USE OF PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS IN MEDIA: CERTAIN ASPECTS OF CIVIL LIABILITY

Abstract

The use of copyright objects in the media sphere is associated with a number of legal problems, in particular, proper compliance with intellectual rights to such objects. The purpose of this study is to draw conclusions about some aspects of the onset of civil liability in cases of unlawful use of such objects of copyright as photographic works in the field of media. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were set: to determine, if available, the features of the use of works, in particular photographic ones, in the media sphere; analyze the judicial practice developed by the courts of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus for cases of violation of rights when using works in the area under consideration, formulate proposals for improving law enforcement practice.

To conduct this research, general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, a systematic method, as well as special legal methods, in particular comparative legal methods, were used.

The results obtained can be briefly formulated as follows. Firstly, in the sphere of media, intellectual rights to a number of copyright objects are violated, among which photographic works stand out. Secondly, alleged violators traditionally use a number of arguments that are considered by the court in terms of the possibility of exemption from civil liability. These include, in particular, the lack of copyrightability of the photograph, the lack of information about the author or other copyright holder, the Internet as the source of this work, the presence of a case of free use, and lack of knowledge of the law.