Croatia Amends Copyright Law

The Law on Amendments to the Law on Copyright and Related Rights Act came into force in Croatia on December 5, 2013.

The amendments aim to align Croatia’s legislation with Directive 2011/77/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 September 2011 amending and supplementing Directive 2006/116/EU on the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights.

In line with this directive, the term of protection for performers and phonogram producers has been extended from 50 to 70 years. Through provisions extending the term of protection as well as through provisions on additional performers’ rights and phonogram producers’ obligations, a higher degree of compliance between authors’ rights and performers’ rights has been achieved.

The amendments also aim to ensure a more adequate compensation for an artistic performance. Furthermore, a provision on gender neutrality has been introduced, stating that the terms used in this act with a gender-specific meaning apply equally to the male and female gender.

The text of the law in both English and Croatian will soon be available on the official website of the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office.

Prepared by: Jadranka Barisic; Ivan Kos

For more information, please contact croatia@petosevic.com.

Source: The text of the law