WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIOIP/N/1/LVA/C/1
24 June 1999
(99-2610)
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
LATVIA
The present document reproduces the text1 of the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring
Rights, as notified by Latvia under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document IP/N/1/LVA/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
LETTONIE
Le présent document contient le texte1 de la Loi sur le droit d'auteur et les droits voisins,
notifiée par la Lettonie au titre de l'article 63:2  de l'Accord (voir le document IP/N/1/LVA/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
LETONIA
En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 de la Ley de Derecho de Autor y Derechos
Conexos, notificada por Letonia en virtud de lo dispuesto en el párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo
(véase el documento IP/N/1/LVA/1).
                                                     
1 In English only/En anglais seulement/En inglés solamente.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 2
Law on Copyright and Neighbouring rights
Section One
COPYRIGHT
Chapter One
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Definitions used in the Law
   The terms used in this Law have the following meanings:
   Author is a natural person as a result of whose creative effort a specific work has
been created, or a person who obtains copyright as provided for in this Law.
   Audio-visual work is a work, which consists of a series of related images, whichimpart the impression of motion, with or without accompanying sounds, susceptible of
being made visible and, where accompanied by sounds, susceptible of being made
audible.
   Producer of an audio-visual work or sound recording is a person who has undertaken
responsibility for producing the work.   Making available a work means the act (also the publication) with the assistance of
which a work is first made available to the public.
   Computer is an electronic or other similar device that can process and store
information.
   Computer program is a set of instructions expressed in words, codes, symbols, or
any other form, which the computer can read and which is capable of activating the
computer to perform a given function or a specific assignment or to achieve a specificresult.
   Computer program adaptation is a program alteration, which is suitable only for the
user's technical equipment.
   Design work is   a   work  created  by  artistic  drafting  (artistic construction) or
with a method of design - the exterior manifestation of an object of practical use with
aesthetic value.
   Fixation is the embodiment of sounds in any material form (by any means) with theassistance of which the sounds may at any time be made audible.
   Photographic work  is  the  recording of light or other radiation or any medium
preservation from which an image is formed or from which an image is transmitted
(regardless  of  what method is used to produce the recording - chemical, electronic or
other method).
   A still,  which  is taken from an audio-visual work, is not considered to be a
photographic work but is a part of the respective audio-visual work.   Sound recording  is  the  result  of  a fixation of a series of musical, spoken or  other
sounds  (excluding the sounds accompanying an audio-visual work) on magnetic
tapes, disks or optical devices (regardless of the form - digital or analogue).IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 3
   Performer is  an  artist-performer,  that is an actor, singer, musician, dancer, or other
person, who publicly plays a role, sings, reads, declaims, plays a  musical  instrument
or  in  some  other  way performs literary or artistic works,  concerts,  circus  or puppet
acts, as well as a conductor, director or producer of an audio-visual work or sound
recording.
   License is the permission granted by the author or other copyright owner (licensor)
to  the  user  of a work (licensee) to use of the work under the terms and conditionsagreed upon.
   Work of  applied  art  is  a  work  of  art  that  is used for practical purposes.
   Publication means  that  copies of a work with the consent of the author have
become  available  to the public with the condition that the number of copies must
satisfy  the  reasonable  demand  of  the  public, taking into account the nature of the
work.
   Works are not considered published if:         - dramatic, musical-dramatic or audio-visual works are performed;
         - sound-works are performed;
         - literary works are publicly read;
         - works of literature or art are transmitted by wire or broadcast;
      or         - visual  works  of  art are displayed (shown) or if architectural works are
completed (built).
   Public display  means  showing  the  original or a copy of a work either directly or
on  a  screen by means of film, slides, television image or by means of  other
equipment or process, but in the case of audio-visual works, to show individual frames
regardless of their sequence.
   Public performance  in  the  case  of any work other than an audio-visual work, isthe  recitation, playing, dancing, acting or other performance of the work  either
directly or by means of any device or process. In the case of an  audio-visual work, it
is the showing of the images and in the case of a sound  recording, making the sounds
audible at a place or at places where persons outside  the  normal  circle  of a family
and that family's closest social acquaintances  are  or  can be present, at the same place
and at the same time  or at different places and times and when the performance can
be perceived without the need for any particular means of communication.   Broadcast means  the  communication  of a work (including the showing or
performance of  the  work)  to the public by means of wireless transmission (radio or
television, including by satellite).
   Live  broadcast  is  a  direct  broadcast  transmitted  by  wire  or  by broadcast.
   Reproduction is  the  making  of one or more copies of a work or a sound recording
in  any  material  form,  including  any  permanent  or temporary storage of  the  work
or sound recording in electronic form, as well as the preparation of  one  or  morethree-dimensional copies of a two-dimensional work and one or more two-
dimensional copies of a three-dimensional work.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 4
   Reprographic reproduction  means  the  making of a facsimile copy of the original or
of  a copy of a work by various means other than printing, for example, by
photocopying.
   The production  of  a  facsimile  by  means  of  photocopying  a work in enlarged or
reduced size is also considered "reprographic reproduction".
   Visual work  of  art  is  any  art  in  the form of painting, sculpture, graphics applied,
decorative  or landscape art, as well as works of art in the mixed media, their sketches,drafts, composition casts, working models, mock-ups and other fixated works in the
process of creation.
Article 2. Sphere of application of copyright
   1. Copyright  to  works  that  are  communicated in the territory of the Republic of
Latvia,  or not communicated but found in the territory of the Republic of  Latvia  in
any  material  form, belongs to the author and his heirs or other successors in interest.   2. Copyright to works that are simultaneously published in the territory of a  foreign
state and in the territory of the Republic of Latvia belongs to the author and his heirs
or other successors in interest.
   3. In accordance with Paragraph 2 of this Article, a work is regarded as
simultaneously published  in  the  territory  of a foreign state and in the territory ofthe  Republic  of  Latvia  if  it  has  been published in the territory of  the  Republic  of
Latvia  within  30  days  after  its first publication in the territory of the foreign state.
   4. Copyright  is  recognised as belonging to citizens of the Republic of Latvia as
well as other persons who reside permanently in the territory of the Republic of Latvia
as well as to their successors in interest for works that have  been communicated or
introduced in some form in the territory of a  foreign   state.   Other   persons  are
accorded  copyrights  to  works communicated or  introduced  in some material in theterritory of a foreign state in accordance with international treaties of the Republic of
Latvia.
Chapter Two
SUBJECT MATTER OF COPYRIGHT
Article 3. General provisions
   1. Copyright  applies to scientific, literary and musical works, as well as to  works
of  visual  art, irrespective of the purpose or merit of the work as well as the mode of
its expression.
   2. Copyright  applies  to  works,  ideas  and concepts made known in any form,
whether published or unpublished.   3. The  author,  successors  in  interest, or other copyright owners may indicate their
rights to a work by using a copyright protection mark which is placed  in  such  a  way
and  in  such  a  place as to clearly indicate copyright protection. This mark consists of
three elements:IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 5
         - the letter C inside a circle;
         - name (designation) of the owner of the copyright; and
         - the year the work was first published.
   4. Copyright has the nature of moral and economic rights, which give the author full
and  exclusive rights to use the work without any restrictions except those stated in
this Law.
   5. A  statement  concerning  an audio-visual work, which is entered in aninternational register  pursuant to an international agreement to which the Republic of
Latvia  is  a  party,  is  considered  to be true until proven otherwise, except:
         1) if  the  statement  cannot be in effect in accordance with this Law or any other
law that protects the property rights to audio-visual works in the Republic of Latvia;
or
         2) if the statement is contrary to any other statement included in the international
register.
Article 4. Works to which copyright applies
   1.  Copyright  protects  scientific,  literary,  artistic,  and  musical original works  in
the fields of science, literature, music and visual art, regardless of their form of
expression and format, and they include:         1) literary  works  (books, brochures, computer programs and other       written
works, speeches, lectures, addresses, announcements, sermons, and other works of a
similar nature);
         2) dramatic  and  musical-dramatic  works,  scenarios,  scripts of audio-visual
works;
         3) choreographic works and pantomimes;
         4) musical works with or without text;         5)  audio-visual   works  (cinema,  television,  and  video  films,       slideshow
and other cinematic and television works);
         6) drawings,  paintings,  sculptures, graphic art and other visual works of art;
         7) works of applied art, decorative and stenographic art;
         8) design works;
         9) photographic  works  and  works  executed  in a form similar to
photographs;         10) sketches,  plans  and  projects  of  buildings, structures and works  of
architecture,   plans   for   implementing  building  and construction and  other
architectural designs, projects and plans for implementation of city-planning works,
gardens and parks; and
         11) geographic,  geological and similar maps, plans, sketches, and plastic
representations,  which pertain to geography, topography, and other sciences.
   2. Copyright  belongs  to  the  author  from  the  moment  of the work's creation.  No
registration,   special   documentation  or  observance  of formalities is necessary to
affirm copyright ownership and existence.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 6
   3. The  name of the work, if it is original, is protected by this Law as part of the
work.
Article 5. Derivative works
   1. The  following  works  may be the subject matter of copyright without any loss of
author's rights to the original works:         1)  translations   and  adaptations,  redone  works,  annotations, synopses,
summaries, reviews, musical arrangements;
         2) collections  of works, for instance, encyclopaedias, anthologies and atlases,
as  well as data bases and other compilations, which by the selection  and
arrangement  of  the  material,  have  created  a resulting work.
   2. Derivative  works  are protected by copyright irrespective of whether the works
on  which  they  are based or which they include are the subject matter of copyright.
Article 6. Works which are not protected by copyright
   The following  works  are  not protected by copyright in accordance with this Law:
         1) legislation,  administrative  texts  and  court  decrees (laws, court decisions,
resolutions  and other official documents), as well as official translations of these
texts;
         2) state-approved,  as well as internationally recognised official symbols and
marks (flags, emblems, decorations, money, and the like), the use of which is
governed by separate legislation;
         3) daily  news  and  various facts which have the nature of simpleinformational data,  as  well  as simple information concerning these current events or
facts in the press, radio or television broadcasts, or other mass information media; and
         4) programming  languages and algorithms not connected to programs       used
for the creation of computer programs.
Chapter Three
COPYRIGHT OWNERS
Article 7. Copyright owners
   1. The following persons can be copyright owners:
         1) the author of a work;
         2) the heirs of the author of a work; and         3) other successors in interest.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 7
   2. The  author of a work, his heirs and other successors in interest may realise their
rights  on  the work prescribed in this Chapter, directly or through intermediaries  or
representatives,  including organisations which administer the economic rights of
authors on a collective basis (Article 50 of this Law).
Article 8. Presumption of copyright
   1. If  not  proven  to  the contrary, the person whose name or generally recognised
pseudonym or signature is indicated in the usual way on repeated works or  even  on
the work itself at the time it is published, is regarded as the author of the work.
   2. If  the work is published without any indication of authorship in the way indicated
in  Paragraph 1 of this Article, then the editor of the work if such  is indicated, but in
the remaining cases the publisher or a person authorised by the author, acts in the
name and interest of the author. This provision applies  until  such  time that theauthor's identity is revealed and the author claims authorship of the work.
Article 9. Co-authorship
   1. If a work has two or more authors, and the individual contribution of each of  the
authors in the creation of the work cannot be segregated as an independent work,  the
copyright  for  the  work belongs to all co-authors jointly.
   2. If  each  author's  individual  contribution  is an independent work, copyright to
the  individual contribution of each author as an independent work belongs to each
author.
   3. Protection  against  copyright  infringement  can  be realised by any co-author,
irrespective of the others.   4. If  one  of  the authors refuses or is unable, for reasons beyond his control, to
complete  his part in the creation process of a visual work of art or  an  audio-visual
work, then he cannot hinder the use of his prepared work for the completion of the
visual work of art or audio-visual work. Such an author  owns  rights  to  such  part
including  rights  to  receive the compensation due him.
Article 10.  Copyright  of  compilers  of  collections  and  other
composite works
   1. Unless  otherwise  agreed  between  the  compilers of collections and other
composite  works,  and  the  individual  authors, the compilers, as a result of whose
creative effort there is a selection and arrangement of the material, have  copyright  to
the collection or other composite works as a whole, with the condition that the rights
of each of the authors to each to their respective  works included in the collection orother composite works are respected.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 8
   2. The  authors  of  works  included  in collections and other composite works retain
the  copyright  to  their  respective  work  and  can  use it independently of the
collection or the composite work.
   3. The  copyright  of  the  compiler does not prevent other persons from
independently undertaking  the  same task, and selection and arrangement of the
material.
Article 11. Copyright for audio-visual works
1. The following are recognised
2.  as authors of an audio-visual work:
         1) the director;
         2) the author of the scenario;
         3) the  author  of  a musical work, with and without text, created      especiallyfor that audio-visual work;
         4) the cameraman; and
         5) the producer.
   2. The  authors  of works that are part of an audio-visual work and which are created
in  the process of producing the work, retain the copyright to their respective  works
and can use them independently from the audio-visual work as  a whole, unless
otherwise agreed in the contract with the producer of the  audio-visual work. Such
works are used in the audio-visual production in accordance  with  the  contract with
each author.
   Authors of  audio-visual  works  do not have the right to make changes in works,
which are used as parts of the audio-visual work, without the consent of the authors ofthose works.
Article 12. Copyright for work created in the course of employment
   In the case of a work created by an author for a natural person or legal entity
(hereinafter "employer") under an employment contract and during his employment,
the  first  owner  of  moral and economic rights is the author, unless otherwiseprovided by the contract, but the economic rights in such a work  may  be  granted  to
the  employer  by  the contract to the extent necessary to him at the time of the
creation of the work.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 9
Chapter Four
RIGHTS OF THE AUTHOR
Article 13. Moral and economic rights of the author
   1. The  author  of  a work, shall, independently of his economic rights, and even
where he is not the owner of said rights, have rights:
         1) to be acknowledged as the author;
         2) to  decide  whether and when the work shall be disclosed to the public or
published;
         3) to  demand that the use of the work be terminated, compensating       losses
incurred  upon  the  user due to the termination of the use of the work,  in  accordance
with the provisions of Paragraph 2, Article 36 of this Law and of Article 1589 of theCivil Law;
         4) to  claim authorship of the work - rights that his name, as far as practicable,
be indicted in an appropriate way on all copies, and in connection  with any public act
concerning his work, as well as to demand that  his  name  be indicated on the copies,
and in connection with every  public  act concerning his work, or that his pseudonymbe so indicated, or anonymity;
         5) to  demand the inviolability of the work - that is the right to permit or
prohibit  any changes or supplements to his work or to its title; and
         6) to  take  measures against any mutilation, distortion, or other      modification
to  the  work  (also  to  terminate the contract without       compensating losses),  as
well  as the infringement of rights to the work which could cause damage to the
author's honour or reputation.
   2. None  of the rights mentioned in Paragraph 1 of this Article shall be transferable
to anyone else during the lifetime of the author.
Article 14. Economic rights of the author
   1. Except  for the situations foreseen in this Law, the author of a work also has
exclusive rights to use his work in any way, as well as to receive compensation for
permission to use the work and for the use of the work.
   2. Exclusive rights to use the work means the author's rights to realise or permit the
following activities regarding his work:
         1) reproduction of the work;
         2) rental  or  public  lending  of  the  original  or a copy of an audio-visual work,
a sound recording, a computer program, a data base, or a  musical  work  in  graphicform, irrespective of the ownership rights to the original or the copy;
         3) importation  of  copies  of  the  work, even where the imported copies were
made with the permission of the owner of the copyright;IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 10
         4) public  display of the original or a copy of a work by means of film,
television,  computer  program  or by any other means or device other than the direct
display of the original or the copy;
         5) performance of the work in public;
         6) making  the  work  available to the public via broadcast and/or
rebroadcast;
         7) making the work available to the public by cable, wire or other       analogousmeans;
         8) translating the work; and
         9) transforming, arranging, or otherwise adapting the work.
   3. The  amount  and  procedures  for calculating the compensation to the
author are determined in the author contract.
Article 15. Transfer of copyright
   1. Copyright  is transferred by inheritance, except for the rights to an author's name
and the inviolability of the work.
   2. The  author's  heirs receive the rights to make the work available to the public,  to
use  the  work,  and  to receive compensation for granting permission to  use the workand for the use of the work. The author's heirs have the right to protect the
inviolability of the work.
   3. To  other  successors  in  interest  to  the  author, including legal persons, only the
rights referred to in Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 14 May be transferred.
   4. Copyright is not connected to ownership rights to the material object in which  the
work is expressed. Copyright to work which is expressed in a material object  is
differentiated from control of the object. The transfer of control  of  the materialobject, including copies of the work, in which the first fixation of the work is made,
does not in and of itself result in transfer of the copyright to the work. In the same
way, the transfer of any exclusive rights comprising the copyright, does not in and of
itself result in the transfer of ownership rights to the material object.
Article 16. Relationship between copyright and ownership rights to
works of fine art
  1. The  author  retains  copyright  to a work of fine art, its sketches, composition
casts,  working models and photographic work, which have become the  property   of
another   person.   The  transfer  of  compensated  or uncompensated ownership  rights
to  a  work of fine art from the author to another person  means the first sale of this
work. In the case of a further public sale  of  the  work  of  fine  art  (through  an
auction, a fine art gallery, an  art  dealer, a store, or similar intermediary), the authorhas the right  to  receive five percent of the resale price.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 11
   2. The  collection,  distribution, and payment of the sums which are due to authors in
accordance with Paragraph 1 of this Article can be done by an organisation which
administers  economic  rights  on  a  collective  basis (Article 50 of this Law).
   3. If  there  is  not  a  contract which gives the owner of the work all rights, then the
author has rights to request from the owner of the work an opportunity to  exercise  his
rights  to the reproduction of his work. The owner of the work cannot be required to
deliver the work to the author.
Chapter Five
LIMITATIONS ON THE AUTHOR'S ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Article 17. Reproduction of a work for personal use
   1. Without  the consent of the author and without paying compensation to the
author, it is permitted to reproduce another person's published or made available work
only for personal use, observing the requirements of Article 27 as  well  as  of
Paragraph 2 of this Article, on the condition that such reproduction does  not  do
unjustified damage to normal use of the work and does not unreasonably infringe onthe lawful interests of the author.
   2.  Public   lending   of  published  works  is  permitted  without  the authorisation of
the author or copyright owner.
   3. Paragraph 1 of this Article is not applicable to:
         1) reproduction  of  architectural  works in the form of buildings and analogous
structures;
         2) works of fine art of restricted edition;         3) reproduction of data bases or substantial parts thereof;
         4) reproduction  of  computer programs with the exception of cases
mentioned in Article 25 of this Law.
   4. The  provisions  of Paragraph 1 of this Article are not applicable to legal persons.
Article 18. Use of a work for informational purposes
   Without the consent of the author and without paying compensation to the author,
except as required in Article 14 of this Law, as long as the use of the work  does  not
result in unjustified damage to normal use of the work, and does  not  unreasonably
infringe the legal interests of the author, on the obligatory  condition that the name of
the author and source from which the work is taken be displayed, it is permitted:IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 12
         1) to  reproduce  in quoted form, including newspaper and magazine       articles
in  the  form  of  a press review, for scientific, research, polemical, critical,  and
informational  purposes, published or made available works  to  the  extent  required
by  the  purpose  of  the quotation;
         2) to  reproduce  in newspapers, by broadcast, or communication by cable to the
public, articles on current economic, political, social, and religious  affairs  which
have  been  published in newspapers or journals or  works  of  the  same nature whichhave been broadcast in those instances where the rights to such reproduction,
broadcast, and communication by  wire  has  not  been specifically prohibited by the
author;
         3) to  reproduce  in newspapers, by broadcast, or communication to the public
by  wire,  publicly-given  political speeches, addresses, announcements, and  other
analogous works to the extent justified by the informational  purpose,  with  the author
retaining the rights to publish collections of such works; and          4) to  makeavailable or reproduce an account of real events with the assistance of photography, to
broadcast or transmit by wire works which have  become  visible or audible during the
course of the event to an extent that justifies the purpose for information.
Article 19. Use of a work for educational purposes
   1. Observing  the  condition  that the reproduction of the work does not cause
unjustifiable  damage  to  the  normal  use  of the work and does not unreasonably
infringe  on the lawful interests of the author, the following is permitted, without the
author's or copyright owner's authorisation:
         1) the  reproduction of a short part of a published work by way of       illustration
in  writings  or sound or visual recordings for teaching purposes, provided  that  suchreproduction  is compatible with fair practice and  that its extent does not exceed the
extent justified by the purpose;
         2) the  reprographic  reproduction,  for  face-to-face teaching in non-profit
educational  institutions,  of a published article or other short  work   or   short  extract
of  a  writing,  with  or  without illustrations, provided  that  the act of reproduction is
an isolated one, occurring, if repeated, on separate and unrelated occasions, and there
is   no   collective   license   available  under  which  such       reproduction can bemade.
   2. On  any  copy  made under Paragraph 1 of this Article, its source and the name of
the author shall be indicated, as far as practically possible.
   3. It  is  permitted  to  reproduce  works  in  Braille or other special editions for the
blind, without profit, except for works created especially for reproduction by such
means.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 13
Article 20. Reproduction of works by libraries and archives
   Observing the condition that the reproduction of the work does not cause
unjustifiable  damage   to  the  normal  use  of  the  work  and  does  not unreasonably
infringe  on  the  lawful  interests  of  the  author,  it  is permitted, without  the author's
or copyright owner's authorisation for any library or  archive,  whose  activities  donot  serve  direct  or indirect profit-making, to make a single copy of a work by
reprographic reproduction means:
         1) where the work reproduced is a published article or other short work or  short
extract  of a writing, with or without illustrations, and where  the  purpose of the
reproduction is to satisfy the request of a  natural  person, anticipating that the copy
will be used solely for the  purpose  of  study,  scholarship or research, and the act of
reproduction is  an isolated case occurring, if repeated, on separate       and unrelatedoccasions;
         2) where  the  making  of  such  a  copy is in order to preserve a       particularly
valuable work or to replace a copy of such a work, if it is lost,  destroyed  or  rendered
unusable, with another copy, or to replace in  the  permanent collection of another
library or archive, a copy which  has  been  lost, destroyed or rendered unusable and itis impossible to  obtain  such  a  copy in other reasonable ways and the reproduction is
an isolated case, occurring, if repeated, on separate and unrelated occasions.
Article 21. Free use for judicial purposes
   It is  permitted,  without the consent of the author and without payment of
compensation  to  the author, to reproduce work for judicial purposes to the extentjustified for this purpose.
Article 22.  Free  use  of  works  permanently exhibited in public
places
   It is  permitted  without  the  consent of the author and without paying compensation
to  the author, to reproduce, broadcast, or communicate to the public by  wire, anarchitectural work, a photographic work, a work of fine art, a design work, and a work
of applied art, which is permanently located in a  freely  accessible place, with the
exception of cases where the image of the  work  is  the  main subject for further
reproduction, broadcast, or communication to the public by wire, or where the image
of the work is used for commercial purposes.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 14
Article 23. Free public performance
   Public performance  of musical works is permitted without the consent of the author
and without paying compensation to the author:
         1)  during   official  and  religious  ceremonies  to  the  extent justified by the
nature of the ceremony;         2) at  educational  institutions,  in  the  course  of educational activities, in which
teachers and students participate, provided that the audience  is  composed  of  the
teachers and students and persons directly  connected   with   the  educational
institution  (parents, guardians, tutors).
Article 24.  Free  use  of  ephemeral  recordings  by broadcasting
organisations
   1. A  broadcasting  organisation  may,  without the author's consent and without
payment  of  additional  compensation to the author, make ephemeral recordings of
works  for which this organisation has obtained broadcasting rights, on  the  condition
that such recording is done by the broadcasting organisation with its own resourcesand for its own broadcasts.
   2. The  organisation  is obligated to destroy such recordings within six months after
the recording was made, unless a longer period has been agreed upon with the author
of the recorded work. However, such a recording may be preserved, without  the
consent  of  the  author  of the work, in official archives on the basis of its peculiar
documentary or historic nature.
Article 25. Free reproduction and adaptation of computer programs
   1. A person who has lawful rights to a computer program may, without the consent
of  the author and without payment of additional compensation, make or permit  to be
made one copy or one adaptation of the computer program on condition that such
copy or adaptation:
         1) is necessary for the use of the computer program in conjunction with thecomputer itself and will be used solely for the purpose for which the computer
program has been obtained;
         2) is intended solely for archival purposes for the replacement of the lawfully
owned copy of the computer program in the event that the lawfully obtained copy of
the computer program is lost, destroyed, or otherwise rendered unusable.
   2. The copy or adaptation of the computer program that is referred to in Paragraph 1
of this Article must be destroyed if the lawful rights to this computer program are
terminated.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 15
Article 26. Free resale of a copy of a work
   It is  permitted,  without the consent of the author and without payment of additional
compensation,  to  resell  or transfer in another manner the right of  ownership  of  a
copy  of a work after the initial sale or other transfer of  the  right  of  ownership  of
that  copy, except in the cases referred to in Paragraph 1, Article16.
Article 27. Use of a work without the authorisation of the author,
but upon payment of compensation
  1. It  is permitted for natural persons to reproduce an audio-visual work or the sound
recording of a work solely for personal use (including use for scientific and  research
purposes), without the consent of the author, but upon payment of compensation to the
author.
   2. Just  compensation  for  the reproduction specified in Paragraph 1 of this Article
shall  be paid by the manufacturers or importers of equipment (audio and video tape
recorders and the like) and of recording media (sound and/or video tapes and
cassettes, laser discs, compact discs, and the like) used for such reproduction.
   3. The  determination  of  the  amount  of  just  compensation  and  the procedures
for  its  collection  and payment is done by a tariff commission formed by  the
Government, which is composed of a representative designated by  the   Government
or  its  authorised  institution  (the  chair  of  the commission) and  which  according
to  the  ratio  2:1:1  includes authors, producers  and   consumers   or   representatives
of   their   authorised organisations. Such organisations are determined by the
Government.
   4. The  commission has authority to obtain full information from customs andstatistical  organisations  and  the  Republic  of  Latvia  Enterprise Registry
concerning   the  manufacture  or  importation  of  the  products mentioned in
Paragraph 2 of this Article.
   5. The  compensation  referred  to  in  Paragraph  3  of this Article is accumulated in
an account specified by the Government and this compensation is divided among
authorised producer organisations taking into account that each reproduction is for
personal use of the work.   6. Compensation  for  reproduction  is not collected if natural or legal persons use
the recording media to provide recordings for the use of sight and hearing  impaired
individuals.  A list of such persons is certified by the Government.
   7. Just  compensation  is  not paid in those cases, if the equipment and recording
media  specified  in  Paragraph 2 of this Article are exported or are utilised
professionally  (such as professional equipment and recording media and Dictaphone
and cassettes which are used for Dictaphones).IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 16
Chapter Six
DURATION OF COPYRIGHT
Article 28. General provisions
   1. Copyright  shall remain in force throughout the author's life and for 50 years  after
the author's death, except for cases specified in Articles 29 and 30 of this Law.
   2. The author's moral rights cannot be inherited.
   3. The  author  is  entitled,  in  accordance  with  the same procedures whereby the
executor of a will is appointed, to designate a person to whom he will  grant the rights
of authorship, his name, and the inviolability of his works after his death. This person
shall exercise his power of attorney until the  end of his life. In the absence of such a
designation, copyright after the author's death is realised by his heirs. If there are no
heirs or if  the   copyright  has  expired,  then  the  protection  is  realised  byorganisations authorised to do so.
Article 29.  Duration  of copyright for works made available after
the author's death
  Copyright for  a work made available after the death of its author shall remain in
force for 50 years after the date it was lawfully made available
.
Article 30. Duration of copyright for particular types of works
   1. Copyright  in an audio-visual work remains in force for a period of 50 years from
the  time  it was lawfully made available or 50 years after its creation if it was notmade available.
   2. Copyright  in  a work made available anonymously or under a pseudonym
remains in  force  for a period of 50 years from the moment it was lawfully made
available.  If  within  the aforementioned period the author of a work issued
anonymously  or  under  a  pseudonym  reveals his identity or if his identity can  no
longer be doubted, then Paragraph l of Article 28 of this Law shall apply.
   3. Copyright in a work created by co-authors remains in force throughout thelifetimes of all of the authors and for 50 years after the death of the last surviving co-
author.
   4. The  duration  of  copyright  for  those  authors'  works  which were completely
prohibited or restricted from use in Latvia from June 1940 until May 1990,  is
extended by the number of years the work has been prohibited or restricted.  The  fact
of  prohibition  or restriction is determined by court.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 17
Article 31. Calculation of the term of copyright
   The term  of copyright provided for in this Chapter begins at the moment of the
creation  of rights (the legal fact) and ends on December 31 of the year in which the
terms referenced in Articles 28, 29 and 30 expire.
Article 32. Works to which the copyright has expired
   1. Works  to  which  copyright  has  expired  may  be used freely by any person,
however,  the  rights  of authorship, the rights to a name, and the rights of inviolability
of the work must be observed in accordance with the provisions of Article 13 of this
Law.
   2. Compensation to the author for the use of such works is not paid.
Chapter Seven
USE OH WORKS
Article 33. Rights to use periodicals and other publications
  1.  Legal   persons,   which   publish   encyclopaedias,   encyclopaedical dictionaries,
atlases,   periodical   collections   of  scientific  works, newspapers, magazines and
other periodical publications, have rights to use such publications  as a whole, if not
otherwise agreed in the contract with the authors  who  have  made a creative
investment in the formation of such publications.
   2. The  authors  of  works  included  in  such  publications  retain the copyright to
their  respective  works  and can use it independently of the publication as a whole.
   3. Except  for  the  provisions of Article 36 of this Law, the rights of legal persons
which  have been received under Paragraph 1 of this Article, terminate 25  years  after
such publication or its formation, if it was not published.
Article 34. Licenses to use a work
   1. If  it  is  not  otherwise  stated in the license, a license does not grant rights  to
transform  the  work. There may be exclusive and ordinary licenses.
   2. An  ordinary  license  grants  the  licensee (user) rights to perform actions
permitted  to  him  simultaneously with the author or other persons who have received
corresponding licenses.
   3. An  exclusive license grants rights to perform permitted actions only to the
licensee  (user)  and is in effect only if it is in writing and has been signed by bothparties.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 18
Article 35. Author contract
   1. An author contract, consistent with the requirements of the Civil Law of the
Republic  of  Latvia, governs specific ways of using the work (that is, the  specific
rights  granted  in  accordance with this contract), the conditions of  use,  the  amount
of  compensation  (or  the  procedure for determining the amount of compensation) foreach way of using the work, and the procedures  and deadlines for payment. Disputes
concerning these issues are resolved in court.
   2. If in the author contract the amount of compensation is not stated, a court may
determine the amount at its own discretion.
   3. An author contract may provide for the grant of a license for the use of a  work  in
one  or  more ways specified in the contract, also with the right to  fully  or  partially
transfer  the  license  to  a  third  party (sublicense). If there is no such provision in thecontract, the license is restricted to  those  actions  which  derive  from  the  contract
and  are necessary for accomplishing the goals of the contract.
   4. The following types of contracts must be concluded in writing:
         1) exclusive license contracts;
         2) publication contracts;         3) contracts  with  organisations which administer economic rights on a
collective basis;
         4) contracts with a producer to create an audio-visual work; and
         5) other contracts on which the parties mutually agree.
Article 36. The time period of an author contract
   1. The  time period for which a license is given is determined by mutual agreement
of the parties.
   2. If  the license granted by a contract does not have a restricted time period, the
author  may  terminate  the  contract at any time, upon giving written notice  to  the
other  party  six  months  before  termination  of contract.
   3. It  is  not permitted to include provisions in the author contract by which the
author  declines  the  rights granted him in Paragraph 2 of this Article.
Article 37.  The  territory  in  which  a license granted under an
author contract is effective
  1. The  author  contract must specify the territory in which the license granted is
effective.
   2. If  the  contract does not specify the territory in which the license granted under
the  contract  is  effective,  it pertains to the country in which the contract was
executed.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 19
Article 38. Author contract for a commissioned work
   1. Under  an  author  contract  for  a  commissioned work, the author is obligated to
create  a  work according to the requirements of the contract and to  give  it  to the
commissioning party for use in the time period and according to the procedures
specified in the contract.   2. The  author is obligated to personally prepare the commissioned work. The
addition  or  substitution  of  co-authors  may occur only with written consent from
the  commissioning  party  and  upon making amendments in the contract. The
author's failure to meet obligation to personally prepare the work, provides grounds
for the commissioning party to cancel the contract.
Section Two
NEIGHBOURING RIGHTS
Article 39. Owners of neighbouring rights
   1. The  owners  of  the rights addressed in this Section are performers, producers   of
sound   recordings,   broadcasting   organisations,  and organisations that communicate
to the public by wire or their successors in interest or heirs.
   2.  Producers  of  sound  recordings,  broadcasting  organisations,  and organisations
that  communicate to the public by wire exercise their rights within the  limits  of
those  rights  obtained  under  a contract with the performer and  author  of  the  work
recorded  in  a  sound  recording  or transmitted by  broadcast  or  by wire. In additionto permission, which is obtained from  the  director of a production for the use of the
production, it is  also  necessary to obtain permission from other performers, who take
part in the production, as well as from the author of the production.
   3. Performers  exercise  the  rights  specified  in  this  Section  upon condition that
the rights of the authors of the works be observed.
   4. For  the  rights specified in this Section to arise and be exercised, it is  not
necessary  to  observe any formalities. The producer of a sound recording and  theperformers, in order to give notice of their rights, use a mark  consisting  of  the  letter
P  in  a circle, and the year of first publication of  the  sound  recording. This mark is
placed on all copies of the sound  recording  or on the jackets containing them in a
way that gives clear notice of protection.
   5. Performers,  producers of sound recordings and other owners of rights provided
for  in  this  Section  exercise  their  rights  directly, through intermediaries, through
agents,  including  organisations  that administer economic rights on a collective basis.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 20
Article 40. Rights of performers
   1. Performers  have  the following exclusive rights concerning the works of art
created in their performances or productions (also concerning works created through
mixed technical methods):
         1) to acknowledgement of their name;
         2) to  protection  from  distortion  or  any  change  or any other alteration in  aperformance  or production that may cause damage to the honour and reputation of the
performer;
         3)  to  permit  or  prohibit  the  live  broadcast,  broadcast  or transmission by
wire  or  by  other means of making a performance or production known to the public,
except in cases, when the performance or production to be broadcast live, transmitted
by wire or made known to the  public  by  other  means  has been previously broadcast
live, transmitted by wire, or lawfully fixated;         4) to  permit  or  prohibit the fixation of a previously unfixed       performance or
production;
         5) to  permit  or  prohibit the reproduction of fixations of their       performances
or productions, in instances when:
               - an initial fixation was made without the permission of theperformer;
               - a fixation is reproduced for purposes other than those for which the
performer granted permission;
               - a  reproduction  is made for purposes other than those for which a  fixation
was made in accordance with the provisions of Article 45 of this Law;
         6) to  permit or prohibit the live broadcast, transmission by wire or other  means
of  making  known  a  fixation  of  a performance or production, except for instances
when the fixation was initially made for non-commercial purposes;
         7)  to  permit  or  prohibit  presentation  to  the  public  of  a performance or
production  through  leasing  or  rental of published sound recordings.  When  a
contract  is signed for the fixation of a performance or  production,  these rights pass
to the producer of the sound recording,  however,  the  performer  retains  the right to
the compensation owed  him  for  the  rental  and  leasing  of such soundrecordings and the copies thereof.
   2.  The  collection,  allocation,  and  payment  of  the  aforementioned compensation
is  done  in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Article 43 of this Law.
   3. The  performer  is paid compensation for granting permission to use a
performance or  production  and  for  its  use  in  the  cases specified in Subsections 3),
4), 5), 6), and 7) of Paragraph 1 of this Article.   4. The  compensation  indicated in Subsections 3), 4), 5), 6), and 7) of Paragraph 1
of this Article definitely must be paid to the performer or his authorised representative
on the basis of a signed contract.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 21
Article 41. Performer contract
   The provisions  concerning  author  contracts  stated  in Paragraph 2 of Article 35
apply also to performer contracts.
Article 42.  Contract  with  a  performer  for  the creation of an
audio-visual work
   1. The  execution of a contract between a performer and a producer of an audio-
visual work  for  the  creation  of  an  audio-visual  work governs the performer's grant
of rights to fixation, reproduction, and communication of his performances  to  the
public, in accordance with Subsections 3), 4), 5) of Paragraph  1  of  Article  40  of
this  Law. Such rights for use of the audio-visual work  limit  the  rights  granted to the
performer, and, if not otherwise specified  in the contract, do not include rights toseparate use of the sound and images fixed in the audio-visual work.
   2. The  contract  for  creation  of  an  audio-visual  work  must provide
compensation to the performer for each way of use of such a work.
Article 43. The rights of producers of sound recordings
   1. Producers  of sound recordings have exclusive rights concerning their sound
recordings,  with  the  exception  of  published sound recordings, to permit or  prohibit
direct or indirect reproduction, distribution and live broadcast, broadcast  or
transmission  by wire of the sound recordings and copies thereof, and also to receive
compensation for granting permission to use the  sound recordings and their copies
and for their use. The rights of distribution include  the  right to leasing, rental and
import of the sound recordings and copies thereof.   2. In addition to the rights referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article, producers of
sound recordings shall have the following rights:
         1) to  permit  or prohibit the importation of lawfully made copies of sound
recordings and copies thereof; and
         2) to  permit  or prohibit the distribution of the copies of sound       recordings,
for which permission to make or import was not obtained;
   3. Producers  of  sound  recordings continue to exercise their exclusive rights to  therental  and  leasing  of  their sound recordings and copies thereof, regardless  of  the
rights  of the owner of the copy of the sound recording.
   4. The  collection,  allocation,  and  payment  of  the compensation for leasing and
rental  of  sound  recordings  and  copies  thereof is done by organisations that
administer the rights of performers and of producers of sound recordings  on  a
collective  basis  (Article  51  of this Law).
   The compensation amounts to be paid by the user pursuant to this Article areallocated  between  the  producers  of  the  sound  recording  and  the performers in
equal  shares, if the contract between them does not specify otherwise.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 22
Article 44. Compensation for the use of sound recordings published
for commercial purposes
   1. If a sound recording published for commercial purposes, or reproduced copies of
such a sound recording are used directly for the live broadcast, broadcast or
transmission  by  wire,  the  user  is  obligated to pay just compensation to theperformers and the producer of the sound recording
.
   2. The  amount  of  the  compensation  indicated  in Paragraph 1 of this Article is setby special agreement between the performers, the producer of the sound  recording  or
organisations  that  represent  the  professional (creative) interests  of  the  performers
and producers of sound recordings and the  users  of  the  sound  recordings  and
copies thereof or societies (associations) of such users. These agreements must
anticipate compensation for each way that a sound recording and copies thereof areused, procedures for collection and allocation.
Article 45. Rights of broadcasting organisations
   1. Broadcasting  organisations  have the following exclusive rights with respect to
their broadcasts:         1) to permit or prohibit rebroadcasts or live broadcasts by wire;
         2) to permit or prohibit fixation;
         3) to  permit  or  prohibit  reproduction  of  fixations  of their broadcasts in cases
in which:
               a) a fixation has been made without their permission;
               b) a  reproduction is made for purposes other than those for which a  fixation
was  made  according  to  the  provisions of Article 47 of this Law;
         4) to  permit or prohibit the communication to the public of radio and television
broadcasts if they occur for paid admission in places accessible to a large group of
people.
   2. Compensation  must  be  paid  to  the  broadcasting organisations for permission
to  use  broadcasts  and  for the use of broadcasts in the cases indicated in Paragraph 1of this Article.
Article 46. Rights of organisations that transmit by wire
   1. Organisations  that  broadcast  by  wire have the following exclusive rights:
         1)  to   permit  or  prohibit  retranslating  by  wire  and  live broadcasts;
         2) to permit or prohibit fixation;
         3) to  permit  or  prohibit the reproduction of fixations of their transmissions bywire in cases in which:
               a) the fixation was made without their permission;IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 23
               b) a  reproduction is made for purposes other than those for which the
fixation  was  made  according  to the provisions of Article 47 of this Law; and
         4) to  permit or prohibit the communication to the public of radio and television
transmissions,  if  they  occur for paid admission in places accessible to a large group
of people.
   2. Compensation  must be paid to the organisations that transmit by wire for
permission  to  use  transmissions  and  for  their  use  in  the cases indicated in
Paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 47.  Limitations  on rights of performers and producers of
sound  recordings,  broadcasting  organisations,  and
organisations that transmit by wire
  1. The  use  of  a  performance,  production, broadcast, transmission by wire, and
fixation  thereof, and also the reproduction of sound recordings is permitted  without
the  consent  of  the performers, producers of sound recordings, broadcasting
organisations,  or organisations that transmit by wire, and without the payment of
compensation:
         1) for personal purposes;
         2) for  inclusion  in a survey of current events of short excerpts of  a
performance,   production,  sound  recording,  broadcast,  or  transmission by wire;
         3) for purposes of teaching or scientific research;
         4) for  citation  in  the form of small excerpts of a performance, production,
sound  recording,  broadcast or transmission by wire upon  condition that such citation
is for informational purposes. Moreover, broadcasting organisations andorganisations  that transmit by wire may use copies of sound recordings published for
commercial purposes, for any  live  broadcast  or  transmission  by  wire,  observing
the provisions of Article 44 of this Law;
         5) in  other  cases,  which  are  specified  by  the provisions of Section One,
Chapter  5,  of this Law with respect to limitations on the economic  rights  of  authors
of scientific, literary, musical and artistic works.
   2. The  provisions  of  Articles  40,  43, 45 and 46 of this Law are not applied with
respect  to obtaining the permission of performers, producers of sound  recordings,
and  broadcasting  organisations  for  the making of ephemeral recordings  of
performances,  productions, or transmissions, for the reproduction  of  such  fixations,
and  for  the reproduction of sound recordings published  for commercial purposes, if
the ephemeral fixation or the reproduction  is made by a broadcasting organisation
with its own means and for its own transmissions, on the following conditions:         1) that the broadcasting organisation obtain permission in advance for broadcast
of  the  same production, performance, or transmission with respect  to  which theIP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 24
ephemeral fixation or the reproduction of such fixation  is  made  in  accordance  with
the provisions of this Paragraph; and
         2) that  the  fixation  be  destroyed  within the time period that applies to short-
term use of literary, scientific, and artistic works by broadcasting  organisations  in
accordance with the provisions of Article 24  of  this  Law,  except  for  a  single copy,
which may be retained in  the  official  archives  on  the basis of its particular
documentary nature.   3. The limitations specified in this Article are used in such a way that they do  not
prejudice  the  normal use of sound recordings, performances, productions,  broadcasts
and   fixations   thereof,  and  also  literary, scientific, and artistic works included
therein, and without the abridgement of the  lawful  interests of the performers,
producers of sound recordings, broadcasting organisations and authors of the above
mentioned works.
Article 48. Effective period of neighbouring rights
   1. The  rights  specified in this Section with respect to performers are effective for
50  years  after  the  first  performance or production. The rights of  performers
provided  for  by Article 40, Subsections 1 and 2 of Paragraph 1 of this Law remain in
force for an unlimited time.   2. The  rights provided for by this Section with respect to producers of sound
recordings are effective for 50 years after the first sound recording is released.
   3. The  rights provided for by this Section with respect to broadcasting organisations
are  effective for 50 years after the first broadcast by that organisation.
   4. The rights provided for by this Section with respect to organisations that  transmit
by  wire  are  effective  for  50  years  after  the  first transmission by wire by that
organisation.   5. The time period for the rights anticipated by the previous paragraphs of this
Article  begins  with  the moment of creation of rights (the legal fact) and  ends on
December 31 of the year in which the terms referenced in this Article expire.
Article 49. Scope of neighbouring rights
   1. The  rights  of  performers  are  recognised  in accordance with this Section in
cases where:         1) the performer is a citizen of the Republic of Latvia;
         2) the  performance  or  production took place in the territory of the Republic of
Latvia;
         3) the  performance  or production is fixated in a sound recording that is
protected  on  the basis of the provisions of Paragraph 2 of this Article; or
         4) a performance or production not fixated in a sound recording is       included
in  a broadcast or transmission by wire that is protected on the basis of the provisionsof Paragraph 3 of this Article.
   2. The  rights  of  a  producer  of  sound  recordings are recognised in accordance
with this Section in cases where:IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 25
         1) the  producer  of  the  sound  recording  is  a  citizen of the Republic of
Latvia;
         2) the first fixation of sounds took place in the territory of the Republic of
Latvia; or
         3) the sound recording was first published in the territory of the Republic of
Latvia.
   3. The  rights  of  broadcasting  organisations  and  organisations that transmit by
wire  are  recognised  in  accordance with this Section in the case, where the
broadcasting organisation or organisation that transmits by wire has its official place
of business in the territory of the Republic of Latvia.
   4. The  rights  specified  in  this Section are recognised as to foreign natural and
legal persons who have made the first performance, production, fixation of  sounds,
broadcast, transmission by wire outside the territory of the  Republic  of Latvia inaccordance with the international agreements of the Republic of Latvia.
Section Three
COLLECTIVE ADMINISTRATION OF ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Article 50. General provisions
 To protect  the  economic  rights  of  authors, performers, producers of sound
recordings, and other owners of neighbouring rights in the Republic of Latvia in  cases
where  the  above mentioned  rights  in practice cannot be protected on  an individual
basis, or their implementation is difficult, it is possible  to  form  organisations that
administer the economic rights of the specified  persons on a collective basis. Suchorganisations are formed by authors,  performers,  producers of sound recordings and
other owners of neighbouring rights  in the Republic of Latvia and operate within the
limits of power  of  attorney  obtained  from  the  authors  and  other  owners of
neighbouring rights.
Article 51.  Organisations  that  administer  economic rights on a
collective basis
   1. In  accordance  with this Law, the activity of the organisations that administer
economic  rights on a collective basis is not considered to be a monopoly,  and  is  not
subject  to  the  limitations  set  forth  in  the antimonopoly legislative acts.
   2. Powers  of  attorney  for  the  collective administration of economic rights are
obtained  from  the respective owners of copyrights, performers and other  owners  of
neighbouring rights on the basis of written agreements (contracts).
   3. Foreign  authors  and owners of neighbouring rights in the Republic of Latvia arerepresented  by  organisations  in  the Republic of Latvia that administer economicIP/N/1/LVA/C/1
Page 26
rights on a collective basis, pursuant to authorisation agreements with  foreign  authors
and owners of neighbouring rights or their authorised organisations.
   4. Organisations  that  administer  the  economic  rights  of  owners of copyrights
and   neighbouring   rights   on  a  collective  basis  are  the representatives regarding
the  rights  of  these  owners  and  their legal interests with respect to all matters within
the scope of their activity.
   5. Licenses  (permits)  granted  by organisations to users of copyrights andneighbouring  rights  are  comprehensive,  i.e.,  they  permit  the use, performance,
production,  sound  recording,  broadcast  and transmission by wire of  all  works. In
granting such licenses, the organisations represent
all the  owners  of  copyrights  and  neighbouring rights whom such licenses affect.
All   possible   economic  claims  of  owners  of  copyrights  and neighbouring rights
against  users, which derive from or are connected with the use  of  comprehensive
licenses  must  be handled by the organisations granting such licenses.   6. The  organisations  have  the right to leave in reserve in their bank accounts any
unclaimed  and  unclarified  compensation sums collected from users. After  the
expiration  of  a  3  year  term from the date they were received in the organisation's
account, they may be included in the regular payments of distributed sums or used for
other purposes in the interests of the owners of copyrights and neighbouring rightsrepresented.
Article 52.  Functions  of  organisations that administer economic
rights on a collective basis
   Organisations that administer economic rights on a collective basis must perform the
following functions:
         1) conduct  negotiations  with  users  concerning  the  amount  of
compensation  and  other  conditions  based  on  which  licenses  are granted;
         2) grant  licenses to users for the use of the rights administered by such
organisations;
         3) conduct  negotiations  with users concerning the amount of just
compensation in  those  cases  where these organisations collect such
compensation (Article  16,  Paragraph  2;  Article  27;  Article  28, Paragraph 2;Article 43, Paragraph 2);
         4) collect  the  compensation  anticipated  in the licenses and/or just
compensation;
         5) allocate  and pay the compensation collected in accordance with
Subsection 4)  of this Article and/or just compensation to the owners of copyrights and
neighbouring rights.
         6) engage  in  other  activity  under  the powers of attorney from owners ofcopyrights and neighbouring rights.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
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Article 53.  Obligations of organisations that administer economic
rights on a collective basis
   1. The  organisations  that  administer  economic rights on a collective basis act  in
the  interests  of  the owners of copyrights and neighbouring rights represented  by
such  organisations. The organisations must fulfil the following obligations:
         1) simultaneously with the payment of the compensation, to provide the owners
of  copyrights  and neighbouring rights with an accounting containing information
about  the  use of their works, performances, etc.; and
         2) to  allocate  the collected sums of the compensation, after the       deductions
specified  in Paragraph 2) of this Article are made, among the owners  of  copyrights
and neighbouring rights represented by such organisations in  proportion  to  their
usable  works, performances, etc., and to make regular payments of the specifiedsums.
   2. It  is forbidden to use the compensation collected in accordance with the
provisions  of Article 52, Subsection 4) of this Law for purposes other than to  cover
actual expenses in its collection, allocation, and payment; from the  compensation
collected,  sums  may  also be deducted for special funds established  by  theseorganisations  with the consent of and in the interests of the owners of copyrights and
neighbouring rights represented by them.
   3. The  owners of copyrights and neighbouring rights who have not granted powers
of  attorney  to  the  organisations  for  the  collection  of  the
compensation anticipated  in Article 51, Paragraph 5, of this Law, have the right to
request  that the organisations pay them the compensation owed to them  in
accordance   with   the   allocation   of  compensation  by  the organisations, as  wellas exclude their works, performances, etc. from the licenses granted to users by these
organisations.
Section Four
INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT AND NEIGHBOURING RIGHTS.
PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF AUTHORS, PERFORMERS,
PRODUCERS OF SOUND RECORDINGS, BROADCASTING ORGANISATIONS,
ORGANISATIONS THAT TRANSMIT BY WIRE
Article 54.  Infringement  of  copyright  and  neighbouring rights.
Pirated copies of works or sound recordings
   1. A  natural  or  legal person who does not fulfil the requirements of this Law
concerning  the  exclusive  rights of owners of copyrights and/or neighbouring rights,including importing into the Republic of Latvia (except imports for  personal
purposes)  copies of works or sound recordings which were made without permission
from the owners of the respective rights, is a violator of copyrights and/or
neighbouring rights.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
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   2. Pirated copies are copies of works or sound recordings, the making or distribution
of  which  entails  violation of copyrights and/or neighbouring rights.
   3. Pirated copies, in accordance with this Law, are also copies of works or sound
recordings protected in the Republic of Latvia, which are imported into the  Republic
of  Latvia from countries in which these works or sound recordings were not protected
or the term of protection has expired.
Article 55. Protection of rights of authors, performers, producers
of sound  recordings,  broadcasting  organisations and
organisations that transmit by wire
   1. An author, performer, producer of a sound recording, broadcasting organisation,
organisation  that  transmits  by  wire  and  other owners of copyrights and
neighbouring  rights  have  the  right  to  require  from  a violator:
         1) recognition of rights;
         2) restoration  of  the situation that existed until the violation of the  right, and
cessation of the actions that violate the right or threaten to violate it;
         3) reimbursement  for losses, including the income received by the violator;
         4) instead of  eimbursement for losses to receive compensation pursuant to courtorder; and
         5) taking  other  measures anticipated by legislative acts and the Civil Law  of
the  Republic  of Latvia, which are connected with the protection of their rights.
   2. For  the  protection  of  their  rights, the owners of copyrights and neighbouring
rights  may  turn to court, commercial court, or arbitration in accordance with
procedures set by legislative acts.   3. A  court  may  order  the  confiscation or destruction of the pirated copies of a
work or sound recording. Upon the request of the plaintiff, the materials and
equipment used for the reproduction of the work or recording shall be  returned  to
him  in  order  to  reimburse  losses,  or shall be transferred for  use  for  charitable
purposes, or the sums equal to their value shall be transferred to the budget of the
Republic of Latvia.
   4. When  rights  are  violated which are administered in accordance with SectionThree of this Law, an organisation that administers economic rights on a  collective
basis  makes  the  claims  on  behalf  of  the  owners of copyrights and neighbouring
rights concerning the protection of the violated rights.
Article 56.  Forfeiture  of  illegal  copies  of  works  and sound
recordings
   Copies of  works  and  sound  recordings,  which  are  made, reproduced, distributed,
sold, imported or in any other way used or provided for use in violation of the rights
of authors and producers of sound recordings can be forfeited.IP/N/1/LVA/C/1
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Article  57.   Responsibility  for  violations  of  copyright  and
neighbouring rights
   Depending on  the  nature and consequences of the violation of copyright and/or
neighbouring  rights, the violator may be charged with civil, administrative or criminal
responsibility pursuant to legislation in effect in the Republic of Latvia.
Section Five
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
   Article 58  If an international agreement which has been entered into by the
Republic  of  Latvia  includes  provisions which are different than the norms in thisLaw, the provisions of the international agreement prevail
.
Chairman, Supreme Council
Republic of Latvia                                          A.Gorbunovs
Secretary, Supreme Council
Republic of Latvia                                          I.Daudišs
Riga, May 11, 1993The authenticity of the translation is confirmed by
Secretary of the Supreme Councilof the Republic of Latvia. For purposes of
interpretation, the original Latvian text is to be
regarded as official.                                      I.Daudišs
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