- Section 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
- Section 2. COPYRIGHTS
- Article 8. Authorship
- Article 9. Personal Non-property Rights
- Article 10. Economic Rights
- Article 11. Transfer of Proprietary Rights
- Article 12. Proprietary Rights to Software or Database Created in the Course of Execution of Service Duties
- Article 13. Right to Registration
- Article 14. Registration of Software or Database
- Section 3. USE OF SOFTWARE OR DATABASE
- Section 4. PROTECTION OF RIGHTS
- Article 17. Infringement of Copyright. Counterfeit Copies of Software or Database
- Article 18. Protection of Rights to Software or Database
- Article 19. Seizure of Counterfeit Copies of Software and Databases
- Article 20. Protection of Rights to Software and Database in Foreign Countries
- Article 21. Rights of Foreign Physical Persons and Legal Entities
- Article 22. International Treaties
- Article 23. Implementation of the present Law
LAW OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC "ON THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF SOFTWARE AND DATABASES"
LAW OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC On the legal Protection of Software and Databases
(Version of the Laws of the Kyrgyz Republic of February 27, 2003, N 46 and March 31, 2005, N 58)
Section 1. General provisions Section 2. Copyright Section 3. Use of software and database Section 4. Protection of rights.
Section 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. General Terminology
General terms used in this Law are as follows:
* software is an objective form of presenting aggregation of data and orders aimed at functioning of computers with the purpose of obtaining a certain result; * database is an objective form of presenting and arrangement of aggregation of data, systematized in such a way that these data could be found and processed with the help of a computer; * adapting of software or database is introduction of changes made exclusively with the purpose of providing functioning of software or database in specific technical facilities of the user or under the administration of specific programs of the user; * modification (processing) of software or database is any changes other than adapting; * original text is a text written in any programming language not altered by any compiler; * object code is a program obtained in the result of reorganization of the original text into machine code; * compilation of software is the technical device which includes transformation of the original text into the object code in order to study the structure and code the software program; * de-compilation of software is a technical device which includes transformation of the object code into the original text for the purpose of studying the structure and coding of the software; * reproduction of the software or database is manufacturing of one or more copies of the software or database in any material form as well as their saving in computer memory; * distribution of software or database is granting an access to software or database reproduced in any material form, including by means of a network or other ways, as well as by means of sale, rent, lease, lending, including import for any of these purposes; * public release (publication) of software or database is provision of copies of the software or database to an indefinite number of people under the consent of the author (including by means of computer saving, and issue of the printed text) under condition that the number of such copies meets the needs of this circle of persons taking into account the nature of the works mentioned; * use of the software or database is a public release, reproduction, distribution and other actions to introduce them into economic turnover (including in modified form). Transmission of the information through mass media on the published software or database shall not be considered as use of software or database;
In the present Law the right owner shall be understood as an author, his heir, and any physical or juridical person who possesses exclusive proprietary rights acquired by virtue of the law or an agreement.
Article 2. Relationships Regulated by this Law
This Law shall regulate relationships connected with creation, legal protection and use of software and database.
Software and database shall be referred to objects of copyright according to the present Law. Software shall be provided with legal protection as to works of literature, and database - as to compilations.
The State Intellectual Property Agency under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic (hereinafter - Kyrgyzpatent) shall provide state regulation in the area of software and database protection.
Article 3. Object and Conditions of Legal Protection of Software and Database
Copyright shall extend to any software and databases both released and never published, presented in the objective form regardless of their material carrier, purpose and merit.
Copyright shall extend to the software and databases that are the results of creative activity of an author. The creative nature of author’s activity shall be implied until otherwise is not proved.
Legal protection granted by this Law shall extend to all kinds of software (including operational systems and program complexes), which may be expressed in any language and in any form, including original texts, and an object code.
Legal protection granted by this Law shall extend to the databases which are the result of creative labor on collection and arrangement of data. Databases shall be protected regardless of whether the data on which they are based or which they include are the objects of copyright.
Legal protection granted by this Law shall not extend to the ideas and principles which underlie software or database or some of their elements, including ideas and principles of arranging interface and algorithms, as well as languages of programming.
Copyright to software and databases shall not be connected with the right of ownership to their material carrier. Any assignment of rights to the material carrier shall not entail the assignment of any rights to software or databases.
Article 4. Conditions for Recognition of Copyright
Software or database shall be eligible for copyright by virtue of the mere fact of their creation.
In order to recognize and exercise copyright to software or database depositing, registration or meeting of other formalities shall not be required.
Since the first public release of software or database the right owner, in order to give notice of his rights, may use the copyright mark, consisting of three elements:
• letter C in a circle © or round parenthesis;
• denomination (name) of the right owner;
• year of the first publication of software or database.
Article 5. Copyright to Database
Copyright to database consisting of materials other than objects of copyright shall belong to the persons who have created the database.
Copyright to database shall be recognized provided that the copyright to each of the work, included in this database is observed.
Copyright to each of the works included in the database shall be retained. These works may be used regardless of such database.
Copyright to database shall not prevent other persons to independently select and arrange works and documents included in this database.
Article 6. Term of Copyright
Copyright shall become effective from the moment of creation of software or database and shall have effect throughout the lifetime of the author and for 50 years after his death calculated from January 1 as of the year following the year of author’s death.
Expiration of copyright to software or database created in co-authorship shall be calculated from the date of death of the last surviving co-author.
Copyright to software, database released anonymously or under the pseudonym shall be effective from the moment of their public release during 50 years. If during the established term the author of software or database released anonymously or under pseudonym reveals his/her identity, or if the author’s pseudonym is not doubtful due to his personality, than the protection term provided by the first item of this Article shall apply.
Personal non-property rights of the author to software or database shall be protected without time limits.
Article 7. Scope of the Law
Copyright to software or database first publicly released on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic or not released, but staying on its territory in any objective form, shall be effective on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic.
It shall be recognized as belonging to the author, his heirs or other legal successors of the author regardless of citizenship.
Copyright shall be recognized as belonging to the citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic whose software or database have been publicly released or is located in some objective form on the territory of a foreign state or as belonging to their legal successors.
Copyright to software or database first released or staying in some objective form on the territory of the foreign state shall be recognized as belonging to other persons in accordance with international treaties of the Kyrgyz Republic .
Section 2. COPYRIGHTS
Article 8. Authorship
Author of software or database shall be a physical person by whose creative labor they have been made.
If the software or database is created by the joint creative activity of two or more physical persons than regardless of whether the program or database consist of elements each of which has an independent significance or is indivisible, then each of these persons shall be recognized as an author of such software or database.
In the event that the software or database elements have an independent significance each of the authors shall have the copyright to the part created by him.
Article 9. Personal Non-property Rights
The author of the software or database regardless of his proprietary rights shall enjoy the following personal non-property rights:
* right of authorship, i.e. the right to be considered the author of the software, or database; * right to the name, i.e. the right to determine the form of indication of author’s name in the software, database: under his own name, conditional name (pseudonym) or anonymously; * right to inviolability (integrity, i.e. the right to protection) of both the software itself or database and their denominations against various distortions or other infringements capable of inflicting harm to the honor and dignity of the author.
Article 10. Economic Rights
The author of software or database or another legal successor shall enjoy the exclusive right to carry out and (or) to permit performance of following actions:
* public release of software or database; * reproduction of software or database (in full or in part) in any form, in any way; * distribution of software or database, including rent; * modification of software or database including translation of software or database from one language into another; * other use of software or database.
The order of exercising the rights that belong to several authors of software or database or other right owners is determined by the agreement between them. In the default of such agreement, each of them may use protected object on his own, but has no right to provide the agreement on full concession of all propriety rights without consent of other right owners. In the event the agreement on provision of the full concession of all propriety rights is not concluded, the arguement between them may be solved in legal form.
Article 11. Transfer of Proprietary Rights
Proprietary rights to software or database may be assigned in full or in part to other physical or juridical persons by agreement.
The agreement shall be concluded in writing and must contain the following conditions: the scope of assigned rights and the way of using the software or database, procedure of payment and amount of remuneration, territory and effective term of the agreement.
The agreement on assignment of proprietary rights or a licensing agreement for the registered software or database shall be registered with Kyrgyzpatent.
The agreement on transfer of proprietary rights to software or database is not valid without registration at Kyrgyzpatent.
Proprietary rights to software or database shall be assigned by succession pursuant to the procedure established by the Law.
Article 12. Proprietary Rights to Software or Database Created in the Course of Execution of Service Duties
Proprietary rights to software or database created in the course of execution of service duties or under the assignment of the employer shall belong to the employer unless otherwise is provided by the agreement between him and the author.
Procedure of payment and amount of remuneration shall be established by the agreement between the author and the employer.
Article 13. Right to Registration
The right owner of all the proprietary rights to software or database may register his software or database directly or through his representative during the effective period of copyright at his sole discretion by way of submitting an applicationto Kyrgyzpatent.
Article 14. Registration of Software or Database
Application for official registration of software or database (hereinafter referred to as registration application) shall refer to one software or one database.
Registration application must contain: