In February 2024, the Old Bobby Bar in Ryazan was fined 120,000 rubles for illegally playing several foreign songs. The main partner of MCA “YurCity”, lawyer Vitaly Shakin, explained to RB.RU how to legally use music tracks in cafes, restaurants, beauty salons, shopping centers and hotels, so as not to have to pay a fine for infringement of rights From author.
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Why can’t companies just play music?
The fact is that traces are the result of a person’s intellectual activity. The conditions for the emergence and application of rights to such results are regulated in sufficient detail by law, primarily by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. A musical work cannot be used without the permission of the copyright holder, Vitaly Shakin noted.
How does the copyright holder find out about illegal use of the works?
It is not difficult to establish the fact of infringement. This can be done by police officers who, when a violation is detected, will draw up a protocol and then the court will consider the case of an administrative violation.
Representatives of WIPO and RAO can come to the company to carry out an inspection. For example, they can make a video recording or this can be done with the help of a notary, who will draw up a protocol of inspection of the premises, which will indicate the execution of the musical work.
Fines for copyright infringement
First of all, this may be civil liability, when the copyright holder has the right to recover damages or compensation for violation of his rights (Article 1301 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), in the amount of 10 thousand rubles to 5 million rubles. determined at the discretion of the court based on the nature of the violations.
Secondly, the offender may be brought to administrative responsibility under Art. 7.12 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation – for copyright infringement. This article provides for punishment in the form of an administrative fine for officials: from 10 thousand to 20 thousand rubles with confiscation of falsified copies of works and phonograms, etc., for legal entities: from 30 thousand to 40 thousand rubles, also with confiscation . phonograms, etc.
Options to use music legally in establishments
In order not to break the law, you must have the right to use the work. It can only be provided by the copyright holder. The owner of the premises must look for the owner of the musical work in order to reach an agreement with him.
“This is a fairly complicated procedure. It turns out that to obtain the right to use each musical work, it is necessary each time to sign an agreement and search for the author/copyright holder,” says Shakin.
Therefore, to facilitate the use of musical works, the law provided for the possibility of creating companies that carry out the collective management of copyright and related rights. Since 2008, the Russian Federation has had a system of state accreditation of such societies. The copyright holder has the right to entrust the management of his rights to the following company:
- “Society of Russian Authors” (RAO),
- Society for Collective Management of Related Rights “All-Russian Intellectual Property Organization” (WIPO),
- Russian Union of Copyright Holders (RSP).
The RAO and WIPO protect the rights of copyright holders of musical works, so it is recommended to sign an agreement with both organizations.
These societies collect remuneration for the use of material supports, musical works, etc. by entrepreneurs who are not copyright holders. The amount of the contribution depends on the number of places in the establishment or its surface area.
Author:
Karina Pardaeva
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
