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LAW : 4212/2013  
 
Impleme ntation  of Directive 2011/77/EU  of the European Parliament and the Council  of 27th  
September 2011  and Directive 2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and the Council  of 
25th October 2012  into Greek Law and amending of Law 2121 /993 “Copyright, related rights 
and other cultural issues ” (OJ 25).  
 
 
CHAPTER A  
Term of protection of copyright and certain related rights  
__________________________________________________________________________  
 
Article 1  
Purpose  
 
The purpose of articles 2 to 5 is the harmonization of law 2121 /1993 (A 25) with the Directive 
2011/77/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 27 th September 2011 amending 
the Directive 2006/116/EC “for the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights”  
 
Article 2  
Amending of article 30 Law 2121 /1993  
(article 1 par. 1 of Direct ive 2011/77/EU)  
 
Article 30 of law 2121 /1993 is replaced as follows:  
 
“Article 30  Works of joint -authorship and musical  compositions with lyrics  
For works of joint -authorship and musical compositions with lyrics , if both the contributions 
of the composer and the author of the lyrics were specifically created for the respective 
musical composition with lyrics , the term of protection shall last throughout the life of the last 
surviving author and seventy (70) years after his death, calculated from J anuary 1st of the year 
that follows the death of the last surviving author”.  
 
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Article 3  
Amending of article 52  (c) of Law 2121 /1993  
(article 1 par.  2 (a) of Directive 2011/77/EU)  
 
The second sentence of article 52  (c) of  Law 2121 /1993 is replaced as follows:  
“However,  
- if a fixation of the performance otherwise than in a phonogram is lawfully published or 
lawfully communicated to the public within this period, the rights shall expire fifty ( 50) years 
from the date of the first such publication or th e first such communication to the public, 
whichever is the earlier,  
- if a fixation of the performance in a phonogram is lawfully published or lawfully 
communicated to the public within this period, the rights shall expire seventy ( 70) years from 
the date of the first such publication or the first such communication to the public, whichever 
is the earlier.’  
 
 
Article 4  
Amending of article  52 (d) of Law 2121 /1993  
(article 1 par. 2 (b) and (c) of Directive 2011/77/EU)  
 
1. In t he second and third sentences  of article 52  (d) of Law 2121 /1993 the word “fifty” is 
replaced by the word “seventy”.  
 
2. After the fourth sentence  of article 52  (d) shall be  added  as follows : 
“aa) If, fifty years after the phonogram  was lawfully published  or, failing such publication, fifty 
(50) years after  it was lawfully communicated  to the public, the phonogram producer does 
not offer copies of the phonogram for sale in sufficient quantity to meet the market needs or 
does not make it available to the pu blic, by wire or wireless means, in such a way that 
members of the public may access it from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, 
the performer may terminate the contract by which t he performer has assigned  to a 
phonogram producer  at least  the exploitation of  his reproduction, distribution and making 
available to the public rights in the fixation of his performance.  The right to terminate th is 
contract may be exercised if the producer , within one (1) year from the  written  notification 3 
 by th e performer of his intention to terminate the contract pursuant  to the previous sentence , 
fails to carry out both of the acts of exploitation referred to in that sentence.  If the above 
mentioned rights have been transferred to a third party, pursuant to sub case (gg), the  written 
notification will be exercised against the prod ucer, as he is defined in sub case (gg). The right 
to terminate may not be waived by the performer.  Where a phonogram contains the fixation 
of the performances of a plurality of performers, they may terminate the contracts of the first 
sentence pursuant  to the first sentence of paragraph 4, article 46.  If no representative is 
determined , the provisions of the community of right shall be applied. The termination of the  
contract of the first sentence in this case  has as a legal consequence the expiration of the 
phonogram producers’ rights and  any other third party ’s rights that derives rights of him.   
 
bb) Where  a contract of the first sentence of the sub case (aa) gives the performer a right to 
claim a non -recurring remuneration, the performer shall have the right to obtain an annual 
supplementary remuneration from the phonogram producer for each full year  following the 
50th year after the phonogram was lawfully published or, failing such publication, the 50th 
year after it was lawfully communicated to the public.  The payment has to take place within 
six (6) months from the end of each  financial year . The right to obtain such annual 
supplementary remuneration may not be waived by the performer.  
cc) The overall amount to be set aside by a phonogram producer for payment of the annual 
supplementary remuneration referred to in sub case bb) shall correspond to 20% of the 
revenue which the phonogram producer has derived, during the year preceding that for which 
the said remuneration is paid, from the reproduction, distribution and making available of the 
phonogram in question, following the 50th year after it was  lawfully published or, failing such 
publication, the 50th year after it was lawfully communicated to the public.  
dd) The right to obtain an annual supplementary remuneration as referred to in sub case (bb) 
is administered by the collecting societies of th e performers.  
ee) Phonogram producers are required on request to provide annually and in total  (for all 
performers who are entitled to the an nual supplementary remuneration and for all the 
phonograms) to the collecting societies which administer the annual  supplementary 
remuneration of sub case  (bb), any information which may be necessary in order to secure 
payment of that remuneration.  
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 ff) Where a performer is entitled to recurring payments, neither advance payments nor any 
contractually defined deduction s, in relation to the specific phonogram, shall be deducted 
from the payments made to the performer following the 50th year after the phonogram was 
lawfully published or, failing such publication, the 50th year after it was lawfully 
communicated to the pub lic. 
gg) A phonogram producer for the purpose of the above mentioned subcases (aa) to (ff) is 
considered to be the prima ry beneficiary or the  successor in title  or any third party that the 
relevant rights have been transferred to.  
 
3. The fifth and sixth sentences of case (d) of article 52 constitute the new case (e) of article 
52. 
 
4. Cases (e), (f), (g) and (h) of article 52 are renumbered respectively as cases (f), (g), (h) and 
(i). 
 
 
Article 5  
Amending of Article 68A Law 2121 /1993  
(article 1 pars. 3 and 4 of Directive 2011/77/EU)  
 
1. At the end of par. 1 of article 68A Law 2121 /1993 sentences shall be  added as follows:  
 
“The term of protection provided for in article 30 of this law shall apply to musical 
compositions with lyrics, if either the musical composition or the lyrics were protected in at 
least one Member  State of the European Union on November 1st, 2013 and to m usical 
compositions with lyrics which  come into being after that date, without prejudice  to any acts 
of exploitation that have been performed before November 1st, 2013 and any acquired rights 
from third parties. If, due to  this provision, there is a revival of rights that have been 
transferred or otherwise assigned to third parties based on license or contract, the extension 
of the term of protection shall  benefit the f inal beneficiary or the  special assignee  thereof. 
Otherwise , the heir of the creator will benefit. The term of protection provided in cases (c) 
and (d) of article 52 applies to the material fixations of the performances and to the 
phonograms in relation to which the performer or the phonogram producer are still 
protected, by virtue of  those provisions in the version thereof in force on 30  October 2011, as 5 
 at 1 November 2013, and to fixations of performances and phonograms which come into 
being  after that date ”. 
 
2. After paragraph 1 of article 68A Law 212 1/1993 a new paragraph 1a shall be  added as 
follows:  
“1a. In the absence of clear contractual indications to the contrary, a contract on transfer or 
assignment of article 52  (aa) and (dd) , concluded  before 1 November 2013 shall be deemed 
to continue to produce its eff ects beyond the moment at which , the perform er would no 
longer be protected, according to article 52 (c), in the version thereof in force  before the 
Implementation  of Directive 2011/77 into national law ”. 
__________________________________________________________________________  
 
Chapter B  
Certain permitted uses of orphan works  
 
Article 6  
Purpose  
 
The purpose of articles 7 and 8 of this law is the harmonization of Law 2121 /1993  with 
Directive 2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 25 October 2012  “on 
certain permitted uses of orphan works” (OJ L299/5).  
 
Article 7  
Addition of Article 27A in Law 2121 /1993  
(articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of Directive 2012/28/EU)  
After article 27 of Law 2121 /1993 a new article 27A shall be  added as follows:  
 
“Article 27A 
Certain permitted uses of orphan works  
 
1. It is permitted to be made accessible to the public w ithin  the meaning of article 3  (1) (h)  
and to be reproduced for the purposes of digitization, making available to the public, indexing, 
cataloging, preserva tion or restoration ( permitted  uses)  by publicly accessible libraries, 6 
 educational establishments  or museums, archives or film or audio  heritage institutions, as well 
as from public -service  broadcasting organisations established  in a Member  State of the 
European Union ( beneficiaries  of orphan works) , works  in their collections, for which no right 
holder has been identified or even if is identified , none has been located despite a diligent 
search carried out by the  beneficiaries  of orphan works, according to the terms of this article 
(orphan works).  
 
2. This regulation  shall appl y only to:  
a. works published in the form of books, journals, newspapers, magazines or other writings 
contained in the collections of publicly accessible libraries, educational establishments or 
museums as well as in the collections of archives or of film or audio heritage institutions;  
b. cinematographic or audiovisual works and phonograms contained in the collections of 
publicly accessible libraries, educational establishments or museums as well as in the 
collections of archives or of film or audio heritage institutions;  
c. cinematographic or audiovisual works and phonograms produced by public -service 
broadcasting organisations up to 31 December 2002 and contained in their arch ives;  
d. works and other protected subject -matter that are embedded or incorporated in, or 
constitute an integral part of , the above mentioned works or phonograms , 
to the extent that those works ( of cases a, b, c, d )  are protected by copyright or related rights 
and are first published in a Member State of the European Union or, if not published, are first 
broad cast in a Member  State of the European Union.  If these works are not published or 
broadcast, they can be used  by the beneficiaries  of orphan works only if:  
a) they  have been made publicly accessible by anyone of the beneficiaries  of orphan works  
(even in the form of a lending ) with the consent of the rightholders, and  
b) it is reasonable to assume  that the rightholders would not oppose the permitted uses 
referred to in this article.  
 
3. Where there is more than one rightholder in a work or phonogram, and not all of them have 
been identified or, even if identified, located after a diligent search has been carried out and 
recorded in accordance with paragraphs 6 and 7, the work or phonog ram may be used i n 
accordance with the paragraphs  hereinabove  provided that the rightholders that have been 7 
 identified and located have, in relation to the rights the y hold, authorised the beneficiaries  of 
orphan works  to carry out the permitted uses in relation to their rights.  
 
4. The use of orphan works is permitted to the beneficiaries  of orphan works  only in order to 
achieve aims related to their public -interest missions, in particular the preservation of, the 
restoration of, and the provision of cul tural and educational access to, works and phonograms 
contained in their collection s. The beneficiaries of orphan works may generate revenues in 
the course of such uses, for the exclusive purpose of covering their costs of digitising orphan 
works and making them available to the public.  
 
5. The beneficiaries  of orphan works  indicate the name of identified authors and other 
rightholders in any use of an orphan work with the following labelling: “Orphan work: […] [no 
of entry in the Single Online  Data base of the Office for Harmonization  in the Internal Market]”.  
 
6. By issuing a decision, the Hellenic Copyright Organization  Board of Directors  will determine  
the appropriate  sources for a diligent and in good faith  search to be carried out by the 
beneficiaries  of orphan works  to identify and locate  the rightholders according to paragraph  
1 in a work or phonogram, including works and protected subject matter  contained  in them 
prior to their use . The diligent search shall be  carried out by the beneficiaries  of orphan works  
or by third parties on behalf of the beneficiaries  of orphan works , in the European Union 
Member  State of the first publication, or in the absence of publication , of the first broadcast. 
In respect of cinematographic or audiovisual works the producer of which has his 
headquarters or habitual residence in a Member State  of the European Union  the diligent 
search should be carried out in th e Member State  of his headquarters or habitual residence . 
If the works have neither been published nor broadcast pursuant to the last sentence of 
paragraph 2, the diligent search shall be carried out in the Member State of the European 
Union where the beneficiary  of orphan works use that made the work publicly acce ssible is 
established.  If there is evidence to suggest that a search in sources of information of other 
countries is to be carried out, the search  in those other countries  should be carried out  also. 
 
7. Beneficiaries  of orphan works  that carry out a diligent search shall  keep  a search  record on 
file throughout the term  of use of the orphan work and seven (7) years after the termination  
of such use  and provide concrete  information  to the Hellenic Copyright Organization , that 8 
 shall immediately forward t his information to the Single Online  Data base of the Office for 
Harmonization  in the Internal Market. Such information shall  contain : 
a) a full description of the orphan work and the names of the identified authors or 
rightholders , 
b) the results of the diligent search  carried out by the beneficiaries  of orphan works , which  
led to the conclusion that a work or a phonogram is considered an orphan  work , 
c) a statement from the beneficiaries  of orphan works  for the permitted uses they intend to 
make , 
d) a possible change to the orphan work  status of a work  (notification of new data that they 
have been informed of) , 
e) contact information of the beneficiaries  of orphan works ,  
f) any other information  as specified by decision of the Hellenic Copyright Organization  Board 
of Directors  and posted on the Hellenic Copyright Organization’s website, according to the 
procedure determined by the Office for Harmonization  in the Internal Market  regarding  the 
Database . 
 
8. A diligent search is not required for work s that have already been recorded in the Single 
Online  Database of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market as orphans . A work or 
phonogram shall be considered an orphan work if it has been characterized as such in any 
Member State of the European Union.  
 
9. If the rightholder of a work or phonogram or other protected subject -matter  that has been 
recorded as an orphan comes forward , then he has the right to put an end to the orphan work 
status of the work in so far as  his rights  are concerned  and ask for the end of use of the work 
by the beneficiar y of orphan work s, as wel l as for the payment of compensation  for the use of 
the work that has been made by the beneficiar y of orphan works. The beneficiary  of orphan 
works that makes use of  the work  is liable  for t he end of orphan work  status of a work . The 
beneficiary  of orphan work s will have to decide within twenty (20) working days, calculated 
from the day following the  date the application is filled by the person appearing as the 
rightholder , if the application and the submitted evidence by the appearing as rightholder is 
sufficient to establish a right  on the specific orphan work, and it either characterises the work 
as “non -orphan” or rejects the application. If the beneficiary  of orphan work s does not decide 
on the application  within the above mentioned period  or if , despite having approved  the 
application , continues to make use of the work, then the provisions of articles 63A to 66D shall 9 
 apply . If a work is r endered “non -orphan” according  to the Single Online  Database of the 
Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market the beneficiary  of orphan work s is obliged  to 
end its use within ten (10) working days from the reception of the relevant notice from the 
above mentioned Office.  
The compensation shall  amount  to half of the  remuneration that  is, usually or according to 
law, paid for the kind of use that has been made by the beneficiary  of orphan work s and the 
payment of such compensation shall be made  within two (2) months from the end of orphan 
work status of  a work . If the parties do not reach an agreement, the terms, the period, and 
the level  of compensation  shall be  determined by the Court of First Instance  of Athens by 
interim measures . 
 
10. In any case, if it is proven that a work has been wrongly found to be  an orphan  work due 
to a search which was not diligent and in good faith , then provisions of articles 63A to 66D 
shall apply . 
 
11. The Hellenic Copyright Organization  shall  not be liable for the diligent search carried out 
by a  beneficiary  of orphan work s, nor liable whether  an orphan work status  of a work is 
established  or is ended . 
 
12. This article shall be without prejudice to the provisions on anonymous or pseudonymous 
works, and to the provisions on rights management  according to the current law ”. 
 
 
Article 8  
Amendment of article 68A Law 2121 /199 3 –Date of application  
(article 8 of Directive 2012/28/EU)  
 
After par. 2 of article 68A of Law 2121 /993 a new paragraph 3 shall be  added as follows:  
“3. The provisions on  orphan works provided for  in article 27A shall apply  to all the works and 
phonograms protected by copyright or related rights  for the first time from 29.10.2014 
onwards, while they shall be without prejudice to  the validity of acts concluded and rights 
acquired before the above me ntioned date ”. 
 
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 Article 9  
Amendment of article 71 of Law 2121 /1993  
 
In article 71 of Law 2121 /1993 new paragraphs 9 and 10 shall be  added as follows:  
“9. Articles 30, 52 case (c) second sentence, 52 case ( d) second and third sentence, 52 case ( d) 
sub cases  from  (aa) to (gg), 68A paragraph 1 sentences third  to sixth  and 68A paragraph 1a 
constitute an application of Directive 2011/77/EU of the European Parliament and the Council 
of 27th September 2011 amending Directive 2006/116/EC on the term of protection of 
copyright and certain related rights.  
 
10. Articles 27A and 68 A paragraph 3 constitute  an application of Directive 2012/28/EU of the 
European Parliament and Council  of 25th October  2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan 
works”.  
 
Article 10  
Entry into Force  
This L aw shall enter into force from the date of its promulgation in the Official Journal, unless 
it is stated otherwise in its individual provisions.  
We command the promulgation of this Law in the Official Journal and its implementation as a 
law of the State.