Amendments to Law on Copyright and Related Rights
Newsletter 118
The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia adopted Amendments to Copyright and Related Rights Law (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia 66/2019.
The purpose of the Amendments is to further improve national protection of copyright and related rights. The most significant changes concern improvements to collective exercise of copyright and related rights, extended period of protection for pecuniary rights of interpreters and phonogram producers, and improved mechanisms of protection under civil law.
The Amendments are a part of the continued bid to coordinate the local Serbian regulations governing copyright and related rights with the EU legislation.
The improved protection of copyright and related rights under civil law offer an effective framework to ward off infringement and indemnify right-holders.
A broader range of persons can now file a legal claim; in addition to the author, right-holder, acquirer of an exclusive license, the legal claim may be also filed by a collective organization for exercise of copyright and related rights.
In addition, the legal claim may now be filed not only for an infringement of right but based on a serious threat of right infringement.
Under the Amendments, it is now possible to file the legal actions against intermediaries, i.e. persons whose services were used in connection with the infringement of copyright or related rights, a much-needed solution in the era of digitalization and reliance on the internet.
