WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIOIP/N/1/ARM/C/1
15 August 2003
(03-4251)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English/
anglais/
inglés
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT
ARMENIA
The present document reproduces the text1 of the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring
Rights, as notified by Armenia under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document IP/N/1/ARM/1).
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À LA
PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD
ARMÉNIE
Le présent document contient le texte1 de la Loi sur le droit d'auteur et les droits voisins,
notifié par l'Arménie au titre de l'article 63:2  de l'Accord (voir le  document IP/N/1/ARM/1).
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO
ARMENIA
En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 de la Ley de derecho de autor y derechos
conexos, notificado por Armenia de conformidad con el párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo(véase el documento IP/N/1/ARM/1).
                                                     
1 In English only.  The text in the original language will be available for consultation by interested
Delegations at the WTO Secretariat./En anglais seulemen t.  Les délégations intéressées pourront consulter le
texte, dans sa langue d'origine, au Secrétariat de l'OM C./En inglés solamente.  Las delegaciones interesadas
podrán consultar en la Secretaría de la OMC el texto en su idioma original.IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 2
REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
Adopted by the National Assembly
8 December, 1999
LAW ON COPYRIGHT
AND
NEIGHBORING RIGNTS
CHAPTER 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. The objectives of the Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights
This law regulates the relations connected with creation and use of works of science, literature
and arts (copyright), performances, phonograms, programs of broadcasting organizations
(neighboring rights).
Article 2. Legal regulation of public relations in the sphere of copyright and neighboring
rights
Public relations in the sphere of copyright and neighboring rights are regulated by the
Constitution, Civil Code, this Law, other laws and legal acts of the Republic of Armenia.
Article 3. International agreements of the Republic of Armenia
If other norms are established in the international agreements signed by the Republic of
Armenia, those norms shall be applied.
Article 4. General definitions used in the Law
The following general definitions are used in this law:
Exclusive right  – the right of the holder of property rights to the results of intellectual
activity to lawful use of this object of intellectual property at his/her discretion in any form and any
manner. The use of the objects of intellectual property by other persons is allowed only with the
consent of the rightholder of exclusive rights. The holder of exclusive rights can transfer his property
rights to another person in whole or in part;
Disclosure – an act of first making the work, phonogram (or videogram) accessible to the
general public (to the unlimited circle of persons) with the consent of the author or the other
rightholder of copyright or neighboring rights by means of publication, public performance, public
display, broadcasting or by other means of issue to the public;
Issue to the public  /publication/ – with the consent of the author or the other rightholder of
copyright or neighboring rights, the putting into circulation of copies of a work, phonogram (or
videogram) manufactured by any means if the availability of such copies has been such as to satisfy
the reasonable requirements of the public, having regard to the nature of a work or a phonogram (orIP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 3
videogram). The making available of a work or a phonogram (or videogram)  by means of electronic
information systems shall also constitute publication. The performance of a dramatic, dramatico-
musical, audiovisual or musical works, the recitation of a literary work, the broadcasting of literary or
artistic works, the exhibition of a work of art, and the construction of a work of architecture shall not
constitute publication;
Collective work  – a work, created by two or more persons, on the initiative and responsibility
of a physical or legal person;
Performer – an actor (of theatre, cinema, etc.), a singer, a musician, a conductor, a dancer or
another person who plays a role, sings, recites, declaims, plays on a musical instrument, performs
literary or artistic works, circus, puppet, variety and other similar shows;
Producer of first fixation of the performances and audiovisual works –  a physical or legal
person on whose initiative and responsibility the first fixing of any performance, of an audiovisual
work or of sounds in the form of a phonogram,
videogram or audiovisual record was executed;
Author – a physical person, the result of creative labor of whom the work is;
Phonogram – exclusively aural fixation of sounds of a performance or other sounds, or of
digital presentations or any other form thereof, in any manner and on any material carrier;
Communication  – display, performance, broadcasting of a performance of work, of a
phonogram, a videogram, of a program of the broadcasting organization or execution of any other act
(with the exception of distribution of copies of a work, phonogram (or videogram)), whereby they
become audible or visible irrespective whether or not they are actually perceived by the public (bythird persons);
Broadcasting –dissemination (transmission) of images and (or) sounds or representations
thereof through electromagnetic waves by wire (including cable communication) or by wireless
means (including broadcasting over the air by radio, television or satellite communications) in such a
way as to cause the images and sounds to be received by the public (third persons). The transmission
of encrypted signals is also considered broadcasting if their decrypting means are supplied to the
public (third persons) by a broadcasting organization or with its consent;
Program of the broadcasting organization – is a body of live or recorded material
consisting of images and (or) sounds, or other information, meant for distribution and created by an
air or cable broadcasting organization, or on its commission and with its funds by another
organization;
Public performance  – presentation of a work, a performance, a phonogram, a program of a
broadcasting organization by the recitation, playing, singing, dancing or by other means and manners,
either directly (live performance) or with the aid of any equipment or processes, in those places wherethis presentation may be perceived, without the necessity of performing a public communication,
stipulated by the paragraph 14 of this Article, and where persons outside the usual circle of a family or
of closest acquaintances are or can be present, irrespective of their being in the same place at the same
time or in different places in different times;
Public display – showing of an original or the copies of the work, a performance, a program
of a broadcasting organization, directly or on the screen by means of films, slides, TV frames or other
equipment and processes, in those places where this showing  may be perceived without the necessity
of performing a public communication stipulated by the next paragraph of this Article, and whereIP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 4
persons outside the usual circle of a family or of closest acquaintances are or can be present,
irrespective of their being in the same place at the same time or in different places in different times;
Public display of an audiovisual work means also the showing of individual frames of the work
without keeping to their sequence.
Public communication  – communication over the air or by the cable or by other way of a work, a
performance, phonogram, a program of a broadcasti ng organization, images and (or) sounds, in such
manner that the persons outside the usual circle of a family or of closest acquaintances may receive
said images or sounds in those places the distance of which from the initial point of the
communication is such that the images and sounds would not be received in the said locations or in
other places without the mentioned communication , regardless of the fact whether the above
mentioned persons can receive the images and sounds in the same place at the same time  or indifferent places in different times;
Copy of a phonogram – duplicate of a phonogram containing all or substantial part of the
sounds fixed in a phonogram and made from the phonogram directly or indirectly on any material
carrier;
Public – large number of persons outside the usual circle of a family or of closest
acquaintances, regardless of their presence at the same place at the same time or in different places in
different times;
Decompilation of a computer program  – converting the object code of the program to its
source code;
Rightholder of a copyright and (or) neighboring rights (an entitled person)  – an author or
a performer having the economic rights, a physical or legal person, to whom the economic rights havebeen assigned or who was from the beginning entitled by the economic rights;
Imitation /counterfeit /  – copy of a work the making or the distribution of which results in
infringement of copyright and neighboring rights;
Director or producer of a show  – a person who carries out the staging of the stage, circus,
puppet, variety or other similar shows;
A work -  a specific result of a creative work in the field of science, literature or arts,
expressed in some objective form, carried out by the author himself individually or with other authors
jointly;
A copy of a work -  duplicate of a work, made in any material form;
Substantial part of a work  - any part of a work which on its own can be identified as a part
of the work, by any person who is familiar with the work;
Distribution of copies of a work, phonogram (or videogram)  – making the original or the
copies of a work, phonogram (or videogram) available to the public (third persons) by sale, rental orlending for temporary use, or by other transfer of  ownership or possession rights concerned, as well
as by electronic information systems;
Reproduction  - making of one or more copies of the whole work, phonogram (or videogram)
or part of it in any material form and on any material carrier, including the form of a sound or visualrecording, as well as its recording in the electronic (including digital), optical or other machine-
readable form for permanent or temporary storage;IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 5
Reprographic reproduction –  facsimile reproduction in one or more copies, in any dimension
(enlarged or reduced) and in any form, of the original or the duplicate of a written or other graphic
work by means of photocopying or by other technical means, except thoseconnected with the
application of printing type-forms; Reprographic reproduction does not include the storage or
reproduction of the mentioned duplicate in electronic (including digital), optical or other machine-readable form.
Rebroadcasting – either simultaneous broadcasting of the program or subsequent
broadcasting of the already transmitted and fixed pr ogram of a broadcasting organization, by another
broadcasting organization;
Rental  – transfer the original or the copy of the work, phonogram (or videogram) for
possession and use, for a limited period of time and for direct or indirect profit-making purpose;
Audiovisual work  - a series of interrelated images (with or without sound accompaniment),
susceptible of being made visible and audible too (if accompanied by sound). Works expressed bycinematographic and other similar means (television films, video films, slide films, motion pictures
etc.) are considered audiovisual works;
Public performance of an audiovisual work  – showing of the images of a work in their
sequence -(including- with the reproduction of the sounds accompanying it. Database  compilation of
data and other materials (articles, accounts, facts, etc.), systematized in machine-readable or other
form, which by the reason of the selection or arrangement of its content, is a result of a creative work.
CHAPTER 2
COPYRIGHT
Article 5.Works constituting the objects of copyright
Copyright extends to works in the scientific, literary and artistic domains that are results of
creative activity irrespective of the purpose and merits of the work as well as the mode of itsexpression.
Objects of copyright are:
- geographic, geologic and other maps, designs (plans), sketches and plastic works related to
geography, topography, geology, architecture and other sciences;
- derivative works, particularly:
a) translations, adaptations of other works (treatments, essays (abstracts), annotations,
reviews, summaries (resumes), adapted works, arrangements, stage versions, cinematographic
(audiovisual) adaptations and other transformations of works in the  scientific, literary and artistic
domains) which constitute the individual works in a sense of the paragraph 22 of the Article 4 of thisLaw;
b) collections of works (encyclopedias, anthologies, databases) and other compiled or
composite works that are, by the reason of the selection or arrangement of their contents, the results of
a creative work;
- literary works, including scientific works, a ll types of computer programs (expressed in any
programming language and form (including application programs,  operation systems,  source code
and object code);
- works of painting, sculpture, graphics, design and other works of visual (figurative) arts;
- dramatic and dramatico-musical works, scenarios, storyboards (sequence of sketches and
cartoons (sequence of drawings telling a story) to show the elements in television or cinema
advertisement), librettos and other works created for staging;
- works of applied decorative and stage graphics (stage design) art;IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 6
- design works, fonts;
- photographic works and works, created by analogous modes;
- works of architecture, urban planning, garden and park art;
- works of architectural-artistic solutions (both in whole or and separate parts of them);
- choreographic works and pantomimes;- other works in compliance with the requirements of this Article;
- parts, extracts of the work, as well as the title, which are individual works;
- musical works with and without text;
- audiovisual works (motion pictures, slide show films, and other cinematographic, television
films), and radio works.
The object of copyright shall be expressed in oral, written or in another objective form,
enabling it to be perceived.
A work in a written form or otherwise expressed on a material carrier (expressed by
manuscript, typescript, musical score, fixation with the use of technical means (including audio or
video recording), fixation of an image in two or three dimensional form, etc.) shall be considered
having an objective form, regardless of its accessibility for third persons.
An oral or other work not expressed on a material carrier shall be considered having an
objective form if it has become accessible for perception by third persons (public recitation, public
performance, etc.).
Copyright shall extend to the published works -( issued to the public , materialized) as well as
to unpublished works.
Article 6. Works which are not considered as an object of copyright
The following are an object of Copyright:
- works of folklore;
- communications on daily news or on current events that are press information;
- official documents (laws, decisions, decrees, etc.) as well as their official translations;- state emblems and signs (flags, coats of arm (armorial bearings), medals (decorations),
monetary signs, etc.);
- results obtained by technical means without the intervention of human creative activity.
Copyright shall not extend to ideas, principles, methods, ceremonies (rituals), procedures,
views (viewpoints), systems, proposed solutions, and discoveries of objectively existing phenomena.
Article 7. Effectiveness of copyright on the territory of the Republic of Armenia
The copyright to a work shall be effective on the territory of the Republic of Armenia either if
it first issued (disclosed) to the public on that terr itory or not issued to the public but the original of
which is on that territory in some objective form. In this case, copyright of the author and his heirs as
well as his other successors in title, is recogniz ed irrespective of their citizenship (nationality).
A work shall also be considered first issued on the territory of the Republic of Armenia if it is
issued there within 30 days after having been first issued on the territory of another country.
Copyright of the citizens (nationals) of the Republic of Armenia or persons permanently
residing on its territory, as well as of their heirs and other successors in title, whose works were first
issued or are on the territory of a foreign state in some objective form, shall also be recognized.
The following shall also be effective on the territory of the Republic of Armenia:
a) copyright in such an audiovisual work the headquarter or residence of the  maker or
producer of which are on the terr itory of the Republic of Armenia;
b) copyright in an architectural work erected on the territory of the Republic of Armenia or in
another artistic work incorporated in a construction or a building located on that territory.
According to international agreements signed by the Republic of Armenia copyright of
citizens (nationals) of other countries, as well as their heirs and other successors in title, the  works of
whom were first issued, or in some objective form are,- on the territory of a foreign country, shall alsoIP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 7
be recognized. In this case, the fact of disclosure of the work on the territory of a foreign country shall
be determined in accordance with the provisions of corresponding international agreements.
Where protection is granted to a work on the territory of the Republic of Armenia under international
agreements, the issue of possession of copyright in a work shall be determined by the legislation of
the state where the action or the fact, serving as a basis for the possession of copyright, occurred.
Article 8. Origin of copyright. Presumption of authorship.
Copyright in a work arises by the fact of creation of a work and does not depend on the
official acknowledgement of that right, regist ration of the work and observance of any other
formalities.
The holder of a copyright may, for notification of his rights, use the symbol of protection of
copyright that shall be placed on each copy of the work and consists of the following:
- the Latin letter "C" in a circle;
- the name of the holder of copyright;
- the year of first publication of the work.
The person, indicated in the symbol of protection of copyright, shall be considered the
rightholder, unless proven otherwise.
The publisher of an anonymous work or a work issued under a pseudonym (with the
exception of the cases when the identity of the author having a pseudonym leaves no doubt), whose
name or denomination is indicated on the work, in the absence of other proofs, shall be considered to
be an author's representative, who has the right to protect the author's rights and to ensure theirexecution. This provision shall be valid until the author of such a work reveals his identity and
declares his authorship.
Article 9. Interrelation between the copyright a nd the property right to the material carrier
The exclusive right in a work exists irrespective of the property right to the material object in
which that work is expressed.
The alienation of a work, as a material object, by the author shall not constitute alienation of
copyright.
Article 10. Co-authorship
Copyright in a work created by the joint creative labor of two or more citizens belongs to the
authors jointly regardless of the structure of the work.
A separate part of a jointly created work is considered to have independent significance, if it
may be used independently from the other parts.
Each of the co-authors shall have the right to use the significantly independent part of the
work created by him at his discretion unless otherwise provided by their agreement.
The right to use the work wholly belongs to co-authors jointly. Relations between the co--
authors are determined on the basis of an agreement between them. In case of the absence of such anagreement, the copyright in a work shall belong to  all the authors jointly, and the remuneration to be
received shall be distributed among them equally.
Copyright in a work, created by co-authorship, is recognized even if one of the co-authors,
according to this Law, enjoys a copyright.
None of the co-authors of the work created by co-authorship and constituting an indivisible
whole shall have the right to prohibit the use of the work without valid reasons.
Article 11. The personal non-property (moral) rights of the author
The following personal non-property rights shall belong to the author:
a) the right to be recognized as the author of the work (the right of authorship);IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 8
b) the right of using the work by his name, pseudonym, or anonymously, or the right of
allowing its use (the right of the author's name);
c) the right of integrity of the work (to prohibit making changes and additions in the work,
possible distortions, mutilations or other trespasses to the work);
Regardless of the property (economic) rights of the author and assignment of the exclusive
rights to use the work, the private non-property (moral) rights shall belong exclusively to the author.
Article 12. The property (economic) rights of the author or another holder of copyright
The author or another right holder shall have an  exclusive right to use the work in any form,
including in the form of a derivative work, and in any mode.
The author or another right holder has an exclusive right to permit or prohibit the use of his
work. The use of the work is its reproduction, distribution, including its import and export and its
realization in any other mode, which include in particular:
a) public display (showing, exhibition) of the work;
b) rental of a copy constituting a material carrier of the work;
c) public performance of the work;d) broadcasting over the air (by radio or television, including cable or satellite
communications;
e) technical audio and (or) video recording of the work;
f) public communication of the work, or of its technical audio and (or) video recording;
g) reproduction of the copies of a technical audio and (or) video recording of the work and of
the fine arts works;
h) translation, adaptations, rearrangement, or  transformation of the work in any other mode
for its later use;
i) practical realization of the urban planning, architectural, or design plan (project).
The holder of copyright has the right to prohibit the import or export of the copies of the work
produced without his permission.
If the original or the copies of the work have been alienated according to the procedure
established by the Law, their further distribution shall be allowed without the consent of the author
and without the payment of remuneration with the exception of cases specified by this Law.
The exclusive rights of the copyright holder shall not extend to the case of distribution of the
original or the copies of the work expressed in the form of a construction or of the applied decorative
art work by rental or by the way of transferring for a limited period of time (lending).
The right for distributing the original or the copies of the work by rental or by the way of
transferring for a limited period of time (lending) belongs to the copyright holder, independently of
the ownership in those copies. The mentioned right shall not apply to the computer programs, which
themselves are not the essential object of the rental or are incorporated in a machine or product, in the
course of the normal use of which they can not be reproduced or copied.
The author shall have the right to renounce a previously taken decision on publication of a
work (the right of withdrawal), on condition to indemnify the persons entitled to use the work for
damages (including lost earnings), caused by such a decision. If the work has already been published,
the author shall be required to make public notice of its withdrawal. In this case, he has the right to
withdraw from circulation, at his expense,  previously made copies of the work.
This provision shall also be extended to employment (service-related) works unless otherwise
provided by the author's contract.
The exclusive right of the authors in the works of architecture, urban planning, garden and
park art is the participation in their practical realization, unless otherwise provided by the contract.
The right holder of the copyright is entitled to demand remuneration for using his work, with
the exception of the cases provided in Articles 13-18 of this Law, if they do not conflict with a normal
exploitation of the work and do not prejudice the legitimate interests of the right holder of the
copyright in a work.IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 9
The procedure and terms of estimation and payment of the author's remuneration are defined
by:
a) the author's contract;
b)  the contracts signed between the organizatio ns ensuring the economic rights of the author
on a collective basis and the users. The Government of the Republic of Armenia shall define theminimal amounts of the author's remuneration.
Article 13. Free use of the work
The following shall be permitted without the consent of the author or another holder of
copyright and without paying the author's remuneration but with the obligatory mention of the
author's name and the source of the borrowing:
•  the quotation, in original language or in translation, of the extract of the lawfully disclosed
work for the scientific, research, polemic, crit ical and informational purposes, including the
reproduction of the extracts from the articles of newspapers and magazines in the form of a press
summaries, to the extent justified by the purpose of quotations;
•  the use of lawfully disclosed works of literature and art and extracts thereof  by way of
illustration,  in the publications, programs of broadcasting organizations , audio and video recordings
of educational nature, to the extent justifie d by the purpose of illustration of education;
•  the reproduction by the press and the broadcasting of lawfully published in the press articles
on current political, economic, social and religious issues or of  broadcasted   works of the  same
nature, if such way of using hadn't been prohibited by the author beforehand;
•  the reproduction of delivered in public political speeches, lectures, announcements and
other similar works, by the press and the broadcasting, to the extent justified by the purpose of
information;
•  the reproduction and public communicationof the literary and artistic works seen or heard
in the course of the events for the purpose of reporting on current events by means of photography,cinematography, broadcasting, to the extent  justified by the purpose  of information;
•  the use of the work for the purposes of court and administrative proceedings, to the extent
justified by the purpose. In these cases, the mention of the author's name and the source of the
borrowing is not necessary;
•  the public performance of the lawfully disclosed musical works
a) during official, religious as well as ritual ceremonies, to the extent justified by the nature of
the ceremony,
b) at educational institutions in the course of educational activities with the participation of
teachers and students, if the audience is composed of teachers and students, as well as persons directly
connected with the educational institution (parents, guardians, tutors). In these cases, the mention of
the author's name and the source of the borrowing is not necessary.
•  the reproduction in "raised dots" prints (in Braille), or by other special ways, foreseen for
the blind, of a lawfully disclosed work, done without profit-making, with the exception of the works,
created especially for such ways of reproduction.
Article 14. Use of the work for personal purposes
The reproduction of a work disclosed according to the procedure established by the Law shall
be permitted without the consent of the author or another copyright holder and without remuneration
to them, exclusively for satisfaction of personal needs and needs of family members.
This provision shall not apply to the reproduction of architectural works, which are in the
form of a construction or a similar structure, of machine-readable database or its substantial parts, tothe reproduction of computer programs, as well as  to the reprographic reproduction of books and
musical scores. The rights of a person lawfully disposing the computer program or the database in
respect of reproduction or converting of computer program or machine-readable database for personal
use are defined by the Article 18 of this Law.IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 10
Article 15. Use of the work by reprographic reproduction
It shall be permitted without the consent of the author or another copyright holder and without
paying the author's remuneration but with the obligatory mention of the author's name and the source
of the borrowing, and without profit-making:
a) the reprogragraphic reproduction (in one copy) of a lawfully published work by  the
libraries and archives for the purpose of restoring or substituting the lost or damaged copies, as well
as, in case of the loss of a copy of the work at the other libraries, for placing the copy at their disposal
if in ordinary conditions the obtaining of such a copy in other way is impossible;
b) the reprogragraphic reproduction (in one copy) of isolated articles, succinct works lawfully
published in collections, newspapers and other periodical publications, and of short extracts from
lawfully published written works, except of computer programs, by the libraries and archives (on thedemand of the natural person) for the study and research purposes, as well as by the educational
institutions for the classroom studies.
Article 16. Free use of the work located in open for attendance (public) places
Without the consent of the author and another copyright holder and without paying the
author's remuneration it is permitted to reproduce, broadcast works of architecture, photography or
figurative arts which are located in public places, with the exception of the cases when the image of
the work is the main object of such reproduction or broadcasting, and when the image of the work is
used for commercial purposes.
Article 17. Free use of ephemeral audio and video recordings by broadcasting organization
A broadcasting organization is entitled to make,  ephemeral audio (video) recordings of the
work, in respect of which it has obtained the broadcasting right, without the consent of the author andanother copyright holder and without additional remuneration, if the audio (video) recording is made
by that organization through its own technical equipment and for its own programs.
The organization shall be required to destro y the audio (video) recording within 6 months
after it has been created, unless the further use of that audio (video) recording has been agreed with
the author of the work.
That audio and video recording may be preserved in official archives without the consent of
the author of the work, if it is of an exclusively documentary nature.
Article 18. Free reproduction of computer programs and machine-readable databases.
Decompilation of computer programs
 The person lawfully in possession of a copy of a computer program or machine-readable
database (the person having a right to use, hereinafter, the user), without the consent of the author or
another copyright holder, and without paying an additional remuneration, shall be entitled to
reproduce or to alter it in a single copy, if such a copy or alteration is necessary:
a) for the use of the computer program or the machine-readable database in  conjunction with
the technical means of the lawful user, exclusively for the purpose and  to the extent for which theprogram or the database has been intended, including for correction of the obvious errors present
therein ;
b) for the replacement of the lawfully acquired copy of a computer program or  machine-
readable database, in case of the latter having been lost, destroyed or rendered useless .
The lawful user of the computer program shall be entitled, without the consent of the author
or another copyright holder, and without paying an additional remuneration, to observe, study or test
the functioning of the program in order to determine the ideas and principles which underlie any
element of the program if he does so while performing any of the acts of loading, displaying, running,
transmitting or storing in a memory the program which he is entitled to do. The lawful user of theIP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 11
computer program shall be entitled, without the consent of the author or another copyright holder, and
without paying additional remuneration, to reproduce and convert the object code of the program to
the source code (to decompile the computer program) or commission other persons to perform those
acts, if they are indispensable to obtain the info rmation necessary to achieve interoperability of an
independently created computer program with other programs, if the following conditions are met :
a) the information necessary to achieve interoperability has not previously been readily
available from the other sources to the lawful user or the persons acting on his instructions;
b) these acts are  confined to the parts of the program under the decompilation, which are
necessary  to achieve  interoperability. The information obtained as a result of the mentioned
decompilation may be used only for the purposes to achieve interoperability of an independently
created computer program and shall not be:
- transferred to other persons, with the excepti on of the cases, when it is necessary for the
interoperability of  an independently created computer program, or
-used for the development, production or marketing of a computer program similar in its
expression to the program under the decompilation or for performing any other act  infringing the
copyright.
Article 19. Copyright in an employment work
The copyright in a work created on an employment assignment shall belong to the author of
the work.
The right to use an employment work by the way stipulated by the assignment purpose and
within the limits deriving from it shall belong to the person on the assignment of whom the work was
created and with whom the author is in working rela tions (the employer), unless otherwise provided in
the contract concluded between the author and the employer.
The employer or the person issuing the work shall be entitled either to mention his or her
name, or to demand such a mention in the event of any use of an employment work.
The contract concluded between the author and the employer may provide the remuneration
for the author for the use of an employment work and contain other terms for its use.
Upon expiration of 10 years from the moment of the presentation of the work by the author,
and upon employer's consent - even earlier, the right to use the work and to receive the author's
remuneration shall be passed to the author in full, regardless of the concluded contract.
The right of the author to use the employment work by the way that is not stipulated by the
assignment purpose shall not be limited.
The provisions of this article shall not apply to encyclopedias, encyclopedic dictionaries,
collections of periodical and continuing scientific works, newspapers, magazines and other periodical
publications created by the employment assignments or duties.
Article 20. Copyright in an audiovisual work
The following shall be the authors of an integrated audiovisual work:
the scriptwriter, the director, the author of a musical work, specially created for the given audiovisual
work (with or without words), the cameraman (or camera director), as well as other persons, who have
participated - on contractual bases in the creation of the integrated audiovisual work and have broughta specific result of a creative work  - into the creation of the work.
The person organizing the creation of an audiovisual work is not considered the author of the
given work if he does not belong to the list of the persons stated in the first paragraph of this Article.
Each of the authors of works, which are included as component parts in the audiovisual work, both
previously existing (a novel serving as a basis for the scenario, etc), and created during working on it(by the camera director, artistic director, and other persons) shall enjoy the copyright in his work and
may use it independently, regardless of the integrated audiovisual work, unless otherwise stipulated in
the agreement, concluded with the person, organizing the creation of an audiovisual work.IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 12
By concluding the contract on creating the audiovisual work, its authors transfer the exclusive
right of using the work, as well as the exclusive right of subtitling and doubling of the work, to the
organizer of the creation of the work, unless otherwise stipulated by the contract.
In case of the public performance of an audiovisual work, the authors of the work shall retain
their rights to receive an author's remuneration for each public performance of the given work or forthe rental of the copies of the work. The body securing economic rights carries out the collection,
distribution and payment of the remuneration.
The person organizing the creation of an audiovisual work has the right to mention his or her
name or demand such a mention whenever the work is used.
Without the consent of the authors and other holders of economic right, it shall be prohibited
to destroy the sole version (original or negative) of the audiovisual work.
Article 21.  The right of the author of work of art
The author of the work of art has the right to demand from the owner of the original or the
copy of the work to provide him an opportunity to reproduce his work, if the owner's interests are not
infringed by doing this. However, the owner of the wo rk is not obliged to deliver the work to the place
of location of the author. By providing such an opportunity, the owner may require the author to
provide him security or other equivalent assurance in amount of the market value of the original or the
copy of the work. The author shall bear the expenses for enjoying the mentioned rights, as well as be
liable for any damage to the original or the copy of the work.
The transfer by the author of the ownership rights of the work of art to another person
(compensated or not compensated) is considered the first alienation of the ownership right to the
work.
During the term of validity of copyright, the author of the work of art (painter, sculptor,
writer, composer, etc) or after his death his or her lawful successor in title shall enjoy the inalienable
right to obtain from the seller five percent of the price of each subsequent resale by auction, galleries,art salons, stores etc., of an original of the first time alienated work of art (including original
manuscripts of writers and composers) if the resale price exceeds the previous one at least by 20
percent. The organizations securing the economic rights of the holders of copyright and neighboring
rights may carry out the collection, distribution and payment of the amounts due to the author or
his/her successor in title.
Only the citizens of a country, which gran ted similar rights to the citizens of the
Republic of Armenia, may enjoy the rights stipulated in the paragraph 3 of this Article.
Article 22. Copyright in collection work
The copyright in a collection or other compiled or composite work shall belong to an author
of the selection or arrangement of its contests, which he has carried out by himself and is constituted
the results of his own creative work.
The copyright to use the whole work shall belong to the compiler of a collection work.The copyright of the compiler of a collection work must not damage the rights of the authors
of the works included in a work.
The authors of the works included in a collection work shall be entitled to use their works
independently, unless otherwise stipulated by a contract.
A work included in a collection work may be as well used by other persons in another
collection work.
Article 23. Copyright in a derivative work
The adapters of other works, translators, creators of collections and other compiled works are
the authors of a derivative work.IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 13
The author of a derivative work shall enjoy the copyright to use the result of his work
regardless of the fact that a work, on which the derivative work is based or which it includes is the
subject matter of copyright. .
The copyright in a derivative work shall not prejudice the rights of the author of a translation,
adaptation, rearrangement or otherwise transformed work.
The other persons may also translate and transform the same work.
Article 24. Copyright in an interview
The copyright in an audio and video recordings of an interview belongs both to the
interviewee and to the person who conducts and records the interview, as to co-authors, if no other
agreement exists between them.
The publication of an audio or video recording sh all be permitted only with the consent of the
interviewee.
Article 25. Copyright in a collective work
Persons publishing encyclopedias, dictionaries, periodical and continuing collections of
scientific works, newspapers, magazines and other periodicals, shall have an exclusive right to use the
collective work as a whole. Those persons are enti tled to mention their names (appellation of the
periodical) or demand such a mention whenever the collective work is used.
The authors of the works, included in a collec tive work, shall retain their exclusive rights to
use and dispose their works independently, unless otherwise stipulated in the contract.
The person, organizing the creation of a collective work, is not considered to be the author of
the work.
Article 26. Inheritance of the copyright and its term of validity
The economic rights of the author shall be transferred by inheritance. The author's economic
rights shall run for the whole life of the author and for 50 years after his death, calculated from
January 1 of the year, following the year of the author's death.
The copyright in a work created by co-authorship shall run for the life of the co-authors and
for 50 years calculated from January 1 of the year, following the year of death of the last surviving
author.
The copyright in a work, initially published anonymously or under a pseudonym, shall run for
50 years, calculated from January 1 of the year, following the year of the first publication of the work.
If, during the mentioned period, the identity of the author of the work published anonymously  or
under a pseudonym is revealed, the terms mentioned in the second paragraph of this Article shall
apply.
During the terms referred to in the first, second, third paragraphs of this Article, the copyright
in a work shall belong to the author's heirs and shall be transferred by inheritance. During those same
terms the copyright shall belong to those successors  in title, who have received that right by the
contract concluded with the author, his heirs and the subsequent successors in title.
The term of validity of the economic rights in case of the collective and audiovisual works
shall be calculated according to the procedure referred  in the third paragraph of this Article, with the
exception of the cases when the persons who have created the work as such are identified as such in
the disclosed version of the work. Anyhow, this provision does not prevent the identified authors,
whose identifiable contributions are included in th e above mentioned works, to carry out their rights
towards the mentioned contributions, in accordance with the provisions referred in first, second, third,and fourth paragraphs of this Article.
If the work is published in parts, which are not independent or self-contained (in volumes,
installments, issues, series, episodes, etc), the term of validity of the economic right shall be
calculated for each separate part from the time of its publication.IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 14
The copyright in a work first published within 50 years after the author's death shall run for
50 years calculated from January 1 of the year, following the year of the first publication of the work.
The author's personal non-property (moral) rights shall be protected for an unlimited time.
After the author's death the protection of the integrity of the work shall be carried out by his heirs,
unless otherwise stipulated by the will, as well as by other persons as stipulated by the law.
Upon expiration of the term of protection of economic rights of the author, the work shall fall
into the public domain. Every person can freely use the works of public property without payment of
author's remuneration. However, the right of authorship, right of name and integrity right shall be
maintained.
Article 27. Transfer of economic rights by the author's contracts
The author's contract regulates the relations between the author or another copyright holder
and the user, and constitutes a legal guarantee for the parties.
An author's contract may be concluded both for the existing work and the work that the author
undertakes to create (commission contract).
 The contract concluded by the author or his successors in title on permission to use the work
within certain limits (an author's license contract) should also constitute an author's contract.
Transfer of economic rights and the permission to use the work shall be laid down by the
author's contract (exclusive or non-exclusive).
 Under an exclusive contract, the transfer of exclusive rights and use of the work in a certain
way and under the procedure established by the contract shall be permitted only to the person, towhom these rights are transferred. The latter may prohibit the use of the work by other persons. The
right of prohibiting the use of the work by other persons may be exercised by the author, if the person,
to whom the exclusive rights have been transferred, does not exercise that one.
A non-exclusive contract, by preserving the right of exclusive right holder of using the work
and permitting others to use it, permits the user to make use of the work only within the limitsestablished by the contract.
The permission of a copyright holder is obligatory for each mode of using the work.
If the non-exclusive contract does not stipulate ot herwise, it shall remain effective in case the
transferring the exclusive rights to another person after concluding the contract.
The rights transferred by the author's contract shall be considered non-exclusive, unless
otherwise stipulated by the contract. .
A contract obligating the author to grant the exclusive right of using the work, which shall be
created in future by the author, to any person shall be null and void.
 Conditions of the contract, limiting the author's rights of creating in future a work of certain
type and in certain field, shall be null and void.
The rights of using a work unknown at the time of concluding the contract shall not be the
subject matter of an author's contract.
Article 28. The conditions and forms of an author's contract
In an author's contract shall be, the modes of using the work, the time period of transferring
the right to use, the amount of the remuneration or the procedure of defining the amount of theremuneration, the time period and the procedure of its payment, as well as other conditions that the
parties may consider to be essential.
In case of absence in the author's contract the condition in respect of the territory If, within
the boundaries of which the right of using the work has effect, the validity of the right transferred by
the contract shall be limited to the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
All other rights of using the work, not stipulated in the author's contract, shall be reserved in
favor of the author.
An author's contract shall be concluded in a written form.IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 15
The author's license contract has effect over the time period mentioned in the contract, and
shall cease from the time of expiry of the term of copyright validity.
Irrespective of the time period mentioned in the contract, the author of the work or his/her
successor in title has a right to unilaterally renounce the contract after ten years from the time of
concluding the contract, by notifying the other party in a written form six months prior to it. Theauthor or his successor in title shall acquire such a right once in every ten years.
The contract may stipulate such terms of using the work, the infringement of which shall
entail the right of unilateral repudiation of the contract.
Each party of the contract may transfer the rights, transferred under the author's contract, to
other persons, either in their entirety or in part, only in case it is directly stipulated by the contract.
Article 29. The liability of the parties in case of infringement the author's contract
The party who failed to discharge the obligations assumed under the author's contract shall be
required to compensate the other party for the caused damage, (including the lost earnings).
CHAPTER 3
NEIGHBORING RIGHTS
Article 30. Subjects and objects of neighboring rights
The subjects of neighboring rights are the performers, producers of first fixations of
performances or audiovisual works, broadcasting organizations.
Neighboring rights extend to stagings, performances, phonograms, and videograms, programs
of broadcasting organizations broadcasted by air or cable.
The right in a performance belongs to the performe rs as well as their heirs. The right to use
such a performance may pass to other successors in title.
The right in phonograms or videograms belongs to their creators and their successors in title.
The right to broadcasting belongs to the air or cable broadcasting organization that has
created the program, or its successors in title.
The producer of first fixations of performances and audiovisual works, the broadcasting
organization shall exercise their rights mentioned in this chapter, within the framework (limits) of the
rights obtained by the contract with the author and the performer of a fixed (recorded) or broadcasted
work.
The permission, given by the director or producer of a show for the use of a performance,
shall not remove the necessity to receive permission from other performers participating in the show
as well as from the author of the performed work.
Article 31. The procedure of protecting neighboring rights
The performers, while exercising their rights, shall be required to observe copyright in the
work. Producers of first fixations of performances or audiovisual works and broadcastingorganizations shall be required to observe the rights of the authors and performers.
Broadcasting organizations shall be required to observe the rights of producers of first
fixations of performances or audiovisual works.
An observance of any formality for the arising and exercising of neighboring rights is not
required. The producers of first fixations of performances or audiovisual works and performers may,in order to publicize their neighboring rights, place the symbol of protection of neighboring rights on
each copy of the fixation carrier and (or) on the jacket containing it. The symbol comprises the Latin
letter “P” in a circle, the name, denomination of the holder of neighboring rights and the year of first
publication of a phonogram (or videogram).IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 16
Article 32. Conditions of protection of neighboring rights
The rights of the performers shall be protected by this law, if:
a) the performer is a citizen (national) of the Republic of Armenia;b) the first performance has occurred  on the territory of the Republic of Armenia;
c) the performance has been  fixed in the form of a phonogram (or videogram ), and the rights
of producers of first fixations of performances or audiovisual works are protected by  paragraph 2 of
this article;
d) the performance has not been fixed in the form of a phonogram (or videogram) but is
included in the programs of broadcasting organizations and the rights of the latter are protected by
paragraph 3 of this article.
The rights of producers of first fixations of performances or audiovisual works shall be
protected by this law, if:
a) the producer of first fixations of a performance or an audiovisual work is a citizen
(national) or a legal person of the Republic of Armenia who permanently resides on the territory of
the Republic of Armenia or is an organization regi stered on the territory of the Republic of Armenia;
b) the phonogram or videogram has been first published on the territory of the Republic of
Armenia or is published on that territory within 30 days after having been first published in a different
place;
 c) the first fixation of a performance or an audiovisual work was made on the territory of the
Republic of Armenia.
The rights of broadcasting organizations shall be protected by this law if that organization is a
legal person of the Republic of Armenia, and the programs are broadcasted by transmitters located on
the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
The rights of other performers, producers of first fixations of performances or audiovisual
works and broadcasting organizations shall be protected on the territory of the Republic of Armenia inaccordance with the international agreements of the Republic of Armenia.
Article 33. The rights of the performer
The performer has the following exclusive rights in his performance except cases specified
/provided/ by this law:
a) the right to demand the mention of his name;b) the right to protect the performance from any distortion or from any trespass liable to
prejudice the honor and dignity of the performer (personal non-property (moral) rights) and
c) the right to use the performance in any form, including the right to receive remuneration for
each form of use of a performance (property (economic) rights);
The performer's exclusive right to use a performance is the carrying out, permitting or
prohibiting the following acts:
a) to broadcast a performance or to carry out some other public communication of it, if a
performance fixation made before is not used for such a communication or the used performance has
not been broadcast before;
b) to fix a performance which was not fixed before;c) to reproduce a fixed performance;
d) to broadcast a fixed performance if the fixation of it was initially made for non-commercial
purposes;
e) to distribute through sale the copies of a performance phonogram or videogram (fixation);
f) to rent out a phonogram (or videogram) that contains the performance with the participation
of the performer and is published for commercial purposes.
The performer also has the right to prohibit the import of copies of performance fixations
made without his permission.IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 17
If the copies of performance fixations have been alienated by the performer or with his
consent, then their further distribution or import shall be permitted without consent of the performer
and without payment of remuneration except in cases specified by this law or other laws of the
Republic of Armenia.
The right to distribute the copies of fixed performances published for commercial purposes by
the way of rental, shall belong to the performer regardless of the ownership in these copies of fixed
performances.
The right, specified in item “c” of paragraph 2 of this article, shall not apply if:
a) the initial fixation of the performance was made with the consent of the performer;
b) the reproduction of the copy of a fixed performance is made for the same purpose for
which the performer's consent was gained when fixing the performance;
c) the reproduction of the copy of a fixed performance is made for the same purpose for
which fixation was made according to the Article 36 of this law.
Permissions, specified by paragraph 2 of this article, shall be granted by the performer or, in
case of a group of performers, by their appointed representative or the head of the group through
concluding a written contract with the user.
Permissions, specified in items “a”, “b” and “c” of paragraph 2 of this Article, shall not be
required for further transmission of a performance by a broadcasting organization, for making a
fixation for transmission purposes and for reproduction of such a fixation if these permissions are
stipulated by the contract between the performer and the broadcasting organization. The amount of
remuneration to the performer for such a use shall also be determined by a contract.
The conclusion of a contract for the purpose of creating an audiovisual work, between the
performer and the creator of an audiovisual work results in transferring by the performer the rights
specified in paragraph 2 of this Article, unless otherwise stipulated by the contract. However, the
performer preserves his right to receive remuneration for the rental of the copies of such an
audiovisual work.
The transferring of such rights by the performer shall be limited to the use of the audiovisual
work only, and unless otherwise stipulated by the cont ract, transferring of such rights shall not include
the right to separate use of the sounds or the images fixed in an audiovisual work.
If the performer, wile first fixing his performance, permits the producer of first fixations of
performances or audiovisual works further reproduction of the performance, the latter shall obtain the
disposition right to the copy of the performance, incl uding the right to the rental of it, unless otherwise
stipulated by the contract. However, the performer preserves his right to receive remuneration for the
rental of the copies of such a fixation.
The exclusive rights of the performer shall be transferred to other persons by inheritance or by
a contract. The contract shall include the way and time period of using the performance, the amount of
remuneration and the procedure of payment, the term of validity of the contract, etc.
Personal non-property (moral) rights in the performances, carried out by the performer in
execution of his service duties or assignments of an employer, shall belong to the performer. The
exclusive right to use such a performance shall belong to a person who is in employment relations
with the performer, unless otherwise stipulat ed in the contract concluded between them.
Article 34. The rights of producers of first fixations of performances or audiovisual works
Except cases provided by this law, the producer of first fixations of performances or
audiovisual works enjoys the exclusive right to use in any form an audio recording (phonogram) or a
video recording (fixation) made by him, includin g the right to receive remuneration for each form of
using a fixation (property (economic) rights).
The exclusive right, of the producer of first fixations of performances and audiovisual works
to use a fixation, is to carry out, to permit or to prohibit the following acts:
a) to reproduce a fixation directly or indirectly;
b) to transform or to adapt in some other  way a fixation;
c) to distribute copies of fixation, particularly through sale or rental.IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 18
The producer of first fixations of performances or audiovisual works has also the right to
prohibit the import of fixation copi es made without his permission.
If the copies of fixations have been alienated by the producer of first fixations of
performances or audiovisual works or by his consent, the further distribution and import of those shall
be permitted without the consent of the producer of first fixations of performances or audiovisualworks and without paying remuneration, except in cases stipulated by this law or other laws of the
Republic of Armenia.
The right to distribute the copies of fixations published for commercial purposes by the way
of rental shall belong to the producer of first fixations of performances or audiovisual works
regardless of ownership in these copies of fixation s. The exclusive rights of the producer of first
fixations of performances or audiovisual works can be transferred to other persons by a contract. The
contract includes the ways and place of using a phonogram or videogram, the amount of remunerationand procedure of payment, time periods of validity of the contract and of using a phonogram.
Article 35. The rights of a broadcasting organization
Except cases stipulated by this law, the broadcasting organization enjoys the exclusive right
to use its program in any form, including the right to receive remuneration for each form of use of a
program (economic rights).
The exclusive right of a broadcasting organization to use the program is to permit or prohibit
the following acts:
a) to fix the performance;b) to reproduce a fixed performance, except when the fixation of a program has been made by
the consent of the broadcasting organization and the reproduction is carried out with the same purpose
for which the fixation was made according to article 36 of this law;
c) to distribute copies of a fixed program, particularly by the way of sale or rental;
d) to rebroadcast a program;e) to carry out a public communication of a program in places with paid entrance.
The broadcasting organization also has the right to prohibit the import of copies of a fixed
program made without its permission.
If the copies of a fixed program have been alienated by the broadcasting organization or by
his consent, the further distribution and import of those shall be permitted without the consent of the
broadcasting organization and without paying remuneration, except in cases stipulated by this law or
other laws of the Republic of Armenia.
The right to distribute the copies of program fixations published for commercial purposes by
the way of rental, shall belong to the broadcasting organization regardless of ownership in these
copies of fixations. 
Article 36. Limitation of rights of the perform er, producer of first fixations of performances
or audiovisual works and the broadcasting organization
The use of a performance, a phonogram or a videogram, and a program of a broadcasting
organization shall be permitted without remuneration and consent of the performer, the producer of
first fixations of performances or audiovisual works and the broadcasting organization in casesstipulated by the Articles 13, 14, and 17 of this law after making corresponding alterations (mutatis
mutandis), applying their provisions to a performance, a phonogram (or videogram) and a program of
a broadcasting organization, provided that such use shall not conflict with the normal exploitation of a
performance, a phonogram (or videogram ) and a program of a broadcasting organization, as well as
of the works of science, literature and art included in them, and shall not prejudice the legitimateinterests of rightholders of copyright in the mentioned works and of neighboring rights.IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 19
Article 37. The use of a phonogram or a videogram published for commercial purposes
Without the consent of the producer of first fixation of performances or audiovisual works
and the performer of a performance fixed on the given phonogram (or videogram), but subject to
payment of remuneration, public performance and pu blic communication  (by wire or wireless means)
of a phonogram (or a videogram) published for commercial purposes shall be permitted to promote
the distribution of fixations and to give  the consumer an opportunity of choice.
In case of absence of an agreement in respect of remuneration, the due amount shall be
distributed equally between the producer of first fixation of performances or audiovisual works and
the performer.
Article 38. Term of validity of neighboring rights
The rights of a performer shall be effective within 50 years from the time of first performance
(presentation) or first audio or video recording. But if during that period the fixation of a performance
is lawfully published, or lawful public communication of that fixation takes place, then the term of
protection of said rights shall expire 50 years from the first such publication or first such publiccommunication, whichever is the earlier.
The right of the producer of first fixations of performances or audiovisual works shall be
effective within 50 years after performing the first fixation of a phonogram (or a videogram). But if
during that period the phonogram (or videogram) is lawfully published or lawful public
communication of that phonogram (or videogram) ta kes place, then the term of protection of said
rights shall expire 50 years from the first such publication or first such public communication,
whichever is the earlier.
The right of an organization of the transmission over the air or by cable to broadcast shall be
effective for 50 years from the time of its first broadcasting.
The calculation of terms defined by this Article shall start on January 1 of the year following
the legal facts noted in the paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 of this Article.
The rights stipulated by this chapter shall, under the established procedure, be passed to the
successors in title of the performer, the producer of first fixations of performances or audiovisual
works and the broadcasting organization within the limits of the remaining part of terms noted in
paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 of this Article.
CHAPTER 4
ENSURING OF COPIRIGHT AND NEIGHBORING RIGHTS
Article 39. Establishment of organizations ensuring the economic rights of the author on a
membership (collective) basis
The state authorized body performs the observation and protection of copyright and (or)
neighboring rights.
The rightholders of copyright or neighboring rights can establish non-commercial
organizations for the purpose of observing and protecting their rights.
The rightholders of copyright or neighboring rights can transfer the observation and
protection of their rights to other persons on the basis of a contract.
Article 40. The organization administering observation and protection of copyright and
neighboring rights
Organizations carrying out observation and protection of copyright and neighboring rights
shall be established on voluntary and membership (collective) basis.IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 20
To carry out the tasks faced them they can en ter into agreements with similar organizations
operating in the foreign states.
The organizations noted in paragraph 1 of this article, within their powers could permit the
users to use the work or the object of neighboring rights.
The conditions of use for the users of similar works should be the same.The users of a work or an object of neighboring rights shall be obligated to submit to the
organization, by the request of the latter, all the materials concerning the use (including documents
containing precise data necessary for the collection and distribution of the amount to be paid).
Article 41. Functions of organizations ensuring economic rights on a membership (collective)
basis
The organizations ensuring economic rights on a membership (collective ) basis shall, within
powers, given by the rightholders of copyrigh t and neighboring rights, perform the following
functions:
a) enter into license contracts on the use of the object of copyright and neighboring rights,
agreeing upon the amount of remuneration and the conditions of use with the parties;
b) collect, distribute and pay due amount to the rightholders of copyright and neighboring
rights;
c) according to defined procedure carry out deductions from the collected amount of money
for covering actual expenses incurred while collecting, distributing and paying;
d) in case of simultaneous use of the protected and non–protected objects, provided it is
impossible not to collect the amount for using the non-protected object, transfer that part of the
amount to the corresponding creative funds established by them;
e) use the amount, unclaimed by the author or  another rightholder of copyright, during
limitation period of actions established by the civil legislation, for the benefit of the rightholders of
copyright and neighboring rights;
f) perform necessary legal actions to carry out the tasks of this law;
g) simultaneously with the payment of the due amount for the used objects submit a report to
the rightholders of copyright and neighboring rights in respect of the use of objects.
CHAPTER 5.
PROTECTION OF COPYRIGHT AND NEIGHBORING RIGHTS
Article 42. Infringement of copyright and neighbouring rights
Liability shall be provided for the infringement of copyright and neighbouring rights,
according to the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.
The copies of a phonogram (or videogram), the manufacture or distribution of which entails
infringement of copyright and (or) neighbouring rights, shall be considered to be pirated or
counterfeit.
The copy of a work, phonogram (or videogram), protected by this law in the Republic of
Armenia, which is imported to the Republic of Armenia, without the consent of the copyright andneighbouring right holders, from countries, where the work, phonogram (or videogram) has never
been protected or has ceased to be protected, shall also be considered counterfeit.
Article 43. The protection of the copyright and neighbouring rights
The copyright holder and (or) the holder of neighbouring rights, while protecting his rights,
may demand from the infringer:
a) recognition of his rights;IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 21
b) restoration of the situation, existing prior to the violation of the rights, and  cessation of the
acts, violating the rights and containing threat of a violation;
c) the counterfeit copy, its confiscation or destruction;
d) reimbursement of damages (including the lost earnings), according to the procedure
defined by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia;
e) payment of money compensation instead of the reimbursement of damages or of lost
earnings. The amount of the mentioned money compensation shall be defined by the court, depending
on the nature and the consequences of the violation;
f) apply other measures defined by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia concerning the
protection of his rights.
The right to choose the measures stated in points “c “, “d,” and “e” of this Article shall belong
to the copyright holder and (or) neighbouring right holder.
The copyright holder and (or) neighbouring right holder may seek protection of his rights by
applying to the court, according to the procedures defined by the legislation of the Republic of
Armenia.
The copyright holder and (or) neighbouring right holder may apply to the court demanding
from the infringer information about the third person s participating in the production and distribution
of the copies of a work, phonogram (or videogram), as well as about the sources of getting and
channels of distribution thereof. The infringer refusing to provide the mentioned information shall
bear the liability according to the procedure defined by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.
The counterfeit copies of the work, phonogram (or videogram) that have been lawfully
obtained by third persons, shall not be confiscated.
The counterfeit copies of the work, phonogram (or videogram), as well as the materials and
equipment used for their creation and reproduction, which are not demanded by the copyright holder
or neighbouring right holder, may be destroyed by the court decision.
Article 44. The measures of ensuring the claim on infringement of copyright and neighbouring
rights
The court may, in accordance with the provisions defined by the Civil Procedure Code of 0the
Republic of Armenia, upon the request of the persons participating in the case or on his own initiative,
undertake measures of ensuring the claim, to seize all allegedly counterfeit copies of the works and
phonograms, as well as the materials and the equipment intended for their creation and reproduction,
to prohibit the performance of certain acts. In case of the infringement of copyright and neighbouring
rights, for which criminal liability is provided, the court, with the purposes of ensuring the civil claim
submitted or to be submitted in future, shall be entitled to seize all allegedly counterfeit copies, as
well as the materials and the equipment intended for their creation and reproduction, and, if necessary,
to confiscate and, if not claimed by the plaintiff, destroy them.
CHAPTER 6.
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 441. Rights of Foreign Persons
              Citizens or residents of other countries shall exercise the same rights and have the same
responsibilities, specified in this Law, as citizens and residents of the Republic of Armenia, in
accordance with international agreements signed by the Republic of Armenia or with the principle ofreciprocity”.IP/N/1/ARM/C/1
Page 22
Article 45. Entry into force of the law
1. This Law shall enter into force from the time of its publication.
2. The terms of validity of copyright and neighbouring rights provided in Articles 26 and 38
of this law shall also apply for the time period after the entry into force of this law on the works and
objects of neighbouring rights, the validity of which have expired, according to the previous
legislation.
           21 The provisions of this Law, including a full term of protection, are applied to objects of
copyright and related rights in existence at the mome nt of the coming into force of this Law whether
created, prepared, communicated to the public, performed, disclosed or broadcasted in a foreign
country, provided that under legislation of the country of origin the full term of their protection
provided for has not expired (irrespective of past formalities), and the said country is a party to anycopyright and related rights international treaty to which the Republic of Armenia is a party, provided
that such protection is granted to the object of copyright and related rights in existence whether
created, prepared, communicated to the public, performed, disclosed or broadcasted in the Republic of
Armenia, by an international treaty or the legislation of the given country.
3. The Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Copyright and Neighbouring Rights” of 27 May
1996 shall be deemed as ceased to be in force.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE
REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
12 January 2000.
AL-28
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