International Copyright Relations of Russia - International Copyright - Copyright On Foreign Works in The USSR and In Russia

Copyright On Foreign Works in The USSR and In Russia

Prior to the accession of the Soviet Union to the UCC, only works by foreign authors that were first published in the USSR and unpublished works of foreign authors that existed in an objective form on the territory of the USSR were eligible to copyright. When the USSR joined the UCC in 1973 and the treaty entered in force with respect to the USSR on May 27, 1973, foreign works first published on or after that date outside of the USSR became copyrighted in the Soviet Union if

• the author was a national of any other signatory country of the UCC, irrespective of where this publication occurred, or if
• the work was first published in any other UCC country, regardless of the nationality of the author.

In addition to the UCC, the bilateral treaties the USSR concluded with several countries, amongst them also two Western countries, made works of nationals of these countries eligible for copyright in the Soviet Union, even works published before May 27, 1973. In the case of Austria, Poland, and Sweden, this even applied to any work first published there, irrespective of the nationality of the author.

Since its accession to the Berne Convention in 1995, the following foreign works were copyrighted in Russia:

• Soviet works published in the Russian SFSR, as well as works of authors who became citizens of the Russian federation after the demise of the USSR became subject to the copyright law of the Russian Federation of 1993 (and its amendments) due to the strict territoriality of copyright law.
• Soviet works that were first published in one of the other fourteen republics of the USSR and created by authors who did not become nationals of the Russian Federation were subject to the Russian copyright law per the Moscow agreement.
• Works by nationals of countries that adhered to the Berne Convention, but not to the UCC, or works published in such a country, became eligible to copyright in Russia if they were published on or after March 13, 1995, the date the Berne Convention became effective with respect to Russia.
• Works of nationals of UCC countries, or works first published in such a country (regardless of the author's nationality), were subject to copyright in Russia if the works were first published on or after May 27, 1973. Because of the Russian reservation concerning the retroactivity of the Berne Convention, this applied whether or not the UCC country had also signed the Berne Convention.
• Pre-1973 works of nationals of one of the countries the USSR or Russia concluded bilateral treaties with were subject to copyright in Russia insofar as these treaties remained effective. This concerned works of nationals of Austria, Armenia, Bulgaria, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Madagascar, Poland, Slovakia, and Sweden, regardless of the place of first publication. It also applied generally to works first published in Austria, Poland, or Sweden, regardless of the author's nationality, as the bilateral treaties with these states explicitly stated so.

Pre-1973 foreign works of other countries initially were not covered by copyright in Russia. That changed with federal law 72-FL of August 8, 2004, which brought the Russian copyright law in full compliance with the Berne Convention. Since then, foreign works subject to the Berne Convention are copyrighted in Russia if they were copyrighted in the source country when Russia joined the Berne convention (i.e., in 1995). Russia implements the rule of the shorter term: the copyright term of a foreign work in Russia is the shorter of the copyright term in the source country and the normal 70-years p.m.a. accorded by Russian law. This situation remained unchanged with the entry in force of the new Part IV of the Russian Civil Code which included a complete rewrite of the copyright law; article 1256 embodies the amendments from law 72-FL.