On June 15 the RA National Assembly adopted in the third hearing and finally
the new RA Law “On Copyright and Adjacent Rights”. The Law contains a number
of provisions on media activities that are mostly similar to the stipulations
of the old law of December 8, 1999. Thus, clause 2 of Article 4 of the new Law
defines that “the information of the news of the day or current affairs and
facts” is not an object of copyright. Article 32 provides that “the copyright
for an interview belongs to the person interviewed and the person interviewing,
as co-authors, unless they have a different arrangement between them” (cl. 1)
and that “publication of an interview is allowed by the consent of the individuals
interviewed and interviewing” (cl. 2).
The Law also stipulates a free use of the works without the author’s consent
and remuneration but with a mandatory specification of the author and the source,
unless it runs contrary to the legitimate interests of the author (Article 22).
According to Article 26, if TV or radio companies have a right for broadcasting
a certain work, they may – without the author’s consent and additional remuneration
– produce audio and video records for free short-term use. The broadcaster should
destroy such records in six months’ time, unless there is an agreement with
the author about the subsequent use.
