Broadcasting organization program as a unique service object of related rights
Authors: Pecherova N. H. 
Published: February 2025

The program of a broadcasting organization according to the current legislation is one of the objects of related rights along with such other objects as a performance, videogram and phonogram. The current profile legislation provides a definition of a program of a broadcasting organization and a broadcasting organization, but there is no definition of the name of the broadcasting organization, as well as a definition of a program of a broadcasting organization as an official object of related rights. According to the doctrine of intellectual property law, its content consists of personal non-property rights and property rights. If we analyze the scope of personal non-property rights, then its largest volume is associated with such an object of related rights as a performance. Personal non-property rights in relation to other objects, including programs of a broadcasting organization, consist in indicating the name. At the same time, if, for example, in the case of a phonogram, the name of the producer can be placed on a copy, the program of a broadcasting organization is a different object of related rights by its nature, because both personal non-property rights and property rights arise in relation to this object from the moment of the first broadcast, that is, from the moment of the signal. In fact, the signal becomes a form of external expression of a particular program of a broadcasting organization. In the work, the author adheres to the point of view that the name of the broadcasting organization should also be transmitted together with this same signal. We believe that this is important from the point of view of declaring both personal non-property rights and property rights. At the same time, we note that according to the current profile legislation, mandatory registration of related rights is not required. Why did the author raise the topic of studying this object of related rights as a unique service object in the work, despite the fact that the legislator for some reason bypasses this object as a service object? The question is in the very legal nature of the broadcasting organization’s program as an object of related rights. Yes, although the legislator has not defined whether the broadcasting organization is a legal entity, we believe that it is just that. In this case, a situation arises where, in fact, personal non-property rights are fixed for a legal entity that is not the creator. Of course, without the technical capabilities of the broadcasting organization, the emergence of this object is impossible at all, but at the same time, personal non-property rights to this object from the employee (employees) who created it do not seem to exist at all. Of course, personal non-property rights are directly related to property rights, without the emergence of personal non-property rights, property rights do not arise, but at the same time, not fixing the names of the employee (employees) who created this object is considered not entirely fair, since the name (names) of the employee (employees) always goes by the business reputation of the latter, which in turn is associated with the professional recognition of a particular specialist, his work (including receiving relevant professional awards). It is also worth noting the direct relationship between the business reputation, professional recognition of a particular specialist and the level of salary paid to him by the employer.
The name of the broadcasting organization cannot include the names of the employee (employees).
We believe that both the name of the broadcasting organization and the name of the employee(s) should be indicated upon first broadcast, since personal non-property rights are associated with the person of the creator. As for the issue of a more detailed consideration of the distribution of property rights to such an object of related rights as a broadcasting organization’s program, this is the subject of another of our subsequent studies.