FAQs For Copyright in Romania

1. Is copyright protected in Romania?

Yes, in base of the Law No. 8 of March 1996 on Copyright and Neighboring Rights (Copyright Act);

2. Who enforces the legislation concerning copyright protection in Romania?

Copyright infringement actions are heard before civil courts specialized in intellectual property rights.

3. Which types of works are copyrightable according to the Copyright Act in Romania?

According to article 7 of the Romanian Copyright Act, a work subject to copyright qualifying for protection under the Act: shall be original works of intellectual creation in the literary, artistic, or scientific field, regardless of their manner of creation, specific form or mode of expression and independently of their merit and purpose. Copyright can protect:

• literary works, conferences, preaches, pleadings, lectures and any other works in wrinting or oral, including computer programs;
• scientific works, written or oral, such as presentations, studies, university textbooks, scientific projects and documentation;
• music composition with lyrics or not;
• dramatic works, music-dramatic, including dance or mime work;
• cinematographic works and any other audiovisual work;
• photografic work and any other work expressed by a photografic procedure;
• graphic and artistic works, including paintings, engravings, photographs, sculptures, collages;
• architecture works, including sketches, layouts and graphic works that form architecture projects;
• maps and drawongs of the topography, geography and science in general.

4. Which types of rights are covered by copyright according to the Romanian Law concerning copyright protection?

In Romania, the author of a work protected by copyright has economic and moral rights.

The performers (actores, singers, musicians, dancers and other persons who present, sing, dance, recite, declaim, act, interpret, direct, conduct or in any other way execute a literary or artistic work, a performance of any kind, including performances of folklore, variety or circus performances or puppet shows) have economic and moral rights in respect of their own performance.

The producers of phonograms have economic rights in respect of their own phonograms.

The producers of videograms have economic rights in respect of their own videograms.

The broadcasting and television organizations have the economic rights in respect of their own shows and programs’services.

The database manufacturer has the economic rights on its own database.

5. Who is the author of a creative work according to the Romanian Copyright Act?

Is the author of a creative work the natural person who created it.

According to Article 4, paragraph 1, from the Romanian Copyright Act, it is presumed to be the author- the person under whose name the work was first disclosed to the public.

6. What may not be protected by copyright according to the Romanian Copyright Act?

The Romanian Copyright Act excludes from copyright protection the the ideas, theories, concepts, discoveries and inventions contained in a work, whatever the manner of the adoption, writing, explanation or expression thereof; official texts of a political, legislative, administrative or judicial nature, and official translations thereof; official symbols of the State, public authorities and organizations, such as armorial bearings, seals, flags, emblems, shields, badges and medals; means of payment; news and press information;  simple facts and data.

7. Do the doctrines of ‘fair use’ or ‘fair dealing’ related to copyright exist in Romania and in  Romanian Law?

The Romanian Copyright Act includes the doctrines of ‘fair use’ related to copyright and restricts the rights of the copyright-holder in some circumstances.

The following uses of a work already disclosed to the public shall be permitted without the author’s consent and without payment of remuneration, provided that such uses conform to proper practice, are not at variance with the normal exploitation of the work and are not prejudicial to the author or to the owners of the exploitation rights:

• the reproduction of a work in connection with judicial, parliament or administrative proceedings or for the purpose of public security;
• the use of brief quotations from a work for the purpose of an analysis, commentary or criticism, or for illustration, to the extent justified by use thereof;
• the use of isolated articles or brief excerpts from works in publications, television or radio broadcasts or sound or audiovisual recordings exclusively intended for teaching purposes and also the reproduction for teaching purposes, within the framework of public education or social welfare institutions, of isolated articles or brief extracts from works, to the extent justified by the intended purpose;
• the reproduction of brief excerpts from works for information or research within the framework of libraries, museums, film archives, sound archives, archives of non-profit cultural or scientific public institutions; the complete reproduction of a copy of a work shall be allowed for the replacement of the sole copy in such an archive or library’s permanent collection in the event of the destruction, serious deterioration or loss thereof;
• he representation realised by libraries open to public, by educational institutions or museum or archives which are not realised for comercial or economanic gain purpose, directly or indirectly;
• the reproduction, excluding by any means involving direct contact with the work, circulation or communication to the public of the image of an architectural work, work of three-dimensional art, photographic work or work of applied art, permanently located in a public place, except where the image of the work is the principal subject of such reproduction, circulation or communication, and if it is used for commercial purposes;
• the representation and execution of a work as part of the activities of educational institutions, exclusively for specific purposes and on condition that both the representation or execution and the public’s access are free of charge;
• usage of the work during religious ceremonies or during the official ceremonies organised by a public autority;
• usage, for advertising purposes, of the images of the works exhibited in exhibitions with public access or with selling, in fairs, public auctions for art works, as a mean of promotion of the event, excluding any commercial usage;
• he reproduction, circulation, broadcasting or communication to the public without any direct or indirect gain, commercial or economic;
• short excerpts from press articles and broadcast or television documentary, for the purpose of information on current topics, excepting those for which this type of utilisation is expressly reserved;
• short fragments of lectures, addresses, court pleadings and other such works expressed orally in public, condition upon those uses are intended solely to provide information on current events;
• short fragments of works, during reporting of current events, but only to the extent justified by the informatory purpose;
• works, for exclusive use for exemplification in education and scientific research;
• works, on the benefit of person with disabilities, which are directly binded by that disability and in the limit of that disability.

Shall not be a violation of copyright if a work without the author’s consent it is reproduced for personal use or for use by a normal family circle, on condition that the work has already been disclosed to the public, and that reproduction does not adversely affect the normal exploitation of the work or prejudice the author or the owner of the exploitation rights.

8. Which type of ‘neighboring rights’ recognized in  Romanian Copyright Act?

The following rights fall within the scope of neighboring rights according to the Copyright Act in Romania:

• The Rights of Performers ;
• The Rights of Producers of Sound Recordings;
• The Rights of Producers of  Audiovisual Recordings;
• The Rights of Broadcasting and Television Organizations.

9. Which are the author’s moral rights (droid moral) recognized in Romanian Copyright Act?

The autor’s moral rights are recognized in the articles 10 of the Romanian Copyright Act and give the author the exclusive right to:

• decide whether the work subject to copyright protection shall be disclosed to the public and if so, to decide the timing and the manner of the publication (the right of disclosure);
• to demand recognition of his authorship of the work;
• to decide under what name the work will be disclosed to the public;
• to demand respect of the integrity of the work and to oppose to any modification and to any distortion of the work if it is prejudicial to his honor or reputation;
• to withdraw the work, subject to indemnification of any owners of exploitation rights who might be prejudiced by the exercise of the said withdrawal right.

Furthermore, according to Romanian Copyright Act the moral right of the author may not be renounced or disposed of. After the author’s death, the exercise of the rights regarding the decision of disclosure to the public, recognition of  authorship of the work, demanding respect for the integrity of the work and to oppose any modification or any distortion of the work if it is prejudicial to  honor or reputation of the author shall be transferred by inheritance, in accordance with civil legislation, for an unlimited period. If there are no heirs, the exercise of the said rights shall revert to the collective society where the author was member or to the collective society with biggest number of members.

10. Which are the author’s economic rights recognized in Romanian Copyright Act?

The Romanian Copyright Act recognized the author’s economic right to authorize or to prohibit:

1. a) the reproduction of the work;
2. b) the distribution of work;
3. c) the import for domestic marketing of children made ​​with the consent of the author, after work;
4. d) the renting of the work;
5. e) the loan of the work;
6. f) the public communication, directly or indirectly to the work, by any means, including by making the work available to the public, so that it can be accessed anywhere and at any time chosen individually by the public;
7. g) the broadcasting the work;
8. h) the cable retransmission of a work;
9. i) the making of derivative works.

11. Is there a requirement of copyright notice in  Romania?

The use of copyright notice is not required by the Romanian Copyright Act.

12. What are the consequences for failure to display a copyright notice in  Romania?

Since the copyright notice is declaratory rather than constitutive evidence for the assessment of ownership in a copyright dispute in Romania, failure to display a copyright notice has no effect on such assessment. Nevertheless, use of the copyright notice may be important because it informs the public that the work is protected by copyright, identifies the copyright owner and shows the year of first publication.

13. Is there a requirement of copyright registration in Romania?

The registration in National Registry of Works is optional.

14. What are the consequences for failure to make a copyright deposit in Romania?

Failure to make a copyright deposit shall not affect the validity of the copyright protection in Romania.

15. Which is the legal effect for work’s registration in Romania?

The work’s registration with Romanian Copyright Office is only for evidence.

16. May an employer own a copyrighted work made by an employee in Romania?

Unless otherwise provided in the contract, the economic rights in a work created under an individual employment contract shall belong to the author of the work so created. If such a clause does exist, it shall specify the period for which the author’s economic rights have been transferred. Where no such period has been specified, it shall be three years from the date on which the work is handed over.

There are exceptions for photografic works and softwares.

17. May a hiring party own a copyrighted work made by an independent contractor in Romania?

Yes, but the agreement and the content of the assignment agreements should be in writing in order to be proved.

18. May a copyrighted work be co-owned in  Romania?

According to the article 5 of the Copyright Romanian Act, a work of joint authorship is a work created in collaboration by two or more authors where individual contributions are distinct or separate, each person would be the author of the part they created. The copyright in a work of joint authorship shall belong to the co-authors thereof, one of whom may be the main author.

According to article 6 of the Romanian Copyright Act, a work collective shall be a work created by two or more co-authors in collaboration when the contribution of each author is not distinct from the that of the other(s). Unless otherwise agreed, the copyrights belong to the person under the initiative, responsability and name of which the work was created.

19. Could be transferred the rights recognized by the Romanian Copyright Law?

In Romania, the author or the owner of the copyright may assign or may release authorization to use only for his economic rights. That transfers of the author’s economic rights may be limited to certain rights, to a certain territory, and to a certain period of time.  Any transfer of the economic rights in all of the author’s future works, whether designated or not, shall be null and void.

The moral rights arising under copyright protection are absolutely non-transferable and therefore any transfer of such rights is to be considered as invalid.

20. When does copyright protection begin according to  Romanian Copyright Legislation?

According to Romania Copyright Law, copyright begins with the creation of the work. It benefits the author without being subject to any other formality, ceremony or registration.

21. How long does copyright protection last according to Romanian Copyright Law ?

According to Romania Copyright Law, copyright protection runs for the lifetime of the author and for 70 years after his or her death.

If the work subject to copyright protection is created by joint authors, the 70 year period will begin from the death of the last surviving author.

The person who, after the copyright protection has expired, legally discloses a previously unpublished work to the public shall enjoy protection equivalent to that of the author’s economic rights. The duration of the protection of those rights shall be 25 years, starting at the time of the first legal disclosure to the public.

22. What constitutes copyright infringement according to Romanian Copyright Law?

According to Roamania Copyright Law, the infringement of economic and moral rights arising under copyright protection will constitute a copyright infringement.

23. What remedies are available against a copyright infringer in Romania?

Violation of rights shall makes the offender guilty of a civil or criminal offense or of a contravention, as the case may be, according to the law.

24. Is there a time limit for seeking remedies against copyright infringement according to Romania Copyright Law ?

The claims based on moral right infringement can be started anytime.

The claims based on economic rights infringement can be started only in three years.

The criminal complaints can be started in periods which vary from one criminal offense to another.

25. Are monetary damages available for copyright infringement in Romania?

In Romania it is possible to ask for the compensation of moral and material damages occurred by copyright infringement.

26. Which international copyright conventions does Romania belong to?

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works

Roma Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations

Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Theirs Phonograms.

World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty

Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights