Registration of copyright in Ukraine
Following the Berne Convention and the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”, copyright on a work arises from the moment of its creation and does not require mandatory state registration.
Thus, registration of copyright provides the number of advantages for the holder. Namely, the certificate of registration simplifies ways to prove copyright ownership to the state bodies and notary; can be included in the statutory capital of the legal entity, etc.
Authorized body for registration is the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine. Copyright can be registered either in the name of the author or another lawful copyright holder (individual or legal entity).
The requirements for the registration differ depending on the type of work which is protected.
Copyright in Ukraine is protected during the whole life of the author and 70 years after the death.
Copyright is protected within both territories of Ukraine and territories of Member States of Berne Convention.
Protection of copyright in Ukraine
Nowadays, due to technological development, the infringers have the number of ways to violate copyright laws. To avoid the moral and economic losses of the rightsholders, the following actions can be conducted on the territory of Ukraine:
• submission of the cease and desist letters to the infringers to enter into the pre-trial settlement with the infringers;
• submission of the takedown notice to hosting providers or owner of the website/web page hosting the inappropriate content for the infringements of the copyright on the Internet;
• compensation for losses if the unlawful use of a work without conceding a license agreement with the rightsholder caused the latter damage or resulted in the loss of profit or concluding the license agreement with the infringer to ‘clear our’ his illegal use of the copyrighted work;
• suppression of actions that infringe copyright or create a threat of infringement;
• seizure of counterfeit copies of works, as well as equipment and items intended primarily to create such copies;
• preparation and forwarding of claims of illegal use of the IP objects to administrative state bodies or/and submitting claims and starting court proceedings.