Lithuania TGS Baltic, Indrė Barauskienė /Andrius Urniežius 1. Legislation and regulation 2. Subsistence of copyright 1.1 What are the main sources of copyright law? 2.1 What type of works can be protected by copyright? The Law on Copyright and Related Rights of the Republic All original literary, scientific and artistic works which were of Lithuania (the Copyright Law) is the main source of created as the result of the artistic activities of an author, copyright legislation in the Republic of Lithuania. The last can be protected by the Copyright Law. The form of the amendments were adopted on 1 August 2017. expression is irrelevant; copyright relates tot he author's intellectual creation as well as the artistic value of the work. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania also has secondary legal regulations that regulate the allocation of The Copyright Law provides a non-exhaustive list of works compensation collected via collecting societies for the use that may be protected by copyright: of private copying and the lending of books in museums, • books, brochures, articles, diaries and other literary libraries, etc. works, whatever the form of their expression, including Since Lithuania is a continental law system, case law is also in electronic form important. Precedents set by courts are used to interpret • computer programs (the main criteria for copyright to the codified law and set precedents in law. As a result, apply to a computer program is originality; the criteria of judicial decisions by higher courts contribute to the sources quality or artistic value are not applied) of copyright law in Lithuania. • speeches, lectures, sermons and other oral works • written and verbal works of science (scientific lectures, studies, monographs, deductions, scientific projects and documented project material, as well as other works relative to science) 137 • dramatic, dramatic-musical, pantomime or • official state symbols and insignia; flags, coats of arms, choreographic works intended to be performed on anthems, banknote designs, and other state symbols stage, theatrical productions (plays), screenplays and insignia), the protection of which is regulated by • musical works, with or without accompanying words other legal acts • audiovisual works/motion pictures, television films, • folklore works television broadcasts, video films, dial films (filmstrips) • regular information reports on events. and other works expressed by cinematographic means • radiophonic works 2.2 What is required for works to qualify for • fine art works (sculpture, painting, graphic art, copyright protection? monumental decorative art, other works of fine art, All intellectual creations that fall within the objects of works of scenography) copyright mentioned in section 2.1, regardless of the form • photography and other works analogous of expression, merit, and purpose could benefit from to photography copyright if the work could be considered as original. • architecture works (projects, designs, sketches, models The general rule applies that only natural persons can be of buildings and construction, as well as completed recognised as the authors of a work. There is a presumption buildings and other construction works) that a natural person whose name is indicated on an intellectual work usually will be the author, unless it is • applied art works (textiles, ceramics, stained glass works, proven otherwise. The presumption applies even if the and other applied art works) work was disclosed under a pseudonym. • illustrations, maps, charts, projects of gardens and When the authorship of the work is identified by a parks, sketches and three-dimensional works related to pseudonym and it raises doubt as to the identity of the geography, topography and works of the exact sciences author, or the intellectual work has been published • other works. anonymously, the publisher whose name is indicated The scope of the Copyright Law also covers: on the work is deemed to represent the author, and is entitled to protect and enjoy the author’s rights until the • derivative works created on the basis of other literary, author of such work declares their identity and claims scientific or artistic works (translations, dramatisations, authorship of the work. adaptations, annotations, reviews, essays, musical arrangements, static and interactive internet Also, it is distinguished that every author can enjoy homepages, and other derivative works) copyright protection automatically if: (i) he/she is a national or resident of Lithuania; or (ii) the primary location where • collections of works the work has been published is Lithuania. • compilations of data, databases (in machine-readable or other form and which, by reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents, constitute an author’s 2.3 What rights does copyright grant to the intellectual creations) rights holder? • unofficial translations of legal acts and of official The Copyright Law detemines the exclusive rights of the documents of administrative, legal or regulative nature. authors of the copyright works, which are: However, copyright does not apply to the following • reproduction of a work in any form or by any means categories of objects: • publication of a work • ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of • translation of a work operation, concepts, principles, discoveries or mere data • adaptation, arrangement, dramatisation or other • legal acts, official documents, texts of administrative, transformation of a work legal or regulative nature; drafts of the legal acts • distribution of the original or copies of a work to the (decisions, rulings, regulations, norms, territorial public (by sale or targeted advertising of the original or planning and other official documents or their copies of the work encouraging users to purchase them; official translations) rental; lending; or by any other transfer of ownership or possession, as well as by exporting and importing) 138 • public display of the original or copies of a work Category of work • public performance of a work in any form or by any means Co-authorship • broadcasting or retransmission of a work, as well as Duration communication to the public of a work in any other way, Economic rights in a co-authored work last for the including making a work available to the public over lifetime of the co-authors and for 70 years after the death computer networks. of the last surviving author Category of work 2.4 Are moral rights protected (for example, rights to be identified as an author of a work or to object to Anonymous works derogatory treatment of a work)? Duration Yes. Moral rights are protected under the Copyright Law. Protection of the author’s economic rights lasts for 70 Moreover, these rights cannot be transferred to another years after the work is lawfully made available to the public person. The following moral rights are provided in the Category of work Copyright Law: Pseudonymous works • right to authorship (to claim authorship of the work, by indicating the author’s name in a prominent way on all Duration copies of a published work) Protection of the author’s economic rights lasts for 70 • right to the author's name (to claim or prevent years after the work was lawfully published to the public mentioning of the author’s name in connection with any Exception: when the pseudonym leaves no doubt about use of the work, or the right to claim that the work be the identity of the author, or the author discloses his/ disclosed to the public under a pseudonym) her identity to the public, the term of protection of the • right to the inviolability of the work (to object to any author’s economic rights lasts for the life of the author distortion or other modification of a work or the title and for 70 years after his/her death thereof, as well as to any derogatory action in relation Category of work thereto which would be prejudicial to the author’s honour or reputation). Collective works However, the Copyright Law provides one exception to Duration moral rights. The moral rights of an author of computer For 70 years after the work was lawfully published programs or databases cannot be used in a manner which to the public unreasonably prejudices the author’s economic rights in those computer programs or databases, including Exception: when there is no doubt as to the identity but not limited to the right to adaptation, alteration and of the persons who have created the work, the co- distribution of these works at their own discretion, with authorship protection rule applies (a protection for the the exception of those cases where such actions would be collective work lasts for the lifetime of the co-authors and prejudicial to the author’s honour or reputation. for 70 years after the death of the last surviving author) Category of work 2.5 What is the duration of copyright in Audiovisual work protected works? Duration As a general rule, all economic rights of an author last for Economic rights extend over the lifetimes of the principal the lifetime of the author and for 70 years after his or her director, author of the screenplay, author of the dialogue, death, irrespective of the date when the work is lawfully art director, director of photography and the composer made available to the public. All moral rights of an author of music specifically created for the audiovisual work, and are protected for an unlimited duration of time. for 70 years after the death of the last of them to survive Additionally, the Copyright Law provides detailed rules on Category of work how terms for specific works are calculated: Music compositions with lyrics 139 3. Ownership 3.1 Who is the first owner of a copyright work? Duration The author of the intellectual creation is the first owner of Regardless of whether authors of the whole musical the copyright. The most important exception is when the composition with lyrics, the composer and author work was made in the course of employment, in which case of the lyrics are co-authors, or their parts were the employer is the first owner for five years unless it is specifically developed to be a musical composition, agreed differently.