Features of copyright inheritance

Abstract

The article examines the provisions of the current legislation of Ukraine concerning the inheritance of copyright, and considers specific property copyrights as an object of inheritance. The content and essence of personal non-property and property copyrights under current Ukrainian legislation are clarified. It is stated that intellectual property rights may be transferred from one person to another, and therefore they may be the subject of inheritance relations. The author emphasises that transfer of such rights by inheritance is one of the non-contractual ways of disposing of intellectual property rights. Based on the study conducted, the author finds out that, as a general rule, only proprietary copyrights are transferred to heirs by inheritance. Thus, the author has found out that the heirs may inherit the right to use a work, the exclusive right to allow or prohibit the use of a work, and the right to prevent unlawful use of a work. At the same time, it is proved that some non-property copyrights in a truncated form may also be inherited, but their scope and nature remain controversial in science. It is determined that the author’s heirs have the right to protect the author’s personal non-property rights, in particular, to counteract the distortion, misrepresentation or other alteration of the work, as well as any other encroachment on the work which may harm the author’s honour and reputation. It is also determined that in the event of the author’s death, the author’s heirs, interested parties, or a person authorised by the author may protect the inviolability of the work. In addition, the author analyses a number of specific copyrights which do not have provisions on inheritance in the legislation, and based on the opinions of scholars, draws conclusions about the possibility of their transfer by way of inheritance. Thus, the author identifies the problematic issues regarding the possibility of transferring the right to participate in the implementation of projects of works of architecture, urban planning, and landscape gardening by way of inheritance. The author also finds out that the right of access to a work of fine art, although it has a property content, cannot be inherited due to the close connection with the personality of the creator-author. The author proves that the right of imitation is inherited and is valid for the same term as property copyrights, but it cannot be alienated to other persons, either by the author or his/her heirs.