SLOVENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Nataša Pipan Nahtigal, Veronika Novak and Katarina Čepon, Šelih & partnerji
persons constitutes an indivisible whole, the copyright in such work belongs jointly and indivisibly to all co- authors (ie, joint authorship). Works Created in Employment and Contractual Relationships When a work is produced following the employer’s instructions or while fulfilling the employee’s duties, the transfer of copyright to the employer occurs by law, unless otherwise agreed in a contract between the employee and the employer. It is deemed that the economic and other rights of the author are exclu- sively transferred to the employer for a period of ten years. After the expiry of this period, the employer may request an exclusive licence, but against fair pay- ment. The assessment of whether a particular work was created within the scope of employment requires an analysis of both legal and factual circumstances, such as the time of creation, the employee’s job description, the use of the employer’s resources, etc. There are no specific statutory provisions for contrac- tors, and these matters are typically regulated by a contract. However, contracts that transfer economic copyright (as explained in 3.4 Scope of Rights and Moral Rights ) must be in writing, and if this require- ment is not met, any unclear or disputed terms are interpreted in favour of the author. 3.4 Scope of Rights and Moral Rights There are two types of rights which are granted to copyright owners, namely, moral and economic rights: • Moral rights include the right of first publication, the right to be recognised as the author (right of attribution), the right to the integrity of the work, and the right of withdrawal (right of repentance). An author cannot waive or assign moral rights. How- ever, these rights can be inherited, with the excep- tion of the right of repentance. • Examples of economic rights include the right of reproduction, the right of distribution, the right of rental, the right of public performance, the right of broadcasting, and the right of making a work available to the public. However, it can include any form of exploitation of the work that has economic value. Economic copyright protects the author’s financial interests by granting them the exclusive
right to authorise or prohibit the use of their work and its copies. 3.5 Term of Protection and Termination Term of Protection Copyright protection in Slovenia lasts for 70 years after the author’s death. However, the right of repent- ance only lasts until the author’s death. There are also specific rules concerning, among other things, joint authorship (70 years after the death of the last surviv- ing co-author), anonymous or pseudonymous works, and collective works (70 years from lawful publica- tion). Termination Rights The law also recognises some termination and rever- sion rights. The author may withdraw transferred economic rights for serious moral reasons (right of withdrawal), if they compensate the rights-holder. The author may also revoke transferred rights if the trans- feree does not exploit the work or exploits it insuffi- ciently, thereby harming the author’s interests. How- ever, the author first has to give an additional deadline, the rights-holder has two years to start using the work, and the author cannot be at fault for the non-use. 3.6 Limitations, Exceptions and Defences Several limitations and exceptions to copyright apply, mainly aligned with EU law. These include quotation, criticism, review, parody, pastiche and caricature, as well as certain uses for non-commercial purposes, teaching and research, and certain uses by librar- ies, archives, cultural institutions, etc. When assess- ing these limitations, the courts interpret them on a case-by-case basis, while also considering EU case law, especially since the Slovenian case law is fairly limited. 3.7 Copyright Enforcement and Remedies Copyright Infringement Copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is used without the author’s consent where such consent (transfer of a right or a licence) is required, eg, reproduction, distribution, rental, public performance, adaptation, etc.
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