Intellectual property in Belarus

In the Republic of Belarus, objects of intellectual property rights include the following:
1.    Intellectual property:
    Works of science, literature and art;
    Performances, phonographic records, and broadcasts;
    Inventions, prototypes, industrial samples;
    Breeding achievements;
    Integrated circuit topography;
    Proprietary information, including industrial secrets (know-how).
2.    Means of individual identification of parties to civil law relations, goods, works and services:
    Company names;
    Trademarks (service marks);
    Geographical indications.
3.    Other intellectual property and individual identification of parties to civil law relations, goods, work and services in the instances envisaged by the Belarusian legislation.

Legal protection of intellectual property objects arises in the following instances:
- Due to the fact of creation of objects of intellectual property (copyrights and related rights, proprietary information);
- As a consequence of granting the legal protection by the authorized governmental body in the instances and in accordance with the order established by legislative acts (industrial property rights objects (except for proprietary information, including industrial secrets (know-how)); individual identification of parties to civil law relations, goods, works and services).

 

Authors of intellectual property enjoy personal non-material and material rights with respect to such intellectual property. Manufacturers of phonographic records and broadcasting organizations enjoy material rights only with respect to such property; owners of property rights on individual identification of parties to civil law relations, goods, works and services enjoy material rights with respect to such property.

 

Personal non-material rights
Personal non-material rights are vested in the author regardless of his material rights and are retained thereby in the event of the transfer of the material rights to another person.

 

If the intellectual property was created by joint creative work of two or more persons, these persons are recognized as the coauthors. In respect of certain objects of intellectual property the legislation may limit set of persons who can be recognized as the coauthors of the intellectual property object as a whole.

 

Material (exclusive) rights
An entity vested with material rights to intellectual property or means of individual identification holds exclusive rights to the lawful use of the said intellectual property at its own discretion in any form and by any means.

 

An entity vested with material rights to intellectual property is entitled to cede those rights to another entity in whole or in part, to permit another party to use the intellectual property, and to dispose of it in any other manner not prohibited by the Civil Code of Belarus or any other law.

 

Restrictions on intellectual rights
Restrictions on exclusive rights insofar as such restrictions do not impede the normal use of the intellectual property and do not unreasonably infringe upon the lawful interests of the entities in which the exclusive rights are vested.

Copyright
Copyright applies to works of science, literature and art, whether publicized or not, and expressed in any form regardless of purpose, merit, and method of expression.

An author holds the following personal non-material rights with respect to his work:
- The right to be recognized as the author (right of authorship);
- The right to use or allow the use of the work under the author's own name, a pseudonym, or anonymously (right to name);
- The right to protect the work, including its name, from distortion or other misrepresentation liable to damage the honor and dignity of the author (right to protect reputation);
- The right to publicize or permit the publicizing of the work in any form (right to publicizing).

 

An author with respect to his work enjoys the following exclusive rights:
1.    The right to exercise or permit to exercise the following operations:
    Reproduction of the work
    Distribution of the original or copies of the work by selling or any other means of transfer of ownership (if the original or copies of the lawfully published work were introduced to civil circuit by selling or any other means of transfer of ownership, the further distribution of this work in the Republic of Belarus is allowable without sanction of the author and without payment of any remuneration)
    Hiring out of the original or copies of computer programs, databases, audiovisual works, musical notations irrespective of holding the right of ownership of the original or copies of mentioned works (this right does not apply to computer programs if the computer program itself is not the major hiring item as well as audiovisual works unless their hiring out results in broad copying liable for substantial damage incurred to exclusive right of reproduction)
    Importing of the copies of the work, including copies reproduced by sanction of the author or any other copyright holder
    Public demonstration of the original or a copy of the work
    Public execution of the work
    Broadcasting of the work
    Other public presentation of the work
    Translation of the work into another language
    Alteration or any other remake of the work.
2.    The author's right on reward.

 

Related rights
Objects of related rights include performances, arrangements, recordings and transmissions of broadcasting and cable organizations.
A performer with respect to his performance holds the following exclusive rights:
- Right to name;
- Right to protection from any distortion or any other endeavors liable for the damage incurred to the honor and dignity of the performer (right to protect reputation);
- Right to use the performance in any form, including the right to remuneration for every form of use.

 

The producer of phonographic records with respect to his records holds the exclusive right to use the phonographic record in any form, including the right to remuneration for every form of use.

 

Unless otherwise is required by act of law, the broadcasting organization with respect to its broadcast holds the exclusive right to use the broadcast in any form and give permission to use the broadcast including the right to remuneration for the permission.

 

Unless otherwise is required by the act of law, the cablecasting organization with respect to its broadcast holds the exclusive right to use the cablecast in any form and give permission to use the cablecast including the right to remuneration for the permission.

 

Industrial property rights
Industrial property rights subsist in:
    Inventions;
    Prototypes;
    Industrial samples;
    Breeding achievements;
    Integrated circuit topologies;
    Proprietary information, including industrial secrets (know-how);
    Company names;
    Trademarks (service marks);
    Names of place of origin;
    Other results of intellectual activity and methods of individualizing parties to civil law relations, goods, work and services in the instances envisaged by the Belarusian legislation.

 

Transfer of exclusive rights
Rights of ownership on exclusive rights on intellectual property may be:
1.    Transferred in part or in full (only those rights that are explicitly indicated in the agreement may be vested; rights to use work that has not been known as at the day of making the contract may not be transferred);
2.    Transferred with a view of further use under the license agreement.

 

Under license agreements, the entity in which exclusive rights to intellectual property is vested (the licensor) permits the counterparty (the licensee) to use the said intellectual property.

 

License agreements, cessation agreements and agreements on pledge of intellectual rights are to be registered in the patient authority of the Republic of Belarus.