Copyright ownership of collaborative works
Article 13 of our country stipulates that for works created by two or more people, the copyright belongs to the co-authors shared. People who did not participate in the creation cannot become co-authors. If a collaborative work can be divided and used, the authors can enjoy separate copyrights for the parts they created, but the copyright of the collaborative work as a whole must not be infringed upon when exercising the copyright. That is, collaborative works may have issues of overall copyright and separate copyright. The overall copyright is shared by the co-authors. If the collaborative work can be divided and used, the author of the divisible part has separate copyright for that part. However, when exercising copyright, the entire copyright of the collaborative work must not be infringed.
The joint enjoyment of collaborative works includes sharing in shares and joint ownership. Sharing rights and assuming obligations according to the share of rights that each of them deserves for the part of the work they created, that is, sharing by share. Each co-owner of a copyright in shares has the right to transfer his or her share of the property, but at the time of transfer, other co-owners in shares have the first right to purchase under the same conditions. Co-ownership of copyright means that the co-owners of the copyright do not divide their respective shares of the copyright, but jointly enjoy the rights and assume obligations for the collaborative works. When jointly owned copyright owners divide their property rights, they generally divide them equally.
How to determine whether it is a collaborative work or an independent work
According to the provisions of Article 13 of the Copyright Law : For works created jointly by two or more people, the copyright is shared by the co-authors. People who did not participate in the creation cannot become co-authors. A work created by one person independently is a separate work, while a work created by two or more people is a collaborative work. Collaborative works include two situations: indivisible use and divisible use. The former means that the creative results of each author are organically linked together, and it is impossible to indicate which part was created by which author. For example, two people, A and B, jointly create a novel. After joint conception and final draft, the novel embodies the creative achievements of two people and is integrated into one. It is impossible to separate the achievements of A or B independently from the whole work. The latter means that each collaborator's work can be separated from the overall work and used separately. as a songIt is a collaborative work between two people, but the lyrics and music can be separated, with the lyricist and composer enjoying the copyright respectively.
Collaborative works mainly have the following characteristics:
(1) Two or more There is an intention among the creators to jointly create a certain work. This expression of meaning can occur before the creation of the work or during the creation process. If there is no intention of co-creation between co-authors, it will be difficult to produce collaborative works, because it will be difficult for the works they produce to achieve harmony and unity in content, form, and style.
(2) Two or more creators have jointly conducted creative activities. That is, the co-authors jointly put in original work in the creation and made direct creative work. Such as the conception of the work, the selection and arrangement of materials, writing, etc. And no party can claim its status as a collaborator just because it provides auxiliary labor.
(3) The created work is a work expressed in a certain form (regardless of whether the work can be divided and used publicly). If a work meets the above three characteristics, it is a collaborative work; otherwise, it is either a separate work, a combination work, or a collective work, not a collaborative work.
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