CONCEPT AND CHARACTERISTICS OF AUDIOVISUAL WORK AS AN OBJECT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

The article is devoted to the study of the legal nature of an audiovisual work as an independent object of copyright. The current legislation, international treaties and foreign experience in the field of audiovisual work protection are analyzed. The basic scientific approaches concerning determination of the legal framework of an audiovisual work are described and the basic characteristics of the latter are formulated. It is revealed that audiovisual work is the result of multi-stage collective creative work. The necessity of assigning an audiovisual work to the category of complex objects of intellectual property law is substantiated. Despite the fact that it covers a number of heterogeneous objects, the latter are united around the sole purpose – the creation of an independent work. Based on the analysis of the features of the collective form of creativity, the appropriateness of assigning an audiovisual work to the category of works that arise as a result of collective creation is concluded. As relations between the persons involved in its creation are regulated by the relevant laws and provisions of contracts concluded between them. In addition, their activities are subject to the sole purpose - the creation of an independent object of copyright. The unity of the leadership, in turn, is ensured by concentrating management activities in the hands of the director. It is noted that for determining the features of audiovisual works, it is necessary to take into account the complexity of its creation, conditioned by a wide range of subjects participating in such a process and the heterogeneous nature of its components. The expediency of separating two groups of features of an audiovisual work is substantiated – characteristics justified by its belonging to works as objects of copyright, as well as features relating to audiovisual work exclusively, and, thus, making it possible to distinguish the latter among other objects of intellectual property rights. It is emphasized that creative character and objective form of expression should be classified as the characteristics of the first type. By contrast, a second group includes the following features: 1) the presence of a series of fixed and interconnected frames (images), analog or discrete signals; 2) the presence of a visual effect of motion; 3) the use of appropriate technical means; 4) intended for visual and auditory perception; 5) the complex and collective character of the creation.