Levshina, Elena; Pakhomova, Natalia --- "The problems of authors' property rights administration in Russia" [2002] ELECD 61; in Towse, Ruth (ed), "Copyright in the Cultural Industries" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2002)

Book Title: Copyright in the Cultural Industries

Editor(s): Towse, Ruth

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781840646610

Section: Chapter 16

Section Title: The problems of authors' property rights administration in Russia

Author(s): Levshina, Elena; Pakhomova, Natalia

Number of pages: 7

Extract:

16. The problems of authors' property
rights administration in Russia
Elena Levshina and Natalia Pakhomova

16.1 INTRODUCTION
One of the well-known figures in Russian theatrical life of the late nineteenth
century, A. Pogozev, has commented: `Money can easily spoil talent, but it
cannot create it' (Pogozev, A., On the Centenary of Foundation Imperial
Theatres in Moscow (1906), p. 321). This formula, in our opinion, reflects
precisely the function of authors' and performers' property rights
administration: to create a workable intellectual property law that accords with
actual cultural processes. The legal basis is very important in this regard. At
the same time, one should keep in mind that however perfect the legislation
can be, its practical applicability depends on certain conditions being present,
such as the preparedness of participants and the development of a proper
infrastructure. In this respect, in contemporary Russia a specific balance of
interests is being sought by those who are involved in the use of intellectual
property in cultural life.
In 1993, the copyright and neighbouring rights law based on standards of
the Berne convention was adopted in Russia. On the whole, this legislative act
makes administration of intellectual property more civilized and puts Russia
in line with other countries keeping to the continental copyright principle.
Though the legacy of the past is still visible in this law, as we shall discuss in
more detail later, its spirit and letter are based on the idea of respect for the
author and the results of his ...