Copyright Acknowledgment

If a dispute regarding authorship (who is the author?) to an artwork arises, then the author may file a claim with the Court which will establish the authorship to the artwork in question. Such a claim makes it possible to settle disputes and also set a precedent for application of other remedies provided by law.

For instance, after establishing his/her authorship, an author may also acknowledge his/her exclusive right to a disputed artwork and may charge a compensation for any illegal use of the artwork. The fine will range from 10 000 to 5 000 000 ₽.

Conditions

Only an individual or individuals (in case of co-authorship) may be authors. The claim must be filed with a general jurisdiction Court.

To file a claim to Court requesting acknowledgement of authorship, you must provide evidence that the artwork in question was created by the claimant’s efforts. The evidence may include drafts, sketches or preliminary variants of the artwork in question. For digital photos, you must provide the original memory device to which the digital photo was initially made.