Copyright is the rights that creators have over their literary, artistic, musical or scientific works. Copyright protection covers only expressions, but not ideas, procedures, methods or mathematical concepts.
The right comes into existence with the creation of the work and not by its registration as such its registration is merely optional and declarative. Unregistered works are protected since their creation.
Copyright includes the set of legal rules and the powers of moral and patrimonial nature that give the author the full disposition and the right to exploit the work by the simple fact of its creation. This right is recognized as one of the fundamental human rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The moral rights of the author are: the right to fatherhood, his name must always be indicated in the copies of his work; right to integrity, for which the author can oppose any modification of the work that may cause damage to his honor, legitimate interest or reputation; right of disclosure; right of withdrawal, to remove the work of circulation; Right to modify it respecting the rights acquired by third parties. Moral rights are irrevocable and inalienable. These rights are transmitted to the heirs of the author upon his death, without a time limit.
The economic rights include: the right of reproduction of the total or partial, permanent or temporary work, in any type of mean; right of transformation, right of translation, right of adaptation, right of communication to the public; right of distribution to the public; right of leasing; right of import. The economic rights are alienable and temporary.
Our legislation contemplates that the economic rights last the whole life of the author and 70 years after his death or after the declaration of his death or after the declaration of absence. When the period of protection expires, the work will become public domain, as such it can be used freely respecting the authorship and integrity. Economic rights are transferred by reason of death or by any of the methods admitted in the Law.
What are Related Rights or Neighboring Rights? They are the rights of the performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations.
The rights of the performers will have a duration of 70 years, counted from the first of January of the year following the date of the first publication of the performance. The artist enjoys the right to credit his name in his performances and to oppose any deformation or mutilation of his performance that damages his prestige or reputation. These rights are inalienable and non-transferable. Upon his death, the exercise of these rights will pass to his heirs for a term of 70 years from the death of the artist.
The rights of producers of phonograms have a duration of 70 years, counted from the first of January of the year following the first publication of the phonogram. The economic rights can be transmitted by any of the ways that our legislation allows.
The rights of the broadcasting organizations last for 70 years, counted from the first of January of the year following that of the broadcast.
With the protection of copyright it is possible to promote creativity and the creation of new work.