?
The Usage of Musical Works in the Internet within the Russian Law: a Comparative Analysis within the Law of US and EU
The article analyzes the “making available” power presented in Russian copyright law, as well as the specifics of obtaining permission to use musical works and phonograms on the Internet. The right to “make available” has been known to Russian law since 2004. This eligibility appears to be very close to the traditional uses of works that existed long before the advent of the Internet. These include, in particular: public performance, broadcasting and cable retransmission. At the same time, “making available” power is presented in Russian law less fully than the indicated powers. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation describes in sufficient detail the mechanism for obtaining permission by users of musical works and phonograms in the case of their public performance, broadcasting or cable retransmission. In particular, broadcasting organizations, which include radio stations and television companies, as well as users of the public sphere, such as theaters, museums, cinemas, etc., are authorized for the respective uses of works and phonograms through collective rights management organizations. Such organizations represent the interests of rightholders when interacting with users and conclude either licensing agreements or agreements on the payment of remuneration with the latter. Among other things, the Civil Code provides for certain cases of endowing collective rights management organizations with accreditation, which allows issuing permission from an unlimited circle of rightholders, including foreign ones, as well as those who have not entered into an agreement on the management of rights with such an organization. At the same time, recently more and more works and phonograms are distributed on the Internet. Online cinemas, TV channels, theaters, museum exhibitions, etc. are gaining wide popularity. These resources also use musical works and phonograms, similar to using offline. However, it should be noted that there is legal uncertainty in Russian law related to the mechanism for obtaining permission to use works and phonograms on the Internet. The content of the powers presented in the law of Russia for making a work available, its public performance, broadcasting, communicating by cable, as well as the scope of accreditation, do not allow us to unambiguously conclude about the application of the existing mechanism for obtaining permission through the relevant collective management organizations