - a copy of a
work or related rights object in an alternative format which
gives a person with functional limitations access to the work or
the related rights object, similarly as to a person without such
limitations;
13) publication - any action, by means of which copies
of an object of copyright or related rights are made available to
the public with the consent of the holders of copyright or
related rights, conforming to the condition that the number of
copies shall satisfy a reasonable public demand in conformity
with the nature of object of copyright or related rights;
performances of dramatic, dramatic-musical or musical works,
demonstrations of audio-visual works, public readings of literary
works, the broadcasting of literary or artistic works,
demonstrations of visual works or erected architectural works
shall not be deemed to be publication of an object of
copyright;
14) communication to the public - any action by means
of which, either directly or through a relevant technical device,
a work, performance, phonogram or broadcast is made available to
the public;
15) public performance - the performance, playing or
any other use of any work or other object protected by this Law,
which is intended for several members of the public not
personally related to the user or not personally interrelated,
either directly or by means of any technical equipment or
process;
16) public lending - an action by the user of the
original or a copy of the work of an author, the fixation of a
performance, a phonogram or a film, by means of which the object
of copyright or related rights is made available through the
intermediation of a publicly accessible institution to an
unlimited number of people for a limited period of time, not for
the purpose of gaining direct or indirect economic or commercial
benefit;
17) reproduction - the making of one or more copies, by
any means and in any form and scale, fully or partially, of an
object of copyright or related rights, also short-term or
long-term storage in electronic form of an object of copyright or
related rights or a part thereof, as well as the making of
three-dimensional copies of a two-dimensional object or
two-dimensional copies of a three-dimensional object;
18) reprographic reproduction - the making of facsimile
copies of a work, by any means of photocopying, except printing.
Reprographic reproduction shall also be deemed the scanning or
the making of facsimile copies by means of photocopying in an
enlarged or reduced scale;
19) technological measures - technological protection
measures (technologies, devices or the components thereof) used
by a holder of copyright or related rights, as well as a maker of
a database, which are normally used in order to restrict or
prevent such activities with an object of copyright or related
rights, as well as a database, which are not authorised by the
holder of copyright or related rights, as well as the maker of
the database. Technological measures shall be deemed effective
where the holder of copyright or related rights, as well as the
maker of a database control the use of an object of copyright or
related rights, as well as a database through the application of
an access control or a protection process (with encryption,
scrambling or other transformation of the object of copyright or
related rights or database work or a copy control mechanism which
achieves the protection objective);
20) original work of visual art - a work of graphic or
plastic art (paintings, collages, drawings, engravings,
lithographs, sculptures, tapestries, ceramics or glassware,
photographs and similar) if they are made by the author himself
or herself, or also copies of the work, which are considered to
be original works of visual art. Copies of the work which have
been made in limited numbers by the author himself or herself or
have been made with his or her permission shall be considered to
be original works of visual art. Such copies shall normally have
been numbered, signed, or otherwise appropriately designated by
the author;
21) seller of an original work of visual art - a
merchant (also a commission agent) who performs an auction or
whose undertaking is an art gallery, an art salon, a store, an
internet store, an auction house or the like, in which an
original work of visual art is offered for purchase to a
customer.
[22 April 2004; 8 February 2007; 18 April 2013; 6 December
2018]
Section 2. Principles of
Copyright
(1) Copyright shall belong to the author as soon as a work is
created, regardless of whether it has been completed.
(2) Copyright shall apply to works of literature, science,
art, and other works referred to in Section 4 of this Law, also
unfinished works, regardless of the purpose of the work and the
value, form or type of expression.
(3) Proof of copyright ownership shall not require
registration, special documentation for the work or conformity
with any other formalities.
(4) Authors or their successors in title may indicate their
rights to a work by means of a copyright protection symbol which
shall be affixed in such a manner and in such a place so that it
is clearly visible. Such a sign shall include three elements:
1) the letter "C" within a circle;
2) the name (designation) of the copyright holder;
3) the year of first publication of the work.
(5) Copyright has the nature of moral and economic rights.
(6) Copyright shall be governed by the same legal rights as
personal property rights within the meaning of the Civil Law, but
it may not be an object of property claims.
Section 3. Scope of Copyright
(1) Copyright to works that have or have not been disclosed in
Latvia, but which exist in Latvia in any material form, shall
belong to the authors or their heirs, as well as to other
successors in title.
(2) Copyright to works that are simultaneously published in a
foreign state and in Latvia shall belong to the authors and their
heirs, as well as to other successors in title.
(3) In accordance with Paragraph two of this Section, a work
shall be deemed published simultaneously in a foreign state and
in Latvia if it has been published in Latvia within 30 days after
its first publication in a foreign state.
(4) Copyright to works that have been disclosed in a foreign
state in any material form shall be recognised as to citizens of
Latvia and as to persons who are entitled to a non-citizen
passport, or as to persons whose permanent residence (domicile)
is in Latvia, as well as to the successors in title to such
persons. Copyright to works that have been disclosed or otherwise
made known in a foreign country in any material form shall be
recognised as to other persons, in accordance with the
international agreements binding on Latvia.
Chapter
II
Protected and Non-protected Works
Section 4. Protected Works
The objects of copyright, regardless of the manner or form of
expression, shall comprise the following works of authors:
1) literary works (books, brochures, speeches, computer
programs, lectures, addresses, reports, sermons and other works
of a similar nature);
2) dramatic and dramatico-musical works, scripts and
treatments of audio-visual works;
3) choreographic works and pantomimes;
4) musical works with or without lyrics;
5) audio-visual works;
6) drawings, paintings, sculptures and graphic art and other
works of art;
7) works of applied art, decorative and scenographic
works;
8) design works;
9) photographic works and works which are expressed by a
process analogous to photography;
10) sketches, drafts and plans for buildings, structures and
architectural works, models of buildings and structures, other
architectural designs, city construction works and garden and
park plans and models, as well as fully or partly constructed
buildings and implemented city construction or landscape
objects;
11) geographical maps, plans, sketches, and moulded works
which relate to geography, topography and other sciences;
12) other works of authors.
Section 5. Protected Derivative
Works
(1) Without prejudice to the rights of authors as to the
original work, the following derivative works shall also be
protected:
1) translations and adaptations, revised works, annotations,
theses, summaries, reviews, musical arrangements, screen and
stage adaptations and similar works;
2) collections of works (encyclopaedias, anthologies, atlases,
and similar collections of works), as well as databases and other
compiled works which, in terms of selection of materials or
arrangement, are the result of creative activity.
(2) Derived works shall be protected irrespective of whether
the works from which they are derived or which are included
within them can have copyright protection applied to them.
(3) Databases, the creation, obtaining, verification or
presentation of which has required a substantial qualitative or
quantitative investment (financial resources or consumption of
time and energy), whether or not they are the objects of
copyright, shall be protected in accordance with Chapter IX of
this Law.
[22 April 2004; 18 May 2017]
Section 6. Non-Protected Works
The following shall not be protected by copyright:
1) laws and regulations and administrative acts, other
documents issued by State and local government institutions and
court rulings (laws, court judgements, decisions, and other
official documents), as well as official translations of such
texts and official consolidated versions;
2) State approved, as well as internationally recognised
official symbols and signs (flags, coats of arms, anthems, and
awards) the use of which is subject to specific laws and
regulations;
3) maps the preparation and use of which are determined by
laws and regulations;
4) information provided in the press, radio or television
broadcasts or other information media concerning news of the day
and various facts and events;
5) ideas, methods, processes, and mathematical concepts.
[22 April 2004]
Chapter
III
Authors and their Successors in title
Section 7. Copyright holders
(1) The author of a work, co-authors, including authors of
audio-visual works, authors of derivative works, their heirs and
other successors in title may be copyright holders.
(2) Copyright holders may exercise the copyright to a work
themselves or through their representatives (also through
collective management organisations).
[18 May 2017]
Section 8. Presumption of
Authorship
(1) The person whose name or generally recognised pseudonym
appears on a work communicated to the public or a published or a
reproduced work shall be considered to be the author of the work,
if it is not proven otherwise.
(2) If a work is communicated to the public or published
without reference to the author, the editor shall act in the name
and interests of the author, but if the editor is also not
identified, then the publisher or the authorised representative
of the author. This condition shall be in effect until the author
of a work reveals his or her identity and claims authorship.
Section 9. Co-authors
(1) If a work has two or more authors and the individual
contribution of each author to the creation of the work cannot be
segregated as a separate work, copyright to the work shall belong
to all the co-authors jointly.
(2) If the individual contribution of each author is a
separate work, each author shall have copyright to his or her
individual contribution as a separate work.
(3) Protection against copyright infringement may be realised
by any of the co-authors, independently from the other
co-authors.
(4) If one of the authors refuses to finish or, for reasons
independent of the author, cannot finish his or her part in the
creation of the work, he or she may not prevent the use of his or
her part of the work in the completion of the work. Such author
shall have copyright to his or her part of the work, as well as
remuneration for it, unless specified otherwise by contract.
Section 10. Compiler of a Composite
Work
(1) A compiler the result of whose creative activity is the
selection or arrangement of materials, holds the copyright to the
compilation of the composite work.
(2) Authors of works included in collections or other
composite works shall each retain copyright to their respective
work and may independently use it also separate from the
collection or composite work.
(3) The copyright of a compiler shall not impose restrictions
on other persons to independently make the selection and
arrangement of the same works and material.
[18 May 2017]
Section 11. Authors of Audio-visual
Works
(1) The authors of an audio-visual work shall be the director,
the author of the script, the author of the dialogue, the author
of a musical work (with or without lyrics) created for the
audio-visual work, as well as other persons who, as a result of
their creative activity, have contributed to the making of the
work.
(2) The producer of a work may not be recognised as an author
of an audio-visual work.
(3) The authors of an audio-visual work, except for the author
of a musical work created for the audio-visual work, shall each
retain moral rights to their work, but may not use it
independently of the whole of the audio-visual work, if it is not
specified otherwise by contract with the producer. The author of
a musical work shall retain both the moral rights of an author
and the economic rights of an author. The author of a script may
use his or her work in a different type of work, unless specified
otherwise by contract.
[18 May 2017]
Section 12. Author of a Work Created
in the Course of Employment
(1) If an author has created a work performing his or her
duties in an employment relationship, the moral and economic
rights to the work shall belong to the author, except for the
case specified in Paragraph two of this Section. The economic
rights of the author may be transferred, in accordance with a
contract, to the employer.
(2) If a computer program has been created by an employee
while performing a work assignment, all economic rights to the
computer program so created shall belong to the employer, unless
specified otherwise by contract.
Section 13. Author's Contract for a
Commissioned Work
(1) If an author's contract has been entered into for a
commissioned work, the author must perform the commissioned work
in accordance with the provisions of the contract and must
provide the work for use by the commissioning party, within the
term specified and according to the procedures indicated in the
contract.
(2) It is the obligation of an author to personally perform
the work commissioned from them.
(3) Co-authors may be invited and the composition of
co-authors changed only with the written consent of the
commissioning party if it is necessary for the performance of the
work and is not provided for otherwise in the contract. If an
author does not comply with the obligation to perform the work
personally, the commissioning party may terminate the
contract.
Chapter
IV
Rights of an Author
Section 14. Moral Rights of an
Author
(1) The author of a work has the inalienable moral rights of
an author to the following:
1) authorship - the right to be recognised as the author;
2) a decision whether and when the work will be disclosed;
3) the revocation of a work - the right to request that the
use of a work be discontinued, with the provision that the author
compensate the losses which have been incurred by the user due to
the discontinuation;
4) name - the right to require his or her name to be
appropriately indicated on all copies and at any public event
associated with his or her work, or to require the use of a
pseudonym or anonymity;
5) inviolability of a work - the right to permit or prohibit
the making of any transformations, changes or additions either to
the work itself or to its title;
6) legal action (also unilateral repudiation of a contract
without compensation for losses) against any distortion,
modification, or other transformation of his or her work, as well
as against such an infringement of an author's rights as may
damage the honour or reputation of the author.
(2) None of the rights mentioned in Paragraph one of this
Section may be transferred to another person during the lifetime
of the author.
Section 15. Economic Rights of an
Author
(1) With respect to the use of his or her own work, an author,
except for the author of a computer program or a database, has
following exclusive rights:
1) to communicate the work to the public;
2) to publish the work;
3) to publicly perform the work;
4) to distribute the work;
5) to broadcast the work;
6) to retransmit the work;
7) to make the work available to the public by wire or by
other means, so that it is accessible in an individually selected
location and at an individually selected time;
8) to lease, rent or to publicly lend originals or copies of a
work, except for three-dimensional architectural works and works
of applied art;
9) directly or indirectly, temporarily or permanently
reproduce the work;
10) to translate a work;
11) to arrange, to adapt for stage or screen, or to otherwise
transform a work.
(2) With respect to the use of a computer program, the author
of a computer program has the following exclusive rights:
1) to distribute the computer program;
2) to make the computer program available to the public by
wire or by other means, so that it is accessible in an
individually selected location and at an individually selected
time;
3) to lease, rent or to publicly lend the computer
program;
4) to temporarily or permanently reproduce the computer
program (insofar as the loading, demonstration, use, transmission
or storage of the computer program requires its reproduction, if
permission for such action has been granted in writing by the
rightholder);
5) to translate, adapt and in any other way transform the
computer program and reproduce the results obtained thereby
(insofar as it is not contrary to the rights of the person who
transforms the computer program).
(3) With respect to the use of a database, the author of a
database has the following exclusive rights to permit or
prohibit:
1) the communication to the public or demonstration of the
database;
2) the distribution of the database;
3) to make the database available to the public by wire or by
other means, so that it is accessible in an individually selected
location and at an individually selected time;
4) the temporary or permanent reproduction of the
database;
5) the translation, adaptation or transformation in any other
way of the database, as well as the reproduction, distribution,
communication to the public, demonstration or display of the
results of such activities.
(4) The author has the right to use his or her work in any
manner, to permit or prohibit its use, receive remuneration for
permission to use his or her work and for the use of the work
except for the cases provided for in law.
[22 April 2004]
Section 16. Transfer of the Rights
of an Author
(1) The right to disclose and to use a work and to receive
remuneration for the permission to use a work, and for the use of
the work shall pass to the heirs of the author. The heirs of an
author have the right to protect the moral rights of the
author.
(2) Only the rights specified in Section 15, Paragraphs one,
two, and three of this Law may be transferred to other successors
in title (including legal persons).
(3) Copyright is not linked with property rights to the
material object in which the work is expressed. Copyright to a
work expressed in a material object shall be dissociated from
possession of such work. Transfer of possession of a material
object (also a copy of the first fixation of the work) shall not
of itself result in the transfer of copyright to the work.
Section 17. Inalienable Right of
Authors to Receive Remuneration in the Case of the Public Resale
of Original Works of Visual Art (Droit de Suite)
(1) Authors shall retain inalienable rights to receive
remuneration for alienated original works of visual art which
have been transferred to the ownership of another person. An
agreement in respect of which the author waives the right to
remuneration in the future shall not be in effect. The transfer
of ownership of the original work of visual art from the author
to another person, with or without remuneration, shall be
considered the first alienation of such a work.
(2) After the first alienation of the original work of art,
the further public resale (by auction, or through the mediation
of an art gallery, an art salon, a store, an Internet store, an
auction house or similar enterprise) of the original work of
visual art, the author has the right to receive a remuneration
of:
1) 5% for the portion of the resale price up to 50 000
euros;
2) 3% for the portion of the resale price from 50 000.01 euros
to 200 000 euros;
3) 1% for the portion of the resale price from 200 000.01
euros to 350 000 euros;
4) 0.5% for the portion of the resale price from 350 000.01
euros to 500 000 euros;
5) 0.25% for the portion of the resale price exceeding 500 000
euros.
(3) The amount of remuneration each time for one original work
of visual art may not exceed 12 500.00 euros.
(4) The monetary amount (without tax) received by the seller
of an original work of visual art shall be considered the sale
price.
(5) The seller of an original work of visual art has a duty to
pay remuneration to a collective management organisation which
manages these rights, within 10 days after selling of the work,
unless the agreement with the collective management organisation
provides for another time limit for the payment.
(6) On the basis of a request from a collective management
organisation managing these rights, the seller (also store,
gallery, salon, etc.) has a duty to provide the information which
is necessary in order to ensure management of the remuneration.
Such a request may be made within three years after the sale of
the original work of visual art.
(7) The owner of the original work of visual art has a duty to
give the author of the alienated work a possibility to realise
the right to reproduce the work, as well as to exhibit the work
in a personal exhibition. The author has a duty himself or
herself to ensure the preservation of the work in delivering it
to and from the place of reproduction or exhibition, unless
specified otherwise by contract.
(8) The rights referred to in this Section shall be applied to
foreign authors and their heirs only in such case if the specific
country protects the public resale rights of original works of
visual art of Latvian authors and their heirs.
(9) After the death of the author, the rights referred to in
this Section shall be devolved to the heirs of the author.
[22 April 2004; 8 February 2007; 6 December 2007; 12
September 2013; 28 November 2013; 18 May 2017]
Section 17.1
Banknotes
(1) The Bank of Latvia holds the copyright of lat banknotes.
The Bank of Latvia copyright does not affect the right of the
author of the images used on the banknotes to be recognised as
the author thereof.
(2) It is prohibited to reproduce banknotes in any way, except
for the case where the Bank of Latvia, the European Central Bank,
the central bank or country which has emitted such banknotes has
provided written permission or the requirements of the Bank of
Latvia, the European Central Bank or the relevant country for the
reproduction of banknotes. Restrictions on the economic rights of
authors shall not apply to banknotes.
[22 April 2004]
Chapter V
Restrictions on the Economic Rights of an Author
Section 18. Principles of
Restrictions on Economic Rights of an Author
(1) The right of an author to permit or prohibit the use of
his or her work and receive remuneration for its use may be
restricted in cases specified by this Law.
(2) The restrictions on the economic rights of an author
determined in this Law shall be applied in such a way that they
are not contrary to the provisions for normal use of the work of
an author and may not unjustifiably limit the lawful interests of
the author.
(3) In case of doubt, it shall be considered that the right of
an author to the use of the work or to the receipt of
remuneration is not restricted.
(4) If a user of the work has the right to use the work in the
cases specified in Section 20, Paragraph one, Clause 1, Sections
21-24 and 27 of this Law, but he or she cannot implement these
rights due to the effective technological measures used by the
author, he or she has the right to request that the author gives
access to such works taking into account the restrictions of the
rights of an author. The author may refuse to provide such a
possibility if the use of the work is contrary to the provisions
of Paragraph two of this Section.
(5) If the user of the work and the author cannot reach an
agreement in respect of the provisions of Paragraph four of this
Section, they may apply to a mediator.
[22 April 2004; 18 December 2014]
Section 19. Use of a Work of an
Author without the Consent of the Author and without
Compensation
(1) Copyright shall not be considered infringed if a work of
an author is used without the consent of the author and without
compensation in accordance with the procedures laid down this
Law:
1) a work is used for informational purposes;
2) a work is used for educational and research purposes;
3) a work is used for the benefit of a person with functional
limitations;
31) a certain work is used for the benefit of
persons who are blind or with other reading difficulties;
4) a work is used for the benefit of libraries, archives, and
museums;
5) a work is reproduced for the purposes of judicial
proceedings;
6) a use is made of a work that is publicly accessible or on
display;
7) a work is used in a public performance during official or
religious ceremonies, as well as in teaching institutions as part
of a face-to-face teaching process;
8) a work is used ephemerally by broadcasting
organisations;
9) a work is parodied or caricatured;
10) computer programs are used for reproduction, translation,
and other transformation;
11) to ensure the interoperability of a computer program;
12) the alienation of a work to another person occurs
repeatedly, except for as provided for in Section 17 of this
Law.
(2) [22 April 2004]
[22 April 2004; 6 December 2007; 6 December 2018]
Section 19.1 Public
Lending of a Work
(1) Copyright shall not be deemed to be infringed if without
the consent of the author, but with the payment of just
compensation to him or her, the published work is used for public
lending.
(2) The procedures for calculating the amount of compensation
referred to in Paragraph one of this Section in relation to the
libraries of the State, local governments or other derived public
persons and in relation to private libraries, as well as the
procedures for disbursing the compensation and the proportional
distribution among authors, performers, phonograph producers and
film producers shall be determined by the Cabinet.
(3) Compensation for the use of a published work for public
lending in libraries of the State, local governments, derived
public persons and in private libraries shall be paid into the
account in a credit institution indicated by the collective
management organisation.
[22 April 2004; 8 February 2007; 18 May 2017]
Section 20. Use of a Work for
Informational Purposes
(1) It being mandatory that the title of the work and the name
of the author to be used are indicated and that the provisions of
Sections 14 and 18 of this Law are observed, it is permitted:
1) to reproduce works communicated to the public and published
in the form of quotations and fragments for scientific, research,
polemical, critical purposes, as well as use in news broadcasts
and reports of current events to the extent justified by the
purpose;
2) to publish, to broadcast or otherwise make known publicly
given political speeches, addresses, announcements and other
analogous works, to the extent justified by the informational
purpose;
3) to fixate, communicate to the public and publish current
events by photographic works; for a broadcasting organisation -
to broadcast works which have been seen or heard in the course of
current events, to the extent justified by the informational
purpose.
(2) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to computer
programs.
[22 April 2004; 6 December 2007]
Section 21. Use of a Work for
Educational and Research Purposes
(1) It being mandatory that the title and name of the author
of the work are indicated and that the provisions of Section 18
of this Law are conformed to, it is permitted to use disclosed or
published works or their fragments in textbooks which are in
conformity with educational standards, in radio and television
broadcasts, in audio-visual works, in visual aids and the like
which are specially created and used in the face-to-face teaching
and research process in educational and research institutions for
non-commercial purposes to the extent justified by the purpose of
their activity.
(2) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to computer
programs.
Section 22. Use of a Work for the
Benefit of a Person with Functional Limitations
Without the consent of the author and payment of the
compensation, in accordance with the provisions of Section 18,
Paragraph two of this Law, an accessible format copy of the
notified work may, for non-commercial purposes, be made and
reproduced, distributed, and published for persons with
functional limitations, insofar as it is necessary in the case of
the relevant limitation of such persons.
[6 December 2018]
Section 22.1 Use of
Certain Works for the Benefit of Persons who are Blind or with
Other Reading Difficulties
(1) A person who is blind or with other reading difficulties,
within the meaning of this Law, regardless of any other
functional limitations is a person who meets at least one of the
following criteria:
1) is blind;
2) has a visual impairment which prevents the person from
reading printed works to substantially the same degree as a
person without such an impairment and which cannot be improved so
as to give the person visual function substantially equivalent to
that of a person who has no such impairment;
3) has a perceptual disability or other reading difficulty
preventing the person from reading printed works to substantially
the same degree as persons without such disability;
4) due to a physical disability, is unable to hold or
manipulate a book, focus or move their eyes to the extent that
would be normally acceptable for reading.
(2) The competent authority within the meaning of this Law is
an authority which provides education or access to information
for persons who are blind or with other reading difficulties on a
non-profit basis. Public authorities and non-profit organisations
which provide educational and information access services to
persons who are blind or with other reading difficulties, and
such services are one of the main activities or obligations of
the abovementioned authorities or one of the tasks they perform
in the public interest, are also recognised as competent
authorities.
(3) A person who is blind or with other reading difficulties,
or a person who acts in his or her interests, in accordance with
the provisions of Section 18, Paragraph two of this Law, may,
without the consent of the author and payment of compensation,
make an accessible format copy of a disclosed printed work
expressed in any format, including in audio format, or a musical
work noted as sheet music, and the illustrations included in such
works for the benefit of a person who is blind or with other
reading difficulties.
(4) The competent authority may, without the consent of the
author and payment of compensation, in accordance with the
provisions of Section 18, Paragraph two of this Law, for
non-commercial purposes:
1) make accessible format copies of the works indicated in
Paragraph three of this Section to be used for the benefit of a
person who is blind or with other reading difficulties;
2) communicate, make available, distribute, or lend an
accessible format copy to a person residing in a European Union
Member State who is blind or with other reading difficulties or
to the competent authority established in a European Union Member
State.
(5) Upon making an accessible format copy, its maker has an
obligation to respect the integrity of the work, except for where
the transformation of the work is necessary to make it available
to persons who are blind or with other reading difficulties.
(6) A person who is blind or with other reading difficulties
and the competent authority are entitled to obtain or access an
accessible format copy from any competent authority established
in a European Union Member State.
(7) The competent authority established in Latvia which
carries out the activities specified in Paragraph four or six of
this Section with accessible format copies in respect of persons
residing in other European Union Member States who are blind or
with other reading difficulties or the competent authorities
established in a European Union Member State:
1) shall take the appropriate measures to discourage the
unauthorised reproduction, distribution, communication to the
public or making available to the public of accessible format
copies;
2) shall handle works and their accessible format copies with
due diligence and maintain records of the activities carried out
therewith;
3) shall publish and update on its website or through other
forms of public disclosure information on how it fulfils the
obligations laid down in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Paragraph;
4) upon request shall submit the following information to the
persons who are blind or with other reading difficulties, to
other competent authorities, or to copyright holders:
a) the list of the works held thereby in accessible format
copies and the available formats of these works,
b) the names and contact information of the competent
authorities with which it exchanges accessible format copies.
[6 December 2018]
Section 23. Use of Works for the
Benefit of Libraries, Archives and Museums
(1) In accordance with the provisions of Section 18 of this
Law, each library, archives or museum are entitled to make one
copy of a work existing in their permanent collection by means of
reproduction, without a direct or indirect commercial purpose, in
order to preserve it or to replace a work from the permanent
collection of the relevant or any other library, archives or
museum if such work has been damaged or has become unusable on
the condition that it is not possible to obtain a copy in some
other acceptable manner, and the reproduction is repeated in
separate and mutually unrelated cases. Only such works that have
been published in Latvia and are not available commercially are
permitted to be reproduced in a digital format, unless an
agreement with the author determines otherwise.
(2) Without the consent of the author, libraries, archives and
museums of the State, local governments or of other derived
public persons are entitled, without a direct or indirect
commercial purpose, to make available the works in their
permanent collection, as well as copies thereof made in
accordance with Paragraph one of this Section, upon request for
the use for scientific research or for self-education purposes,
to natural persons who have authorised access to computers
specifically set up in the premises of the relevant library,
archives or museum. Such service shall be ensured by the relevant
library, archives or museum by using exclusively the intranet
that has special protection.
(3) The provision of Paragraph two of this Section shall also
apply to the registered libraries of the State, local governments
and other derived public persons that have access in a closed
network to the Latvian Digital Library and are included in the
joint State library information system.
(4) In order to ensure the fulfilment of the provision of
Paragraph two of this Section and the payment of compensation in
accordance with Section 19.1 of this Law, State and
local government libraries shall maintain records of the units
issued to the users of the libraries in accordance with the
provisions of Section 15 of the Library Law.
(5) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to computer
programs.
[6 December 2007]
Section 24. Reproduction of a Work
for Purposes of Judicial Proceedings
(1) Reproduction of a work is permitted to the extent
justified, for purposes of judicial proceedings, without the
permission of the author and without compensation to the
author.
(2) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to computer
programs.
Section 25. Use of a Work on Public
Display
(1) It is permitted to use images of works of architecture,
photography, visual arts, design, as well as of applied arts,
permanently displayed in public places, for personal use and as
information in news broadcasts or reports of current events, or
include in works for non-commercial purposes.
(2) That which is referred to in this Section shall not apply
to cases when the image of a work is an object for further
repetition of the work, for broadcast by broadcasting
organisations or for the purpose of commercial use of the image
of a work.
[22 April 2004; 6 December 2007]
Section 26. Free Use of a Work in a
Public Performance
In conformity with the provisions of Section 18, Paragraph two
of this Law, a work may be performed in public without the
consent of the author and without the payment of
remuneration:
1) during official and religious ceremonies, to the extent
justified by the nature of the ceremony;
2) within the framework of the implementation of an
educational programme, to an extent that corresponds to the
teaching process and for non-commercial purposes, with a
mandatory indication of the title and the name of the author of
the work being used, and provided that the work is performed in
public to an audience consisting of only the teachers, students
or persons directly associated with the implementation of the
relevant educational programme.
[6 December 2007]
Section 27. Free Recordings for
Ephemeral Use by Broadcasting Organisations
(1) In conformity with the provisions of Section 18, Paragraph
two of this Law, a broadcasting organisation may make ephemeral
recordings of works which the organisation has the right to use
in broadcasting, if the broadcasting organisation makes such
recordings on its own account for its own use.
(2) The broadcasting organisation has the obligation to
destroy such recordings within one month after their preparation,
if there has not been an agreement with the author regarding a
longer storage time.
(3) Recordings of works that have a particular documentary or
cultural and historical significance may be preserved in official
archives without an agreement with the author of the work, but
the use of such a work requires the permission of the author.
[22 April 2004]
Section 28. Reproduction of a Work
for Technical Use in a Broadcasting Organisation
[22 April 2004]
Section 29. Restrictions Regarding
the Rights of Reproduction, Translation, Adaptation and any other
Transformation of Computer Programs
(1) If not specified otherwise by contract, and the right to
use a computer program has been lawfully obtained, its
reproduction, translation, adaptation or any other transformation
and the reproduction of the results of such activities shall not
require any special permission from the copyright holder, as long
as such activities (including correction of errors) are necessary
for the purpose of the intended use of the computer program.
(2) A contract entered into with a person who has lawfully
acquired the right to use a computer program may not prohibit the
making of a back-up copy, if such copy is necessary for the use
of the computer program.
(3) A person who has the right to use a computer program may,
without the permission of the copyright holder, observe, study or
test the functioning of the program in order to discover the
ideas and principles which underlie any element of the computer
program, if such person does so while demonstrating, using,
broadcasting or storing.
[22 April 2004]
Section 30. Ensuring the
Interoperability of Computer Programs
(1) The permission of the copyright holder shall not be
required, if, without reproducing the code of the computer
program or modifying its form, it is not possible to obtain the
necessary information in order to achieve the interoperability of
an independently created computer program with other computer
programs. Such use shall be permitted, if the following
provisions are observed in their entirety:
1) a person who has lawfully acquired the right to use a copy
of the computer program performs the relevant activities;
2) the information necessary to achieve interoperability has
not been easily accessible beforehand;
3) only those parts of the computer program which are
necessary to achieve interoperability, are subject to such
activities.
(2) In accordance with the provisions of Paragraph one of this
Section, the information obtained may not be:
1) used for purposes other than to achieve interoperability
with an independently created computer program;
2) disclosed to other persons, except for the cases when it is
necessary to achieve interoperability with an independently
created computer program;
3) used with the intention of developing, producing or selling
a substantially similar computer program, or for any other
activity whereby copyright is infringed.
[22 April 2004]
Section 31. Restrictions with
Respect to Databases
(1) A lawful user of a database or of a copy thereof may
perform any action which is necessary in order to access the
contents of the databases and its use. If the lawful user is
authorised to use only part of the database, the abovementioned
provision shall apply only to that part.
(2) Agreements which are contrary to the provisions of this
Section shall not be in effect.
Section 32. Exhaustion of
Distribution Rights
The right to distribute a work shall be exhausted from the
moment when such work is sold or otherwise alienated in the
European Union for the first time if it has been done by the
author himself or herself, or with his or her consent. This
condition applies only to works embodied in concrete material
objects or the copies thereof and which are sold or otherwise
alienated.
[22 April 2004]
Section 33. Temporary Reproduction
of a Work
It is permitted to temporarily reproduce a work without the
consent of the author and without compensation if the
reproduction of the work is an integral part and an essential
component of a technological process and the purpose of the
reproduction is to permit the sending of the work performed by
the intermediary to a data network between third persons or the
lawful use thereof, and if such reproduction has no independent
economic significance.
[22 April 2004; 6 December 2007]
Section 34. Blank Tape Levy
(1) Without the permission of the author, a natural person
shall be permitted to reproduce (including in a digital format)
in one copy works that have been included in lawfully acquired
films or phonograms or in other form of expression that is to be
protected, as well as visual works for personal use without
direct or indirect commercial purpose. Third persons shall not be
involved in the production of such copy. The author is entitled
to receive a fair compensation (blank tape levy) for the
production of such copy.
(2) The blank tape levy for the reproduction for personal use
shall be paid by the manufacturers of equipment and blank
recording media to be used for such reproduction and by persons
who import them in Latvia.
(3) The blank tape levy shall not be paid if the equipment and
blank recording media referred to in Paragraph two of this
Section is imported for professional use by broadcasting
organisations or the equipment and blank recording media are
imported wholesale for reproduction of works for commercial
purposes, as well as where natural persons import such equipment
and blank recording media for non-commercial purposes.
(4) If the equipment and blank recording media referred to in
Paragraph two of this Section are exported unused from Latvia,
persons who have paid the blank tape levy have the right to
receive it back.
(5) The seller of the equipment and blank recording media
referred to in Paragraph two of this Section, on the basis of a
request from a collective management organisation, has a duty to
prove that the blank tape levy for the abovementioned equipment
and blank recording media has been paid.
(6) If a seller cannot prove that the blank tape levy has been
paid, the seller shall pay such levy. In such case, the seller is
entitled to bring a subrogation action against the manufacturer
or the person who imported the referred to equipment and blank
recording media into Latvia.
(7) The amount of the blank tape levy, procedures for
collection, repayment and payment of the levy, as well as
proportional distribution among authors, performers and phonogram
and film producers shall be determined by the Cabinet.
(8) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to computer
programs and data bases.
[22 April 2004; 6 December 2007; 18 May 2017]
Section 35. Compensation for
Reprographic Reproduction of Works
(1) Natural persons shall be permitted to reprographically
reproduce published works, except for sheet music, for personal
use without direct or indirect commercial purpose without the
permission of the author. Persons who have in their ownership or
possession the equipment intended for reprographic reproduction
and who ensure the availability of such reproduction to natural
persons for a fee or free of charge shall be allowed to
reprographically reproduce works for the benefit of and for the
personal use of a natural person. Authors and publishers are
entitled to receive a fair compensation for reprographic
reproduction.
(2) The compensation for reprographic reproduction shall be
paid by persons in whose ownership or possession there is the
equipment intended for reprographic reproduction and who ensure
the availability of such reproduction to natural persons for a
fee or free of charge.
(3) The amount of compensation to be paid for reprographic
reproduction, and also the procedures for its collection,
repayment and disbursement shall be determined by the collective
management organisation according to an agreement with the
persons, or an association thereof, referred to in Paragraph two
of this Section.
(4) The Cabinet shall set up a commission representing the
public administration and shall agree with the collective
management organisation on the criteria for determining the
relevant compensation and its amount. The composition of the
commission shall include representatives of the Ministry of
Culture, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of
Environmental Protection and Regional Development, the Ministry
of Justice, and the Ministry of Finance. The agreement reached by
the Commission shall be approved by the Cabinet.
(5) Compensation shall be collected, distributed and paid to
the authors and publishers by a single collective management
organisation that has obtained a permit from the Ministry of
Culture in accordance with Law on Collective Management of
Copyright.
(6) The collected compensation shall be distributed among
authors and publishers on the basis of the printed publications
included in the unified National Catalogue which have been
delivered to the National Library of Latvia in accordance with
the Legal Deposit Law and in conformity with the following
conditions:
1) in distributing the compensation, the number of works
included in the National Catalogue and the information compiled
by the National Library of Latvia regarding the number of printed
sheets shall be taken into consideration, whereas the content of
the works shall not be taken into consideration;
2) authors and publishers shall agree on proportional
distribution separately for periodical publications and
non-periodical publications, in conformity with the provisions of
Paragraph one of this Section.
[6 December 2007; 16 December 2010; 18 December 2014; 18
May 2017]
Chapter
VI
Term of Copyright
Section 36. General Provisions
Regarding the Term of Copyright
(1) Copyright shall be in effect for the entire lifetime of an
author and for 70 years after the death of an author, except for
the cases specified in Section 37 of this Law.
(2) If the country in which the work has been created is not a
Member State of the European Union according to Article 5,
Paragraph 4 of the Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works and the author of the work is not a
citizen of the European Union, the term of protection of this
work in the European Union shall expire on the date of expiry of
the protection granted by the country of origin, but it shall not
exceed the term specified in Paragraph one of this Section.
[6 December 2007]
Section 37. Term of Copyright for
Particular Types of Works
(1) Copyright to audio-visual works shall be in effect for 70
years after the death of the last of the following persons:
1) the director;
2) the author of the script;
3) the author of the dialogue;
4) the author of a musical work created for an audio-visual
work.
(2) Copyright to a work that has legally become available to
the public anonymously or under a pseudonym shall be in effect
for 70 years from the time when it has legally become available
to the public. If during the time referred to the author of a
work whose work has legally become available to the public
anonymously or under a pseudonym reveals his or her identity, or
if there is no doubt about the identity, Section 36, Paragraph
one of this Law shall apply.
(3) Copyright to a work created by co-authors shall be in
effect for the duration of the lives of all the co-authors and
for 70 years after the death of the last surviving co-author.
(4) As to authors, whose works were prohibited in Latvia or
the use of which was restricted from June 1940 to May 1990, the
years of prohibition or restriction shall be excluded from the
term of the copyright.
(5) Copyright to works, whose term of copyright begins at the
moment of legal publication and which are published in volumes,
parts, instalments or sections, shall be in force separately for
each volume, part, instalment or section.
(6) A work, the term of protection of which is not calculated
from the moment of the death of the author or authors, protection
shall expire if within 70 years after the creation of such a work
it has lawfully not become accessible to the public.
(7) Any person, who after expiration of a copyright lawfully
publishes or communicates to the public a previously unpublished
work, shall acquire rights which are equivalent to the economic
rights of an author and shall be in effect for 25 years from the
first publication or the communicating to the public of the
work.
[22 April 2004]
Section 38. Calculation of the
Duration of Copyright
The beginning of a copyright term provided for in this chapter
shall begin on 1 January of the year following the moment of the
creation of rights (legal fact) and shall expire on 31 December
of the year in which the terms referred to in Sections 36 and 37
of this Law expire.
Section 39. Works to which Copyright
has Expired
(1) Works in respect of which copyright has expired may be
freely used by any person, observing the right of the author to a
name and inviolability of the work in accordance with the
provisions of Section 14 of this Law.
(2) Remuneration shall not be paid to the author for the use
of such works.
Chapter
VII
Rights to the Use of Works
Section 40. Rights to the Use of
Works
(1) To obtain the right to use a work, it is necessary for the
user of the work, for each type of use and each time it is to be
used, to receive the permission of the copyright holder. It is
prohibited to use works if permission of the copyright holder has
not been received, except for the cases specified in law.
(2) The permission of the copyright holder shall be issued
both as a licensing agreement and as a licence.
(3) Before using a work, the user of the work must enter into
a licensing agreement or obtain a licence for the use of the
work.
(4) The document which certifies the right to the use of a
work shall be in possession of the organiser of a concert,
performance, attraction or event at least 10 days prior to the
relevant event.
(5) Upon request from a copyright holder, users of works have
a duty to provide information regarding the works used in the
amount requested by the copyright holder. The right of a
collective management organisation to receive information
regarding the use of the works and the procedures for requesting
it shall be determined in the Law on Collective Management of
Copyright.
[22 April 2004; 6 December 2007; 18 May 2017]
Section 41. Licensing Agreements
(1) A licensing agreement is an agreement by means of which
one party - the copyright holder - gives permission to the other
party - the user of the work - to use a work and specifies the
type of use of the work, thereby agreeing on the provisions for
the use, the amount of remuneration, the procedures and the term
for the payment of remuneration.
(2) In a licensing agreement, the grant of a licence for the
use of a work in one or more specified ways may be provided for,
as well as the right to grant a licence to third parties
(sub-licence). The particular rights may be transferred
completely or partially. If the agreement does not so specify, a
licence shall be limited to such actions as arise from the
agreement and which are necessary for achieving the purpose of
the agreement.
(3) If the amount of remuneration is not specified in the
licence, in case of a dispute it shall be determined upon
discretion of the court.
Section 42. Types of Licences
(1) A licence constitutes permission to use the particular
work in such a way and in accordance with such provisions as are
indicated in the licence. A licence may be non-exclusive,
exclusive or compulsory.
(2) A non-exclusive licence gives the recipient of the licence
the right to undertake activities indicated in the licence
concurrently with the author or other persons who have received
or will receive a relevant licence.
(3) An exclusive licence gives the right to conduct the
activities specified in the licence solely to the recipient of
the licence.
(4) A compulsory licence is issued by a collective management
organisation, and such licence gives the right to use the works
of all the authors represented by such organisation.
[18 May 2017]
Section 43. Form of Licences and
Licensing Agreements
(1) All licences shall be issued in writing.
(2) A licensing agreement may be entered into either orally or
in writing.
The following licensing agreements shall be entered into in
writing:
1) a publishing contract;
2) a contract for the communicating to the public of a
work;
3) a contract for creating an audio-visual work;
4) a contract specifying such rights as are included in a
compulsory licence or an exclusive licence.
Section 44. Term of a Licensing
Agreement or a Licence
(1) The term for which a licensing agreement is entered into
or for which a licence is issued shall be determined by agreement
of the parties.
(2) If a licensing agreement which has been entered into or a
licence which has been issued is not restricted as to time, the
author or other copyright holder may terminate the licensing
agreement or revoke the licence, giving a notice six months in
advance.
(3) A provision in a licensing agreement or a licence
according to which the author relinquishes the rights specified
in Paragraph two of this Section is void.
Section 45. Territory in which a
Licensing Agreement or a Licence is in Effect
(1) A licensing agreement or a licence must indicate the
territory in which it is in effect.
(2) If a licensing agreement or a licence does not indicate
the territory in which it is in effect, it shall be in effect in
the country where the licensing agreement was concluded or the
licence was issued.
Section 46. Rental of a Work
(1) An author shall retain the right to receive just
remuneration for a rental even if he or she has transferred to a
producer the rental rights to a phonogram, the original of the
audio-visual work or copies thereof.
(2) If an author has transferred to a producer the rental
rights to a phonogram, the original of the audio-visual work or
copies thereof, the author shall retain the right to receive
remuneration for their rental.
(3) An agreement according to which the author relinquishes
the right to receive remuneration for a future period shall not
be in effect.
Chapter
VIII
Related Rights
Section 47. Objects and Holders of
Related Rights
(1) Related rights are the rights of performers, phonogram
producers, film producers and of broadcasting organisations.
(2) The related rights objects are performances, and their
fixations, phonograms, films and broadcasts.
(3) The rightholders specified in this Section are performers,
phonogram producers, film producers, and broadcasting
organisations or their successors in title and heirs.
(4) Cable operators who only retransmit the broadcasts of
other broadcasting organisations are not holders of related
rights.
(5) Phonogram producers, film producers and broadcasting
organisations shall exercise their rights within the framework of
those rights which, in contracts with authors and performers,
have been granted for the objects of copyright or related rights.
Permission for the use of a related rights object, obtained from
one holder of related rights, shall not constitute a substitute
for permission that must be obtained from another holder of
related rights and from the author of the work. The permission of
an author and of a performer is not mutually interchangeable.
(6) Holders of related rights shall exercise the rights
specified in this Section, conforming to the rights of authors of
the works.
(7) No formalities are necessary to affirm related rights.
Performers, phonogram producers and film producers may use, on
copies of phonograms or their packaging, a sign consisting of two
elements: the letter "P" within a circle and the year of the
first publication of a phonogram or of the year of the fixation
of a film.
(8) Persons whose name, pseudonym or designation are indicated
on a related rights object, attached thereto or appear in
association with the related rights object, shall be deemed to be
holders of related rights if not proven otherwise.
(9) The rights of holders of related rights shall not be
associated with ownership rights to a material object in which
the related rights object are expressed or included. The rights
of holders of related rights shall be separated from the
possession of the material object. The devolvement of the
possession of the related rights object by itself shall not
create the devolvement of the rights of the holder of related
rights.
(10) In relation to the use of a related rights object, the
provisions of Sections 40-45 of this Law shall be applied.
(11) Holders of related rights shall exercise their rights
directly, through an authorised person, or through collective
management organisations.
[22 April 2004; 18 May 2017]
Section 48. Rights of Performers
(1) [22 April 2004]
(2) A performer, irrespective of his or her economic rights,
as well as in the case where economic rights are transferred,
regarding his or her performance and the fixation thereof has the
right:
1) to require that he or she be identified as a performer,
except for the cases when such right is not possible due to the
type of use of the performance;
2) to object to any distortion, modification or other
transformation of his or her performance which may harm the
reputation of the performer.
(3) With respect to their performance, performers shall have
exclusive rights to:
1) broadcasting or communicating to the public the
performance, except for the cases when the performance has
already been broadcast;
2) fixation of a performance that has not been previously
fixed;
3) distribution of the fixation of a performance;
4) broadcasting or retransmission by cable of the fixation of
a performance;
5) making available to the public of the fixation of a
performance, by wire or otherwise, in an individually selected
location and at an individually selected time;
6) lease, rent, or public lending of the fixation of a
performance;
7) directly or indirectly, temporarily or permanently
reproduce the fixation of a performance;
(4) If performers individually or collectively enter into a
contract with a film producer for the creation of an audio-visual
work, the performers may be considered to have transferred their
rental rights to the producer, if the contract does not specify
otherwise.
(5) If a performer has transferred his or her rental rights,
with respect to a phonogram or the original or copy of an
audio-visual work, or may be deemed in accordance with Paragraph
four of this Section, to have transferred their rental rights to
the phonogram or film producer, the performer shall retain the
right to receive just remuneration for such rental. An agreement
regarding a waiver of right to receive remuneration for a future
period shall be void.
(6) The collection, apportionment and payment of the indicated
remuneration shall be done in accordance with Section 51,
Paragraph three of this Law.
(7) For permission granted to use a performance, and for its
use, a performer shall be paid just remuneration. The
remuneration shall be paid to the performer or to an authorised
collective management organisation.
(8) [22 April 2004]
(9) If the phonogram producer does not offer copies of the
phonogram for sale in sufficient quantity or does not make it
available to the public, by wire or wireless means, in such a way
that it could be accessible from a place individually chosen and
at a time individually chosen, the performer has the right to
terminate a contract by which he or she has transferred to the
phonogram producer the right to fixation of his or her
performance, notifying thereof 12 months in advance, if all of
the following conditions are met:
1) 50 years have passed since lawful publishing or lawful
communication to the public of the phonogram, if the phonogram
has not been published;
2) within 12 months after the performer has notified the
phonogram producer regarding his or her intention to terminate
the contract, the phonogram producer does not offer copies of the
phonogram for sale in sufficient quantity and does not make it
available to the public, by wire or wireless means, in such a way
that it could be accessible from a place individually chosen and
at a time individually chosen.
(10) If the performer terminates a contract in accordance with
the procedures laid down in Paragraph nine of this Section, by
which he or she has transferred to the phonogram producer the
right to fixation of his or her performance, the right of the
phonogram producer to the phonogram shall expire. An agreement of
the performer and the phonogram producer regarding the performer
refusing the right to terminate a contract, by which the
performer has transferred to the phonogram producer the right to
fixation of his or her performance, shall be null and void.
(11) If performances of a plurality of performers are fixed in
a phonogram, performers may exercise the right laid down in
Paragraph nine of this Section to terminate a contract with the
phonogram producer jointly only, including with the
intermediation of a joint representative. None of performers may
refuse, without sufficient justification, other performers whose
performances are fixed in the phonogram to exercise the right
laid down in Paragraph nine of this Section to terminate a
contract
(12) If the performer has transferred to the phonogram
producer the right to fixation of his or her performance for
non-recurring remuneration, the performer has the right to
receive an annual supplementary remuneration from the phonogram
producer in the amount of 20 per cent from the revenue obtained
by the phonogram producer in the year prior to payment of the
abovementioned supplementary remuneration by reproduction,
distribution and making available of the relevant phonogram, by
wire or wireless means, in such a way that it could be accessible
from a place individually chosen and at a time individually
chosen. If performances of a plurality of performers are fixed in
a phonogram, the total amount of the annual supplementary
remuneration to be paid to performers shall conform to 20 per
cent from the revenue of the phonogram producer referred to in
this Paragraph. In calculating the amount of the annual
supplementary remuneration, the revenue of the phonogram producer
prior to making of any deductions shall be taken into
account.
(13) A performer has the right to receive the annual
supplementary remuneration indicated in Paragraph twelve of this
Section for each calendar year, starting from the following year
after the fiftieth year when the phonogram has been lawfully
published or, if it has not been published, it has been lawfully
communicated to public. An agreement by which the performer
refuses the right to receive the annual supplementary
remuneration shall be null and void. The right to receive the
annual supplementary remuneration shall be managed by one
collective management organisation.
(14) Upon request the phonogram producer has a duty to provide
the performer or his or her authorised collective management
organisation with all the information which is necessary for
ensuring payment of the annual supplementary remuneration
referred to in Paragraph twelve of this Section, including to
provide information regarding the revenue obtained by the
phonogram producer from the use of the relevant phonogram.
(15) If the performer has transferred the right to fixation of
his or her performance to the phonogram producer for recurring
remuneration, the phonogram producer may not deduct advance
payments or any other deductions laid down in the contract with
the performer from payments intended for the performer after the
end of the following time periods:
1) 50 years after such phonogram is published in which the
performance of the performer is fixed;
2) 50 years after lawful communication to the public of the
phonogram, if the phonogram has not been published.
[22 April 2004; 28 November 2013; 18 May 2017]
Section 49. Contract for Creation of
an Audio-visual Work
(1) By a contract for the creation of an audio-visual work,
the performer transfers to the film producer his or her rights to
the fixation, communication to the public and reproduction of his
or her performance. The film producer shall not have the right to
use separately sounds or images fixed in the audio-visual work,
if it is not specified otherwise in the contract. The contract
for the creation of an audio-visual work shall be entered into in
writing.
(2) A contract for the creation of an audio-visual work shall
provide for remuneration to the performer for each type of use of
the particular work.
[22 April 2004]
Section 50. Rights of Film
Producers
Film producers have exclusive rights in respect of the
original of the film or copies thereof to:
1) distribute;
2) retransmit by cable;
3) make available to the public by wire or otherwise in an
individually selected location and at an individually selected
time;
4) lease, rent, or publicly lend;
5) directly or indirectly, temporarily or permanently
reproduce the original of the film or copies thereof.
[22 April 2004]
Section 51. Rights of Phonogram
Producers
Phonogram producers have exclusive rights in respect of the
phonograms or copies thereof to
1) distribute;
2) make available to the public by wire or otherwise in an
individually selected location and at an individually selected
time;
3) lease, rent or publicly lend, also in the cases where the
distributor thereof is the phonogram producer himself or herself
or such has occurred with his or her consent;
4) directly or indirectly, temporarily or permanently
reproduce the phonograms or copies thereof.
(2) [22 April 2004]
(3) The collection of remuneration for the lease, rental and
public lending of phonograms, its apportionment and payment shall
be carried out by collective management organisations authorised
by performers and phonogram producers. The remuneration amounts
paid by users in conformity with the provisions of this Section
shall be divided between the phonogram producer and the
performers in equal parts, if it is not specified otherwise in
the contract between the collective management organisations.
[22 April 2004; 18 May 2017]
Section 52. Use of Phonograms
Published for Commercial Purposes
(1) Performers and phonogram producers have the right to
receive just compensation for the use of phonograms published for
commercial purposes. The use shall include broadcasting,
publishing, public performance, publishing of broadcasts
consisting of phonograms published for commercial purposes,
retransmission by cable and other ways of publishing. As a
phonogram published for commercial purposes shall be deemed also
such phonograms that are made legally accessible to the public by
wire or otherwise so that they are available in an individually
selected location and at an individually selected time.
(2) A document that confirms the conformity with the rights
provided for in Paragraph one of this Section shall be with the
user at the time when he or she uses phonograms published for
commercial purposes.
[22 April 2004; 6 December 2007]
Section 53. Rights of Broadcasting
Organisations
(1) Broadcasting organisations, with respect to their
broadcasts, shall have exclusive rights to:
1) make broadcasts for a charge or in locations which are
accessible to the public for a charge, or in locations where the
owners or possessors use the broadcasts to attract customers;
2) the transmission of a signal carrying the programme with
the assistance of any other broadcasting organisation, cable
operator, or some other distributor;
3) the acquisition of any photographic image of the screen
from a broadcast (photograph of the screen) if it is not done for
personal use, and any duplication or distribution of such
photographs
4) retransmission of broadcasts by cable;
5) making a broadcast or the fixation thereof available to the
public by wire or otherwise so that they are available in an
individually selected location and at an individually selected
time;
6) fixation of any broadcasts by means of sound or video
recording equipment, direct or indirect, temporary or permanent
reproduction of a fixation of a broadcast and any distribution of
such fixations.
(2) A broadcasting organisation shall receive remuneration for
permission to use broadcasts and for their use in the cases
specified in Paragraph one of this Section.
(3) A broadcasting organisation has the right to broadcast and
communicate to the public such audio-visual works and phonograms
which were lawfully included in its archives until the coming
into force of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights (15 May
1993), paying the remuneration to the holders of copyright and
related rights in conformity with the amounts of remuneration
specified by the collective management organisation.
[22 April 2004; 6 December 2007; 18 May 2017]
Section 54. Restrictions on Rights
of the Holders of Related Rights
(1) It is allowed to restrict the right of a holder of related
rights to permit or to prohibit the use of a related rights
object and to receive compensation for the use thereof in the
cases specified in this Law.
(2) The restrictions provided for in this Law shall be applied
in such a way that they are not in contradiction with the
provisions for normal use of a related rights object and do not
unjustifiably restrict the lawful interests of the holders of
related rights.
(3) Related rights shall not be deemed infringed if, without
permission of the holders of related rights and without the
payment of compensation, the related rights object is used and
fixed:
1) in short segments that are included in news broadcasts and
in reports of current events, in amounts appropriate for
informative purpose;
2) for other purposes specified in Sections 21, 22,
22.1, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 33 of this Law in respect of
the restriction of the economic rights of authors;
3) in the cases specified in Section 23 of this Law, provided
that it is only allowed to reproduce in a digital format such
films and phonograms that have been published in Latvia and are
not available in circulation, unless specified otherwise by the
agreement with the holders of related rights.
(4) Related rights shall not be deemed infringed if, without
the permission of the holder of related rights but with the
payment of fair compensation to him or her, films, phonograms, as
well as related rights objects included in a film or a phonogram
are used for public lending. The procedures for paying the
compensation shall be determined in Section 19.1,
Paragraphs two and three of this Law.
(5) Without the consent of the holder of related rights a
natural person shall be permitted to reproduce (including in a
digital format) in one copy lawfully acquired films or
phonograms, as well as related rights objects included in a
lawfully acquired film or phonogram for personal use, without
direct or indirect commercial purpose. Third persons shall not be
involved in the production of such copy. Holders of related
rights are entitled to receive fair compensation (blank tape
levy) for the production of the copy referred to in Paragraph one
of this Section. The procedures for paying the blank type levy
shall be determined in Section 34, Paragraphs two to seven of
this Law.
(6) If the use of the related rights object in accordance with
the provisions specified in Paragraph two of this Section is not
possible due to the effective technological means utilised by the
holder of related rights, the provisions of Section 18,
Paragraphs four and five of this Law shall be applicable.
(7) The right of holders of related rights to control the
distribution in the European Union of the fixation of his or her
performance, phonogram or film or the copies thereof shall expire
on the date when they are sold or otherwise alienated in the
European Union for the first time, if done by the holder of
related rights himself or herself or with his or her consent.
This condition shall apply only to those related rights objects
included in concrete material media and the copies thereof which
have been sold or otherwise alienated.
[6 December 2007; 6 December 2018]
Section 55. Term of Related
Rights
(1) The rights of performers shall be in effect for 50 years
from the first performance. If during this time a fixation of the
performance in a phonogram is lawfully published or communicated
to the public, the term of protection shall be in effect 70 years
from the day of such publication or communication to the public
of the phonogram, depending on which action was the first. If
during this time the performance is not fixed in a phonogram, but
is fixed in another way, then the term of protection shall be in
effect 50 years from the day of the relevant lawful publishing or
communication to the public, depending on which action was the
first. The moral rights of performers shall be in effect as long
as the economic rights are in effect.
(2) The rights of a film producer shall be in effect for 50
years from when the fixation was made. If during this time a film
has been lawfully published or communicated to the public, the
term of protection shall be 50 years from the day of such
publishing or communication to the public, depending on which
action was the first.
(21) The rights of a phonogram producer shall be in
effect for 50 years from when the fixation was made. If during
this time a phonogram has been lawfully published or, if it has
not been published, communicated to the public, the term of
protection shall be 70 years from the day of such publishing or
communication to the public.
(3) The rights of broadcasting organisations shall be in
effect for 50 years from the first transmission of a
broadcast.
(31) The term of protection laid down in Paragraphs
one, two, 2.1 and three of this Section shall also be
in effect if the rightholder is not a citizen of the European
Union but at least one Member State of the European Union ensures
protection to him or her. Such term of protection shall expire on
the date when the protection granted by the state whose citizen
the rightholder is expires, but shall not be longer than the term
specified in Paragraphs one, two, 2.1 and three of
this Section, unless otherwise provided by international
agreements binding for Latvia.
(4) The term for related rights provided for in this Section
shall begin on 1 January of the year following the year in which
the rights were created (legal fact) and shall end on 31 December
of the year in which the time referred to in this Section
ends.
[22 April 2004; 6 December 2007; 28 November 2013 / See
Paragraph 2 of Transitional Provisions]
Section 56. Scope of Related
Rights
(1) The rights of performers shall be recognised if one of the
following conditions is met:
1) the performer is a citizen of Latvia, or a person entitled
to a Latvian non-citizen passport, or a person whose permanent
residence (domicile) is in Latvia;
2) the performance occurred in Latvia;
3) the performance is fixed in a phonogram which is protected
in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph two of this
Section;
4) a performance that is not fixed in a phonogram, has been
included in a broadcast of a broadcasting organisation which is
protected in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph four of
this Section.
(2) The rights of phonogram producers shall be recognised if
one of the following conditions is met:
1) the producer of a phonogram is a citizen of Latvia, or a
person entitled to a Latvian non-citizen passport, or a person
whose permanent residence (domicile) is in Latvia;
2) the first sound fixation was made in Latvia;
3) the publication or making available to the public of the
phonogram has occurred in Latvia.
(3) The rights of film producers shall be recognised if one of
the following conditions is met:
1) the film producer is a citizen of Latvia, or a person
entitled to a Latvian non-citizen passport, or a person whose
permanent residence (domicile) is in Latvia;
2) the first fixation of the film was made in Latvia.
(4) The rights of broadcasting organisations shall be
recognised in accordance with this Chapter if the official
location of the broadcasting organisation is Latvia.
(5) The rights provided for in this Chapter shall be
recognised for foreign natural and legal persons in accordance
with international agreements binding on Latvia.
[22 April 2004]
Chapter
IX
Special Aspects of Protection of Databases (sui
generis)
Section 57. Rights of a Maker of a
Database
(1) As the maker of such database, in the creation,
verification, and formation of which there has been substantial
qualitative or quantitative investment (Section 5, Paragraph two)
shall be recognised the natural or legal person which has
undertaken initiative and the investment risk regarding the
making of a database.
(2) The maker of a database has the right to prevent the
following regarding the entire contents of the database or such
parts of which may be qualitatively of quantitatively regarded as
substantial:
1) extraction which means the permanent or short-term
(temporary) transfer of all or a substantial part of the contents
of a database to another location by any means or in any
form;
2) re-use which means any form of making available to the
public all or a substantial part of the contents of a database by
the distribution of copies, by rental, by providing on-line or
other forms of transmission.
(3) Public lending is not an act of extraction or re-use.
(4) The repeated and systematic extraction and re-use of
non-essential parts of the contents of a database if such is done
by acts which conflict with a normal use of such database or
which unreasonably prejudice the lawful interests of the maker of
the database are not permitted.
Section 58. Rights and Obligations
of Users of a Database
(1) A lawful user of a database which is available to the
public has the right to extract or re-use, for any purposes,
parts of its content that may be regarded as qualitatively or
quantitatively non-essential parts of its contents. This
condition shall apply only to such part of a database which a
lawful user is permitted to extract or re-use.
(2) A lawful user of a database which is available to the
public shall comply with the rights of the holders of copyright
or related rights related to the works or materials contained in
the database.
(3) A lawful user of a database which is available to the
public may not perform acts that conflict with the normal
exploitation of the database or unreasonably prejudice the lawful
interests of the maker of the database.
Section 59. Restrictions to Rights
of Protection of Databases
(1) Without the consent of the maker of a database which is
available to the public the lawful users of a database may:
1) extract the contents of a non-electronic database for
personal use;
2) extract a substantial part of the contents of a database
for the purposes of education or scientific research, mandatorily
indicating the source, moreover only to the extent necessary for
the non-commercial purpose to be achieved;
3) extract or re-use a substantial part of the contents of a
database for the purposes of State security, as well as for the
purposes of administrative or judicial proceedings.
(2) The right of the maker of a database to control the resale
of the database in the European Union shall be exhausted at the
moment when the database is sold or otherwise alienated in the
European Union for the first time, if it has been done by the
maker of the database himself or herself, or if it has been done
with his or her consent. This condition shall apply only to those
objects included in concrete material media or the copies thereof
which are sold or otherwise alienated.
[22 April 2004]
Section 60. Term of Rights of
Protection of Databases
(1) The rights specified in Section 57, Paragraph two of this
Law shall be in effect for 15 years from the day when the
formation of a database was completed. The term shall begin on 1
January of the year following the day of the formation of the
database.
(2) If a database has been made available to the public before
the expiration of the term specified in Paragraph one of this
Section, the term of protection shall begin on 1 January of the
year following the day when the database was first made available
to the public and shall be in effect for 15 years.
(3) If any changes that may be regarded as qualitatively or
quantitatively substantial are made in the contents of the
database, as well changes in it resulting from the accumulation
of successive additions, deletions or changes as a result of
which it may be considered that a new investment which may be
regarded as qualitatively or quantitatively substantial, has been
made, such database has the right to its own term of protection,
and the provisions of Paragraphs one and two of this Section
shall apply.
Section 61. Scope of Rights of
Protection of Databases
(1) The rights of the maker of a database - a natural person -
shall be recognised, if he or she is a Latvian citizen or a
person who is entitled to a Latvian non-citizen passport, a
citizen of another Member State of the European Union or if
Latvia or another Member State of the European Union is their
permanent place of residence (domicile) or if he or she has a
permanent residence permit.
(2) The rights of a maker of a database - a legal person -
shall be recognised, if such legal person has been established in
accordance with the laws and regulations of Latvia or another
Member State of the European Union, and its legal address,
administration or principal place of activities is in the
European Union. If a legal person has only its legal address in
the territory of Latvia or another Member State of the European
Union, the operations of such person must be linked on an ongoing
basis with the economy of Latvia or the relevant Member State of
the European Union.
(3) If a database is formed outside Latvia and the provisions
of Paragraph one and two of this Section are not applicable to
it, such database shall be protected on the basis of
international agreements binding on Latvia.
[22 April 2004]
Section 62. Protection of Rights of
Makers of Databases
The rights of makers of databases shall be protected in
accordance with the provisions of Chapter XI of this Law.
[22 April 2004]
Chapter
IX.1
Use of Orphan Works
[18 December 2014]
Section 62.1 Orphan
Works
(1) In conformity with that laid down in this Chapter
libraries, educational institutions, and museums, as well as
archives, institutions, the functions of which include
preservation of film or sound recordings, and public broadcasting
organisations shall be permitted the following in relation to
orphan works included in their collections, without the consent
of the holders of copyright and related rights:
1) to reproduce in order to make their copies in digital
format, to index, catalogue, preserve or restore, to make legally
accessible to the public by wire or otherwise so that they are
available in an individually selected location and at an
individually selected time;
2) make available to the public by wire or otherwise so that
they are available in an individually selected location and at an
individually selected time.
(2) Within the meaning of this Law orphan works are works
included in the collections of libraries, educational
institutions, and museums, as well as archives and such
institution, the functions of which include preservation of film
or sound recordings, and related rights objects which have been
published or broadcasted for the first time in any European Union
Member State and the rightholders of which could not be
identified or found after diligent search:
1) works published in the form of books, journals, magazines,
newspapers or other writings;
2) audiovisual works, including cinematographic works, and
their fixations;
3) phonograms;
4) works and related rights objects which are included in the
works and related rights referred to in this Paragraph.
(3) Within the meaning of this Law orphan works are also works
included in the archives of public broadcasting organisations
which have been created until 31 December 2002, including
cinematographic works, their fixations and phonograms, as well as
works and related rights objects which have been included in the
abovementioned works and related rights objects if the respective
works and related rights objects have been published or
broadcasted for the first time in any European Union Member State
and the rightholders thereof could not be identified or found
after diligent search.
(4) Works and related rights objects which have not been
published or broadcasted may be used in accordance with the
procedures laid down in this Section, if the authority referred
to in Paragraph one of this Section which wishes to use them,
with a permission of the respective rightholder has made them
accessible to the public otherwise and there are grounds to
assume that the rightholders would not have objected to the use
indicated in Paragraph one of this Section.
(5) Works and related rights objects which have several
rightholders from which not all could be identified and found
after diligent search may be used as orphan works, if the
rightholders identified and found have agreed to the use
indicated in Paragraph one of this Section.
(6) The authorities referred to in Paragraph one of this
Section are entitled to use orphan works only in the amount which
is necessary to achieve the objectives related to the tasks of
such authorities which are performed thereby in public interests,
particularly in order to preserve or restore the works and
related rights objects included in their collections, as well as
to ensure access to their collections for the purpose of
disseminating culture and promoting learning, including in
digital format. Using orphan works, the authorities referred to
in Paragraph one of this Section shall indicate the identified
authors and other rightholders.
(7) The authorities referred to in Paragraph one of this
Section are entitled to obtain revenue from the use of orphan
works only in such amount as would cover the costs which have
arisen to such authorities in making copies of the respective
works or related rights objects in digital format and making them
legally accessible to the public by wire or otherwise so that
they are available in an individually selected location and at an
individually selected time.
[18 December 2014]
Section 62.2 Diligent
Search for Rightholders and Documentation Thereof
(1) The rightholders referred to in Section 62.1 of
this Law of each work and related rights object shall be searched
with the utmost diligence in order to determine whether it is an
orphan work. The rightholders shall be searched with diligence
before the use of the respective work or related rights object is
commenced, and it shall be performed in good faith, using the
sources of information referred to in Paragraph eight of this
Section, including in the European Union Member State in which
the respective work or related rights object was published or
broadcasted for the first time, except for the cases indicated in
Paragraphs two and three of this Section. If there are grounds to
assume that information regarding rightholders is available in
another country, also the sources of information available in
this state shall be used within the scope of diligent search for
rightholders.
(2) If the location or permanent place of residence (domicile)
of the producer of an audiovisual, including cinematographic,
work is in a European Union Member State, the rightholder of such
work shall be searched with diligence in the respective Member
State.
(3) The rightholders of the works and related rights objects
referred to in Section 62.1, Paragraph four of this
Law shall be searched with diligence in the European Union Member
State, in which economic activity is performed by an institution,
which has made the respective work or related rights object
available to the public with a permission of the rightholder.
(4) Diligent search for rightholders shall be performed by the
institution referred to in Section 62.1, Paragraph one
of this Law or its authorised third party.
(5) The authority which performs diligent search for
rightholders or has authorised a third party for this purpose
shall document the course and results of the search in order to
justify that the rightholder has been searched for diligently.
After diligent search the respective authority shall send to the
Latvian National Library:
1) the diligent search results of a rightholder which justify
the recognition of the work or related rights object as an orphan
work;
2) information regarding the types, in which the authority is
using the orphan work;
3) information regarding termination of the status of an
orphan work or any changes in the status in relation to a work or
related rights object used by the authority;
4) the contact information of the authority, including its
name, address, electronic mail address, and telephone number.
(6) The Latvian National Library after receipt of the
information referred to in Paragraph five of this Section shall
forward it, without delay, to the European Union agency "European
Union Intellectual Property Office".
(7) Rightholders of such works and related rights objects need
not be searched for which are indicated as orphan works in the
database of the European Union agency "European Union
Intellectual Property Office".
(8) The sources of information to be used within the scope of
diligent search for rightholders, upon consulting with the
collective management organisations, other organisations of
holders of copyright and related rights, and the authority
referred to in Section 62.1, Paragraph one of this
Law, shall be determined and updated by the Ministry of Culture.
The Ministry of Culture shall publish the list of sources of
information and amendments thereto in the official gazette
Latvijas Vēstnesis and make it public on its website.
[18 December 2014; 18 May 2017]
Section 62.3 Termination
of the Status of an Orphan Work
(1) The rightholders, which could not be identified or found
after diligent search and whose works or related rights objects
have been recognised as orphan works or made equivalent thereto
in accordance with Section 62.1, Paragraph five of
this Law, have the right to request that the institution, which
performed the search for rightholders, terminates the status of
an orphan work in relation to the particular work or related
rights object. Such request must be justified.
(2) After receipt of the request referred to in Paragraph one
of this Section the authority which performed diligent search for
rightholders in relation to the respective work or related rights
object shall examine, without delay, such request and terminate
the status of an orphan work, discontinuing the use of the
respective work or related rights object and informing the
Latvian National Library regarding termination of the status.
(3) If the institution, which performed diligent search for
rightholders, does not exist anymore, the rightholders, which
could not be identified or found after diligent search and whose
works or related rights objects have been recognised as orphan
works or made equivalent thereto in accordance with Section
62.1, Paragraph five of this Law, have the right to
request that the Latvian National Library terminates the status
of an orphan work in relation to the particular work or related
rights object.
(4) The rightholders referred to in Paragraph one of this
Section are entitled to receive a fair compensation for the use
of the work or related rights object from the authority which
used the respective work or related rights object.
(5) Upon determining the amount of the compensation referred
to in Paragraph four of this Section, the following shall be
taken into account:
1) the amount and purpose of the use of the work or related
rights object;
2) the tasks performed in public interests and significance of
the use in the performance of such tasks;
3) the non-commercial nature of the use;
4) the potential harm which has been caused by the use of the
work or related rights object to the rightholder.
(6) The authority which has an obligation to disburse the
compensation referred to in Paragraph four of this Section to the
rightholder shall agree with the rightholder on the amount of the
compensation and disburse it in a reasonable period of time, but
not later than within a year after receipt of the request of the
rightholder, transferring it to the settlement account indicated
by the rightholder.
[18 December 2014]
Chapter X
Collective Management
[18 May 2017]
Section 63. General Provisions for
Collective Management
[18 May 2017]
Section 64. Scope of Rights of a
Collective Management Organisation of Economic Rights
[18 May 2017]
Section 65. Functions of Collective
Management Organisations of Economic Rights
[18 May 2017]
Section 66. Duties of Collective
Management Organisations of Economic Rights
[18 May 2017]
Section 66.1 Duty of
Collective Management Organisations of Economic Rights to Conform
to Specific Criteria in Determining the Remuneration
[18 May 2017]
Section 67. Supervision of the
Activities of Collective Management Organisations of Economic
Rights
[18 May 2017]
Chapter
X.1
Mediators
[18 May 2017]
Section 67.1 Disputes
Subject to a Mediator
An interested party is entitled to turn to a mediator if:
1) the user and the collective management organisation have a
dispute regarding the use of works or related rights objects,
including regarding entering into a licensing agreement or
provision of information regarding the use;
2) the association of users and the collective management
organisation have a dispute regarding entering into an agreement
in respect of the use of the works or related rights objects of
represented rightholders;
3) a cable operator and a broadcasting organisation cannot
agree on retransmission by cables;
4) there is a dispute regarding multi-territorial licensing of
rights in musical works for online use in the case indicated in
the Law on Collective Management of Copyright;
5) the user and the holder of copyright or related rights
cannot agree on access to works or related right objects in any
of the cases referred to in Section 18, Paragraph four of this
Law.
[18 May 2017]
Section 67.2 Selection of
a Mediator and Agreement with a Mediator
(1) The process of the mediator shall be managed by one or
several mediators. The parties may agree on the candidatures of
mediators or regarding the procedures by which mediators are
invited or appointed. If the parties cannot agree on the
candidatures of mediators or on the procedures by which they are
invited or appointed, one or several mediators from the list of
professional mediators may be recommended by the Minister for
Culture on the basis of a written request from the parties. The
Minister for Culture shall select a mediator or mediators from
the list of professional mediators and inform the parties thereon
within 10 days after the day of receipt of the request from the
parties.
(2) A mediator shall be selected so as no doubts regarding his
or her independence and objectivity could arise.
(3) A written agreement shall be entered into with the
selected mediator. The following shall be indicated in the
agreement with the mediator:
1) the consent of the parties and the mediator for the use of
the mediator procedure;
2) the essence of the dispute;
3) the rights and obligations of the parties and the
mediator;
4) the provisions for payment of the mediator service and
expenses for the mediator procedure;
5) other information that the parties and the mediator deem to
be necessary.
(4) During the mediator procedure the agreement with the
mediator may be amended provided that the parties and the
mediator agree to it.
(5) Unless it is otherwise provided for in the agreement with
the mediator, the parties shall cover expenses for the mediator
procedure in equal amount.
[18 May 2017]
Section 67.3 Requirements
to be Brought Forward for a Professional Mediator
(1) The following natural person may be a professional
mediator:
1) who is a citizen of Latvia or another European Union Member
State, or a citizen of the European Economic Area State or the
Swiss Confederation, or a non-citizen of Latvia;
2) who is a proficient user of the official language at the
highest level;
3) who has an impeccable reputation;
4) who has acquired at least academic master's degree or
professional master's degree and appropriate professional
qualification or other qualification conforming to level 7 of the
European Qualification Framework laid down in the education
classification of Latvia;
5) who has experience of at least three years in the field of
copyright.
(2) A person may not be a professional mediator if she or
he:
1) has provided false information in order to be included in
the list of professional mediators;
2) fails to comply with the requirements laid down in
Paragraph one of this Section;
3) has been convicted for committing an intentional criminal
offence or against whom criminal proceedings for committing an
intentional criminal offence on the basis other than exoneration
have been terminated;
4) is a suspect or accused in a criminal matter;
5) according to the court judgment may not provide mediation
services or services of a professional mediator.
[18 May 2017]
Section 67.4 Submission
Regarding Inclusion in the List of Professional Mediators
(1) A person who wishes to be included in the list of
professional mediators, shall provide the following in the
application to the Ministry of Culture:
1) the given name and surname;
2) the field of activity (no more than 500 characters) in
which he or she is competent to provide mediator services;
3) the working languages;
4) the work experience in the field of copyright;
5) the contact information, including electronic mail address
and telephone number;
6) whether she or he agrees to publication of a photography if
any is appended to the submission, in the case indicated in
Section 67.5, Paragraph six of this Law;
7) confirmation that the person conforms to the requirements
indicated in Section 67.3, Paragraph one of this
Law;
8) the request to include his or her data in the list of
professional mediators.
(2) The documents confirming the conformity of the person with
the requirements indicated in Section 67.3, Paragraph
one of this Law shall be appended to the submission regarding
inclusion in the list of professional mediators. The photography
of the relevant person may be appended to the submission in
electronic form.
[18 May 2017]
Section 67.5 List of
Professional Mediators
(1) The Ministry of Culture shall maintain the list of
professional mediators.
(2) The data shall be included in the list of professional
mediators on the basis of the data indicated in the written
submission of the relevant person.
(3) A person shall be included in the list of professional
mediators for four years. Not later than three months before the
end of the time period the person may ask to renew his or her
status of professional mediator for the next four year.
(4) The following data regarding the mediator shall be
included in the list of professional mediators:
1) the given name and surname;
2) the field of activity;
3) the working languages;
4) the contact information, including electronic mail address
and telephone number;
5) upon consent of the mediator - his or her photography.
(5) A professional mediator shall immediately notify the
Ministry of Culture in writing regarding the detected mistakes
and any amendments to the data which were included regarding him
or her in the list of professional mediators.
(6) The list of professional mediators shall be available to
any interested person. The Ministry of Culture shall publish the
list of professional mediators, and also any amendments thereof
on its website.
[18 May 2017]
Section 67.6 Exclusion of
the Mediator from the List of Professional Mediators
A mediator shall be excluded from the list of professional
mediators if he or she:
1) has provided false data in order to be included in the list
of professional mediators;
2) has been recognised as guilty of committing an intentional
criminal offence or criminal proceedings have been terminated
against him or her regarding committing an intentional criminal
offence on the basis other than exoneration;
3) according to the court judgment he or she may not provide
mediation or mediator services;
4) no longer complies with the requirements laid down in
Section 67.3, Paragraph one of this Law;
5) has submitted a request to exclude him or her from the list
of professional mediators;
6) is a suspect or accused in a criminal matter;
7) is dead.
[18 May 2017]
Section 67.7 General
Principles of Mediator Procedure
(1) The parties have equal rights in the mediator procedure.
The parties shall take decisions by co-operating.
(2) A mediator shall try to facilitate an agreement between
the parties, including by providing his or her proposals for fair
settlement of a dispute.
(3) The attitude of the mediator shall be neutral against the
parties. The mediator shall not be personally interested in the
result of the mediator procedure. The mediator has a duty to
notify the parties regarding all circumstances which may affect
his or her independence or objectivity.
[18 May 2017]
Section 67.8 Course of
the Mediator Procedure
(1) If any of the parties has expressed a proposal to resolve
the dispute, the mediator procedure shall take place on the basis
of such proposal.
(2) If neither of the parties has expressed a certain proposal
for the settlement of the dispute or such has been expressed by
both parties, the mediator may express his or her proposal for
the settlement of the dispute to the parties in writing and
determine the time period within which the parties shall confirm
or refuse his or her proposal in writing. If neither of the
parties expresses objections against the proposal of the mediator
within the time period specified by the mediator which is not
less than one month after the day of sending the proposal, it is
considered that they accept such proposal and that laid down
therein is binding to the parties. The mediator shall expressly
indicate in his or her proposal the legal effects that will set
in if the parties do not object against the proposal within the
time period indicated by the mediator.
(3) The mediator procedure shall be terminated upon a written
agreement by the parties, except for the cases referred to in
Paragraph four of this Section. The proposal of the mediator
indicated in Paragraph two of this Section against which neither
of the parties has objected within the time period specified by
the mediator, shall be recognised as agreement of the
parties.
(4) The mediator procedure shall be terminated without
agreement in the following cases:
1) at least one party notifies the mediator in writing that he
or she objects against continuation of the mediator
procedure;
2) the mediator notifies the parties in writing regarding
termination of the mediator procedure.
(5) Involvement of the mediator shall not affect the rights of
the parties to turn to the court.
(6) The duration of the time period for bringing an action
laid down in the laws and regulations shall be suspended on the
day when a proposal to settle a dispute within the framework of
the mediator procedure is expressed. The duration of the time
period for bringing an action shall resume on the day when the
mediator procedure is terminated.
[18 May 2017]
Section 67.9
Confidentiality of the Mediator Procedure
(1) Information which is acquired in the mediator procedure or
is related thereto, shall be confidential unless it is otherwise
agreed by the parties.
(2) The mediator shall not disclose to one party the
information provided by the other party, unless the other party
has agreed to it.
(3) It is prohibited to interrogate the mediator and
participants of the mediator procedure as witnesses regarding the
facts which have become known to them during the mediator
procedure.
(4) This Section shall not apply to the cases when the content
of the agreement reached during the mediator process is necessary
in order to implement the particular agreement.
[18 May 2017]
Chapter
XI
Protection of Copyright and Related Rights
[22 April 2004]
Section 68. Infringement of
Copyright and Related Rights
(1) Violations of copyright and related rights shall be deemed
to be activities by which the personal or economic rights of the
holders of copyright and related rights are infringed,
including:
1) fixation of copyright and related rights objects, their
publication, communicating them to the public, their reproduction
or distribution in any form without the consent from the holder
of copyright and related rights;
2) activities, by which, without the permission of the holders
of copyright and related rights, electronic information regarding
the management of rights attached by holders of copyright and
related rights has been extinguished, amended or transformed;
3) activities, by which an object of rights for which the
electronic information regarding the management of rights has
been extinguished, amended or transformed without permission is
distributed, broadcast, communicated to the public or
published;
4) the destruction or circumvention of such effective
technological measures used by the holders of copyright and
related rights which were intended in order to restrict or not
allow any activity with the copyright and related right object,
or other activities with technological measures if such have
occurred without the permission of the holders of copyright and
related rights;
5) the manufacture, importation, distribution, sale, lease,
advertisement or use for other commercial purposes of such
devices or the components thereof, as well as the provision of
such services which are directed towards the circumvention of
effective technological measures or the destruction thereof;
6) the non-payment of the compensation provided for in
Sections 34, 35, 52 and 62.3 of this Law;
7) non-provision of the information provided for in Section
40, Paragraph five of this Law or provision of such information
to an inadequate extent;
8) not sending of the information provided for in Section
62.2, Paragraph five, Clause 1 of this Law before
commencing the use of the respective work or related rights
object or not sending of the information provided for in Section
62.2, Paragraph five, Clause 3 of this Law immediately
after it has become known to the institution, which performed
diligent search for rightholders or which has authorised a third
party for this purpose.
(2) In determining whether an action qualifies as an
infringement of copyright or related rights, the restrictions of
copyright or related rights specified in this Law shall be taken
into account.
(3) Copyright and related rights objects or the copies thereof
produced as a result of illegal actions are infringing
copies.
(4) Copyright and related rights objects protected in Latvia
which have been imported from countries where such works are not
protected by copyright or where the term of protection has
expired shall also be deemed to be infringing copies.
[6 December 2007; 18 December 2014]
Section 69. General Principles for
the Protection of Rights of the Holders of Copyright and Related
Rights
(1) Holders of copyright and related rights, collective
management organisations, and other representatives of holders of
copyright and related rights have the right:
1) to require of the person who has illegally used the object
of copyright or related rights to recognise the rights of the
holders of copyright and related rights;
2) to prohibit the use of their works;
3) to require that the person who has illegally used the
object of copyright or related rights renew the status existing
prior to the infringement of these rights, and that the illegal
activity be stopped or that creative work not be threatened;
4) to require that the person stop the activities that are
considered to be preparation for illegal use of the objects of
copyright or related rights;
5) to require that the person who has illegally used the
object of copyright or related rights compensate the losses and
moral damage incurred by the holders of copyright and related
rights;
6) to require that the infringing copies be destroyed;
7) to require that intermediaries the services provided by
whom are used in order to infringe the rights of the holders of
copyright and related rights, or who make such infringement
possible, shall perform relevant measures for the purpose of
preventing the users from being able to perform such
infringements. If the intermediary does not perform relevant
measures, the holders of copyright and related rights or their
representative has the right to bring an action against the
intermediary.
(2) To protect their rights, the holders of copyright and
related rights or their representatives may initiate proceedings.
If the rights that are to be protected in accordance with the
procedures laid down in the Law on Collective Management of
Copyright have been infringed, an action for protection of the
infringed rights shall be brought by the holder of copyright and
related rights himself or herself or, on behalf of the holders of
copyright and related rights - by the collective management
organisation.
(3) When bringing an action concerning infringement of rights
to a court, the holders of copyright and related rights shall be
exempt from the State fee. Collective management organisations,
when bringing an action to court concerning infringement of
rights that arise from the cases referred to in Section 3,
Paragraph two of the Law on Collective Management of Copyright,
shall be exempt from the State fee.
[8 February 2007; 18 May 2017]
Section 69.1 Procedures
for Determining the Amount of Compensation for Losses and Moral
Damage
(1) If objects of copyright or related rights have been
illegally used due to the fault of a person, the holders of
copyright and related rights are entitled to require a
compensation for the incurred losses and moral damage.
(2) The amount of compensation for losses and moral injury
shall be determined in accordance with the Civil Law. When
determining the amount of compensation for losses, the unfair
earnings gained by the person who has illegally used the object
of copyright or related rights may be taken into
consideration.
(3) If the amount of actual losses cannot be determined in
accordance with Paragraph two of this section, the amount of
compensation for losses shall be determined according to the
amount which could be received by the holders of copyright and
related rights for the issue of a permit to use the object of
copyright or related rights.
[8 February 2007]
Section 70. Attachment and
Destruction of Infringing Copies
(1) Upon identifying infringing copies, the police or another
competent State institution shall seize them.
(2) In deciding the liability of the offender, a decision
shall be taken on destruction of the infringing copies. If the
offender is not identified, a decision on destruction of the
infringing copies shall be taken by the institution which has
seized them.
Section 71. Liability for
Infringement of Copyright and Related Rights and the Rights of
the Makers of Databases
Depending on the nature of the infringement of copyright or of
related rights and the consequences thereof, the person who has
illegally used the object of copyright or related rights shall be
held liable in accordance with the law.
[8 February 2007]
Chapter
XII
Administrative Offences in the Field of Copyright and Related
Rights and Competence in Administrative Offence Proceedings
[29 October 2020]
Section 72. Administrative Offences
in the Field of Copyright and Related Rights
(1) For using an object of copyright or related rights in a
public performance without the consent of the holder of copyright
and related rights or without paying remuneration, a warning or a
fine of up to one hundred and forty units of fine shall be
imposed on a natural person, but a fine of up to one thousand
four hundred and twenty units of fine - on a legal person.
(2) For reproduction of an object of copyright or related
rights without the consent of the holder of copyright and related
rights, except to make it available to the public by wire or by
other means so that it is accessible in an individually selected
location and at an individually selected time, a warning or a
fine of up to one hundred and forty units of fine shall be
imposed on a natural person, but a fine of up to one thousand
four hundred and twenty units of fine - on a legal person.
(3) For failure to pay a blank tape levy or compensation for
reprographic reproduction of works, a warning or a fine of up to
one hundred and forty units of fine shall be imposed on a natural
person, but a fine of up to one thousand four hundred and twenty
units of fine - on a legal person.
(4) For making an object of copyright or related rights
available to the public by wire or by other means so that it is
accessible in an individually selected location and at an
individually selected time and for the reproduction thereof to
perform such activity without the consent of the holder of
copyright and related rights or without paying remuneration, a
warning or a fine of up to one hundred and forty units of fine
shall be imposed on a natural person, but a fine of up to one
thousand four hundred and twenty units of fine - on a legal
person.
(5) For retransmitting an object of copyright or related
rights without the consent of the holder of copyright and related
rights or without paying remuneration, a warning or a fine of up
to one hundred and forty units of fine shall be imposed on a
natural person, but a fine of up to one thousand four hundred and
twenty units of fine - on a legal person.
[29 October 2020]
Section 73. Competence in the
Administrative Offence Proceedings
Administrative offence proceedings for the offences referred
to in Section 72 of this Law shall be conducted by the State
Police.
[29 October 2020]
Transitional
Provisions
1. The following are repealed:
1) the law On Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (Latvijas
Republikas Augstākās Padomes un Valdības Ziņotājs, No. 22/23,
1993);
2) the 11 May 1993 decision of the Supreme Council On the
Coming into Effect of the Republic of Latvia Law On Copyright and
Neighbouring Rights (Latvijas Republikas Augstākās Padomes un
Valdības Ziņotājs, No. 22/23, 1993).
2. The terms of protection of copyright and related rights
provided for in this Law shall apply to all the works and objects
of rights which were subject to protection on 1 July 1995 at
least in one Member State of the European Union in accordance
with the relevant national provisions regarding copyright and
related rights.
[8 February 2007]
3. The provision of Section 35 of this Law regarding
compensation to authors for reprographic reproduction shall come
into force on 1 January 2001.
4. The provision of Section 19, Paragraph two of this Law
regarding the payment of compensation to authors in respect of
libraries which are financed from the State budget, or from the
budgets of local governments, shall come into force from 1
January 2003.
5. The rights of protection of a database provided for in
Section 57 of this Law shall apply also to such databases the
creation of which was completed not earlier than 15 years before
the coming into force of this Law and which are, on the day of
the coming into force of the Law, in conformity with the
provisions of Section 5, Paragraph two of this Law. Protection of
a database shall not restrict previously acquired rights and
shall not affect contracts which have been entered into before
the coming into force of this Law.
6. The rights of performers specified in Section 48, Paragraph
three, Clauses 3 and 7 of this Law shall be managed only
collectively in relation to the performances fixed in phonograms
which are fixed or published in Latvia up to 15 May 1993.
[22 April 2004; 18 May 2017]
7. Collective management organisations that have been
established until 1 May 2004 shall, not later than by 1 September
2004, obtain a permit to perform the administration of economic
rights on a collective basis.
[22 April 2004; 18 May 2017]
8. Until the date of entry into force of new Cabinet
regulations, but not later than until 1 September 2007, Cabinet
Regulation No. 444 of 27 April 2004, Regulations Regarding Public
Lending, shall be applicable insofar as they are not in
contradiction to this Law.
[8 February 2007]
9. The provisions of Sections 32, 36, 54, 55, 59, and 61 of
this Law shall also be applicable with regard to the following
states of the European Economic Area: the Republic of Island, the
Principality of Liechtenstein and the Kingdom of Norway.
[6 December 2017]
10. A collective management organisation shall ensure that not
later than until 1 June 2013 the information provided for in
Section 66, Paragraph six of this Law is posted on its
website.
[18 April 2013; 18 May 2017]
11. Section 66.1 of this Law shall come into force
from 1 January 2014.
[18 April 2013]
12. Amendments to Section 48 of this Law regarding
supplementation thereof with Paragraphs nine, ten, eleven,
twelve, thirteen, fourteen and fifteen, amendments to Section 55,
Paragraph one regarding extending the term of protection of the
rights of performers from 50 to 70 years, if the performance is
fixed in a phonogram, and regarding supplementation of Section 55
with Paragraph 2.1 regarding the term of protection of
the rights of phonogram producers, shall be applicable to
fixations of performances and phonograms, the term of protection
of the protection of the rights of performers and phonogram
producers of which has not expired on 1 November 2013, as well as
to fixations of performances and phonograms created after 1
November 2013.
[28 November 2013]
13. A contract between a performer and a phonogram producer,
by which the performer has transferred to the phonogram producer
the right to fixation of his or her performance and which has
been concluded prior to 1 January 2014, shall be in effect also
during the period, by which the term of protection of the rights
of performers and phonogram producers has been extended in
accordance with Paragraph 12 of these Transitional Provisions,
insofar as the opposite has not been laid down in the contract
between the performer and the phonogram producer.
[28 November 2013]
14. The Ministry of Culture, shall until 1 February 2015, in
accordance with Section 62.2, Paragraph eight of this
Law, determine the sources of information to be used within the
scope of diligent search for rightholders, publish their list in
the official gazette Latvijas Vēstnesis, and post them on
its website.
[18 December 2014]
15. The compensation amounts not requested and verified which
are reserved in the accounts of collective management
organisations collected from the users of the works and related
rights objects until the day of deleting Chapter X of this Law,
shall be recognised as non-disbursable revenue from the right
management within the meaning of Section 23 of the Law on
Collective Management of Copyright if, within three years from
the day when such amount has been paid into the account of the
organisation, the holder of copyright and related rights to whom
such compensation is due has not been verified or found. The
collective management organisations have no obligations to apply
Section 22 of the Law on Collective Management of Copyright in
respect of the abovementioned compensation amounts.
[18 May 2017]
16. The permits which have been issued to collective
management organisations in accordance with Section 67, Paragraph
one of the Law on Collective Management of Copyright shall be in
force and are equalled to the permits issued in conformity with
the Law on Collective Management of Copyright.
[18 May 2017]
Informative
Reference to European Union Directives
[8 February 2007; 28 November
2013; 18 December 2014; 18 May 2017; 6 December 2018]
This Law contains legal provisions arising from:
1) Council Directive 91/250/EEC of 14 May 1991 on the legal
protection of computer programs;
2) Council Directive 92/100/EEC of 19 November 1992 on rental
right and lending right and on certain rights related to
copyright in the field of intellectual property;
3) Council Directive 93/83/EEC of 27 September 1993 on the
coordination of certain rules concerning copyright and rights
related to copyright applicable to satellite broadcasting and
cable retransmission;
4) Council Directive 93/98/EEC of 29 October 1993 harmonizing
the term of protection of copyright and certain related
rights;
5) Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of
databases;
6) Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of
copyright and related rights in the information society;
7) Directive 2001/84/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 27 September 2001 on the resale right for the benefit
of the author of an original work of art;
8) Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual
property rights;
9) Directive 2011/77/EU of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 27 September 2011 amending Directive 2006/116/EC on
the term of protection of copyright and certain related
rights;
10) Directive 2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 25 October 2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan
works;
11) Directive 2014/26/EU of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 26 February 2014 on collective management of copyright
and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in
musical works for online use in the internal market;
12) Directive (EU) 2017/1564 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 13 September 2017 on certain permitted uses of
certain works and other subject matter protected by copyright and
related rights for the benefit of persons who are blind, visually
impaired or otherwise print-disabled and amending Directive
2001/29/EC on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright
and related rights in the information society.
This Law has been adopted by the Saeima on 6 April
2000.
President V. Vīķe-Freiberga
Rīga, 27 April 2000
1 The Parliament of the Republic of
Latvia
Translation © 2021 Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre)