SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Marina Gómez, Arochi & Lindner
On the other hand, a special term of 50 years is established for the copyright of: • phonogram producers; • exploitation rights granted to performers; • producers of the first fixation of an audio- visual recording; and • broadcasters. Not all copyright in a work lapses. The moral rights of paternity and integrity of the author are imprescriptible. 3.6 Collective Rights Management Systems In Spain, there are collecting societies for authors’, performers’ and producers’ intellectu - al property rights. These are private, non-profit, association-based organisations that manage intellectual property rights in their own name or in the name of others. These entities are governed by the RLD 1/1996 of the IP Law and the Organic Law 1/2002 of 22 March, regulating the right of association, as well as their own statutes. They are subject to administrative supervision and therefore require Ministry authorisation to carry out their func - tions, among which, the following stand out: • the administration of the intellectual property rights conferred; • the prosecution of violations of these rights by means of a control of uses; • the establishment of a remuneration appropri - ate to the type of exploitation to be carried out, and the collection of this remuneration in accordance with the stipulations of the law; • in the area of mass uses, concluding general contracts with associations of users of their repertoire and fixing general tariffs for the use of the repertoire;
• enabling the enforcement of rights of a com - pensatory nature (eg, remuneration for private copying); • distributing the proceeds to right-holders; and • providing assistance and promotion services to authors and performers. 3.7 Copyright Registration Copyright protection in Spain arises automatical - ly upon the creation of an original work, without the need for registration. This is in accordance with the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, to which Spain is a party. While registration is not required to obtain copy - right protection, it provides several legal ben - efits: • Presumption of validity – registration estab - lishes prima facie, evidence of ownership and the details of the copyright (eg, date of crea - tion and authorship). • Priority – in disputes, registration can help prove the ownership and date of creation, offering a clear advantage. • Civil actions – registration is not mandatory for bringing civil actions, but it simplifies prov - ing ownership in court. Spain has an Intellectual Property Registry, which is publicly accessible, enabling anyone to verify registered works and their associated rights. In Spain, the following entities can apply for copyright registration: • The author(s) of the work – no representation is required for foreign authors.
605 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook