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The authors are the holders of the patrimonial and moral rights over their literary or artistic works. They have the exclusive right of use. The author will hold over the work a really personal and perpetual right. He can not alienate or waive that right. This right is called moral right, and it is transferable successively to his spouse, descendants and ancestors for the whole term of protection of the work when the holder dies, and there is not a will. The moral right corresponds to his director when the work is a cinematographic work. The holder of the copyrights or related rights can transfer totally or partially his patrimonial rights. The author of a literary or artistic work can entitle an editor the right of reproducing, spreading and selling the work. The editor at his own risk can edit the literary or artistic work. This contract can be done by a specific number of editions or by a maximum of five years. The author of a play (drama, tragedy, comedy, opera or other work of the same gender) trusts his public representation, with or without the exclusive right, to a theater businessman. This is done through a representation contract and just for certain number of representation in a particular show place. An economic remuneration will be established in the contract, and it can not exceed five years. In Costa Rica, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus seventy years. After his death, those who have acquired his rights in a legitimate way will enjoy them for seventy years. In the case of collaboration works (produced by two or more authors), the term of seventy years will be counted from the death of the last collaborator. The rights related to copyrights are protected for seventy years from the 31st day of December of the year in which the event took place. The informative press, current articles published on magazines or newspapers, speeches given in deliberate meetings o public meetings, arguments before Supreme Courts, the reproductions of photography or other pictorial processes of status, monuments or works of art acquired by the public power exposed in the streets, gardens and museums are among the exceptions considered in Costa Rica. |
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The protection of copyrights is the result of the intellectual activity of a person in the literary and artistic fields (literary, musical, artistic, scientific and audiovisual woks, and plays). In Costa Rica, the protection of copyrights comprises the expressions but not the ideas, the procedures, methods of use neither the mathematical concepts. Our copyrights law seeks to avoid that third parties commercialize without authorization, protecting in that manner the works of Costa Rican authors located or not in the country. The works of foreign authors located abroad will have the protection according to the international conventions to which the country is part.
