Each work, computer game or other information medium has its own author. For the use of information in full by another person, as well as for deriving benefit from this, there is liability under Art. 146 of the Criminal Code.
The concept
Copyright is the whole set of rules governing relations related to the creation and use of works.
There are principles that are fundamental in this aggregate:
- freedom of creativity;
- moral and material interest;
- the ratio of the personal interests of the author and the public;
- inalienability of this right.
As a rule, copyrights arise if the work is created by any person and is new in relation to other works of the same nature. For example, if a book under a certain title has never been published in any publishers, although it can be performed in a popular genre, this can be considered an object of copyright.
Or the opposite: if publisher N. has published an encyclopedia related to any field of knowledge that coincides with one of the previously published books, then N. will not have copyright in relation to the encyclopedia. On the contrary, in this case he violated someone’s copyright according to Art. 146 of the Criminal Code, but did not acquire his own.
Only the author or the person who has obtained the rights to the publication or work can distribute and advertise the object, as well as other options for its use.
Explicit violations
If we consider violations in this area, they can be either explicit or hidden. The first category of violations of rights refers to cases where the subject (citizen, organization) gives the work as its own. This can be either a book (text preserving the original words and formatting), or a computer game (or film).
Regarding text publications, it should be noted that the issue is controversial if the appearance and structure are similar, but the content is different. In this case, there is no violation.
In the modern age of computer technology, almost all literary works of various categories (including students' works) are posted on the World Wide Web. That is why when using any material, it is necessary to post information about where this material is copied, up to the name of the publisher and other information. In other cases, if there are doubts about the originality, they use the Anti-Plagiarism system, which will check if the text being checked matches the existing ones on the Internet.
In addition, a flagrant and criminal violation of rights, according to Art. 146 of the Criminal Code, is, for example, the distribution of discs with games or films. There are two options: the work has already been released for rent or sale, or there is a distribution of the pre-release object (which was just announced).
Of course, copyright infringement also occurs with the use of fairly well-known works of art, literature and other fields. Then it’s worth talking here not about attribution of authorship, since everyone knows that, for example, “Idiot” was written by Dostoevsky, but about an attempt to take advantage of the existence of this masterpiece.
Attribution
The hidden method of copyright infringement consists in the appropriation of such an object that is not yet known to the public. This happens when the creator himself has not yet managed to draw up and publish something under his own name, and another person took advantage of this.
Then, in the case of a statement of claim, it will be necessary to prove his involvement as an author in the publication of any work. For this, you will need drafts and other information, as well as witnesses who will indicate that it is the plaintiff who owns the copyright to any story or game.
Pirate discs
The option, when the organization has the right to any work, entails not only a lengthy lawsuit, but also huge losses in connection with copyright infringement. Most of all it concerns piracy, when licensed media with a movie or a computer game belong to an entire corporation.
Crimes of illegal copying and distribution inflict damage on copyright holders in large numbers, as a rule, in the cost of all illegal copies sold at a licensed price.
For example, if a normal movie disc costs 200 rubles, then all pirated media sold are considered at the same price.
Violation of the rights of an individual
When considering cases under Art. 146 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, not only the use of the product of another's labor for their own purposes is important, but also the damage caused. Part 1 of this provision indicates large-scale damage to the copyright holder. What does it mean? As the note to the article says, the large size is the cost of all copies sold in the amount of 100 thousand rubles. Anyone who has committed this crime is not subject to imprisonment, as is customary in the Criminal Code in most cases, but may be subjected to the following measures:
- a fine of up to 200 thousand rubles (that is, twice as much as the amount of damage);
- work: required - up to 480 hours; correctional - up to 12 months;
- arrest up to 180 days.
Thus, only assignment is considered here, without distribution.
Use for marketing
In Art. 146, part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides not so much an appropriation as distribution, replication, acquisition and storage of an object of another's copyright, naturally, without the consent of the creator, for the sole purpose of marketing. In this case, if this fact is proved and major damage was caused , the guilty persons may suffer the following types of punishments:
- fine and compulsory work - in the same amount as in the first part;
- work: correctional - up to 2 years; forced - up to 2 years;
- real life up to 2 years.
This provision (Article 146, part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) already provides for imprisonment, in contrast to the simple assignment of copyright. However, the term can be given not real, but conditional. It all depends on the circumstances of the case, characteristics, cooperation with the investigation and other factors that mitigate the punishment.
Highly Qualifying Attributes
More voluminous part in Art. 146 of the Criminal Code - part 3, which includes the commission of acts provided for only in the second part:
- a group of persons who have united only for a given crime or are a current organized criminal group;
- in a particularly large amount, which is defined in the note to the article and amounts to 1 million rubles;
- a person who used her official position.
The punishment for these categories includes the following types:
- forced labor up to five years;
- imprisonment of up to six years; a fine of up to 500 thousand rubles (or without it).
Overpricing
Judicial practice under Art. 146 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains such cases when you have to observe the artificially high cost of copies of the work. Much depends on whether a licensed product is on sale or not.
In the case when the copies are already distributed by the copyright holder, it is not difficult to calculate the damage, you only need to multiply the price of each licensed copy by the quantity.
If the price has not yet been determined, since the object has not yet been placed on storage media, it is not possible to calculate the damage. In this case, the cost should be announced by the victim. And this happens either by analogy with similar products already sold, or “from the ceiling”.
Distinction of damage and rights
In addition, victims often confuse these terms when using the object and considering cases, or rather, summarize these amounts. According to Art. 146 of the Criminal Code with comments, damage is the amount of money in this case that was not received by the copyright holder if he himself sold his products. The cost of violated rights - these are the costs incurred by the current copyright holder to acquire a license, exercise their rights in relation to the object, etc.
So, for example, one case is indicative when, according to Art. 146 of the Criminal Code, the sentence contained a sentence of 22 years of imprisonment with a modest fine of 20 thousand rubles for the sale of counterfeit discs. It turned out that among the media sold was a film that had not yet been released. At the same time, it was impossible to assess the damage from the sale, since this tape was not yet on the licensed materials. The film company estimated the cost of the right to distribute at 6.5 million rubles.
Related Law
By and large, film companies, publishers and other organizations that are engaged in posting information on any medium have not copyrights, since it was not they who created the work, but related ones. What does it mean?
Related law makes it possible to reproduce, print, record and perform other manipulations with copyright information. Therefore, it is also called exceptional. In order to inform the public that there are such rights to a work, a special icon is used (see photo below).
Thus, if there is a violation of the rights of the author as an individual, article 146 in part 1 can be applied, and when there is a violation of related rights (including copyright if there are qualifying features) - parts 2 and 3 of the same article.
Civil order
Any company or individual, if the procedure for using the author’s work is not respected, can apply to the court with a statement of claim. A criminal act will become in the case when a large size is proved or especially qualifying signs provided for in art. 146 p. 3 of the Criminal Code (part 3) along with the value of the right and damage.
However, if the issue price does not exceed the large amount established by the Criminal Code, you can try to resolve the issue peacefully by sending a claim with a notification of delivery.