COSTA RICA Law and Practice Contributed by: Harry Zurcher, Marco López Volio and Kristel Faith Neurohr, Zurcher, Odio & Raven
remuneration derived from the use of their works and intellectual productions entrusted to their administra - tion by their associates or represented parties, or by affiliates of foreign entities of the same nature”. As stated, these entities are authorised to collect and distribute the remunerations corresponding to the use of the works or productions subject to the related rights entrusted to them by the authors or their representa - tives. According to Article 52 of the Copyright and Related Rights Law, this distribution must be carried out equitably and proportionally among the holders of the rights they manage. They are also empowered to exercise the rights entrusted to them and assert them in all kinds of administrative and judicial proceedings. This includes the authority to grant licences for the use of the managed rights and to establish general tariffs that determine the remuneration required by authors for the use of their repertoire (Articles 49 and 50 of the Copyright and Related Rights Law). This is without prejudice to any legal actions the user of the protected work may take if they consider that the tariff established by a Collective Management Society for its public communication is abusive (Article 51 of the Copyright and Related Rights Law). Some examples of Collective Management Societies are as follows. • The Association of Composers and Musical Authors of Costa Rica. This was created by musi - cal authors and composers to collect and distrib - ute royalties. • The Costa Rican Performers’ Association (AIE Costa Rica). This manages the related rights held by both Costa Rican and foreign musical perform - ers, represented by means of reciprocity contracts signed with other similar organisations. Both are duly authorised by the Copyright Office and are governed by both the Law of Associations and the Copyright and Related Rights Law. • FONOTICA ( Asociación Costarricense de la Indus- tria Fonográfica y Afines ). This is a non-profit organisation and industry trade group represent - ing national and multinational record companies in Costa Rica. FONOTICA is the national agency of the International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) and an affiliate member of the International Federa -
tion of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in Costa Rica. 3.7 Copyright Registration Copyrights are protected from their conception. How - ever, it is recommended to register the copyright to have complete protection and enforceable exclusive rights in Costa Rica. Costa Rica has a Copyright Office that is part of the Costa Rican Public Registry. Individuals, legal enti - ties, trade bodies and foreign applicants can register a copyright. A notarised power of attorney granted by the applicant is required. According to Costa Rican legislation, the use of sym - bols as notice of copyright ownership is not manda - tory. 3.8 Copyright Application Requirements The name of the author with their full qualifications must be provided. If the application is submitted through a representative, the representative must pro - vide a suitable document accrediting them as such, and the name and qualifications of the represented party must be indicated. If the power of attorney is granted abroad, it may be formalised in line with the domestic law of the country where it is granted and must be authenticated. If the application is submitted by a publisher, printer, translator, etc, the full name and qualifications of the author should be indicated and the appropriate docu - ment through which the right was acquired should be submitted. The title of the work to be registered should be indicated, as well as the genre (literary or artistic). A brief description of the content of the work (three to five lines) should also be provided. Addition - ally, whether the work is unpublished or published should be indicated, and, if applicable, whether it is collective or collaborative should be indicated. The filing fee is USD5. 3.9 Refusal of Registration Lack of originality or formality issues may lead to a refusal. If the Copyrights Office objects to the appli - cation, they will grant a 15 or 30-day term to file a
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