DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Law and Practice Contributed by: Sarah de León Perelló, Elizabeth Silfa Micheli and Naomi Rodríguez Manzueta, Headrick Rizik Álvarez & Fernández
7.4 Copyright Copyright is regulated by Law No 65-00 on Copyright. Pursuant to Law No 65-00, copyright includes the protection of literary and artistic works, the literary or artistic form of scientific works, includ - ing all creations of the mind in the indicated fields, whatever the mode or form of expression, dissemination, reproduction or communication, or gender, merit or destiny. It is important to note that, unlike trademarks, the author’s right is an immanent right that is born with the creation of the original work. The formalities that Law No 65-00 enshrines are to give publicity and greater legal certainty to the holder of the rights, and the omission does not harm the exercise of their rights. Therefore, the registration of these works is not mandatory. The National Copyright Registry of the Nation - al Office for Copyright (ONDA, by its Spanish acronym) is in charge of the registration of the works, performances, productions, including phonograms and broadcasts protected by Law No 65-00, acts and contracts that refer to copy - right or related rights. The limitations and exceptions to copyright are of restrictive interpretation and may not be applied in such a way that they violate the nor - mal exploitation of the work or cause unjusti - fied damage to the interests of the owner of the respective right. The owner of the copyright or a related right, successors in title, or whoever has the conven - tional representation of the same, has the right to decide how they will initiate and proceed in the exercise of the rights conferred by law. Law No 65-00 contemplates administrative sanctions,
such as fines and civil and criminal liability for violation of copyright. The copyright over a work is divided into moral and economic rights. Regarding moral rights, the author has a perpetual, imprescriptible and inalienable right to claim paternity over the work. While, economically, the rights correspond to the author during their life and to the spouse and successors for 70 years from the death of the author. For some works, such as anonymous and collective works, the protection starts from the publication or from its creation, if it is not published within 50 years from its creation. Protection for a computer program is 70 years from publication or from its creation, if it is not published within 50 years from its creation. 7.5 Others Computer Programs Software, or computer programs, as they are regulated by Law No 65-00 on Copyright, are protected in the same terms as literary works, whether source programs or object programs, or by any other form of expression, including tech - nical documentation and user manuals. A computer program is defined by Law No 65-00 as the expression of a set of instructions through words, codes, plans or in any other way that, when incorporated into an automated reading device, is capable of making a computer or other type of machine execute a task or obtain a result. The protection of software extends to both oper - ating and application programs, in source code or in object code, as well as technical documen - tation and user manuals.
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