Copyright (GDR)

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The copyright designated in the GDR an individual right , as "socialist moral rights" was designed with pecuniary and non-economic rights. It thus differed fundamentally from the concept of intellectual property in the Federal Republic of Germany . Copyright was regulated since September 13, 1965 in the Copyright Act (URG) (Journal of Laws of I p. 209). Unlike in the Federal Republic of Germany, this law also contained copyright contract law. His goal was the "connection of the personal interests of the author with the social interest" (§ 1 Abs. 1 URG).

Property law

Copyright as a socialist personality right

The distribution of works that did not serve social progress, the dissemination of humanistic ideas and the safeguarding of peace and friendship between peoples was not protected (Section 1 (1) of the Copyright Act), i. H. Works "with which the war is glorified, chauvinistic and racist ideas are spread and the youth is morally poisoned" The concept of work was introduced in § 2 URG: Works of literature, art and science were protected that were in an objectively perceptible form are designed and represent an individual creative achievement. In Section 2 (2) URG there was an exemplary (non-exhaustive) list of the most important types of work. Computer programs were not considered protectable.

Copyright was inextricably linked with the creative activity itself and could therefore only belong to the author himself. Legal persons could not own a copyright.

As compensation for his socially useful work, the author could receive remuneration that was based on legal criteria. The benchmark for this was not the work done, but the work produced.

Since copyright was a personal right, it could not be transferred.

Besides knew the URG East Germany - as well as most copyright jurisdictions - in the second part under the heading "Neighboring Rights" of the law known as neighboring rights , among other things, the performers protected (§ 73 URG).

The copyright protection period ended 50 years after the death of the author at the end of the year (Section 33 (1) URG), ancillary copyrights existed for a period of 10 years (Section 82 URG).

The sole collecting society and counterpart to GEMA was the establishment for the protection of the performance and reproduction rights in the field of music (AWA).

International Copyright

The GDR was a member State of the Berne Convention , the WUA and the WIPO . However, the GDR could not fully exercise its membership until it was internationally recognized and accepted into the UN in 1972.

Copyright contract law

The copyright contract law (§§ 36–72 URG) was largely withdrawn from private autonomy. Individual agreements were mostly not possible, but were replaced by (legally non-binding) model contracts.

Jurisdiction

The District Court of Leipzig from 1974 onwards, in the first instance for litigation in the field of copyright exclusive jurisdiction (primarily also to the disputes commissions and the State contract Court ).

Unification Agreement

With the Unification Treaty of October 3, 1990, the law on copyright and related rights applies throughout Germany. According to Appendix I, chap. III, subject. E: Commercial legal protection, law against unfair competition, copyright, section II 2 of the Unification Treaty of August 31, 1990 (Federal Law Gazette II, p. 889) it also applies to works that were created in the accession area before accession. This led in part to the subsequent resurgence of copyright protection.

literature

Legal texts and documentation

Textbooks

  • Heinz Püschel and collective authors: Copyright of the German Democratic Republic . State publishing house of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin (East) 1969 ( limited preview in the Google book search).

Essays

  • Heinz Püschel : On some basic questions about the new copyright law of the GDR . In: GRUR . No. 6 , 1968, p. 300 ( google.de ).
  • Yolanda Eminescu: Current Problems of Copyright in European Socialist Countries . In: GRUR Int . No. 7 , 1980, pp. 387 .
  • Matthias Wießner: The GDR and the international copyright regime . In: Comparativ . No. 5-6 , 2006, pp. 249-267 .
  • Matthias Wießner: The GDR and the Bern agreement for the protection of works of literature and art . In: UFITA . No. II , 2012, p. 371-424 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heinz Püschel : On some basic questions of the new copyright law of the GDR . In: GRUR . No. 6 , 1968, p. 302 .
  2. ^ District Court Leipzig, NJ 1981, 236 ; however, the award of software by partners other than the developing business entity could be excluded in business contracts for scientific and technical services: Central Contracting Court , Spruchpraxis 11, 35 = Wirtschaftsrecht 1984, 21 = GRUR Int. 1984, 305 (on Section 62 Contract Act )
  3. ↑ Simon Apel: The performing musician in the law of Germany and the USA. 2011, p. 180 f.
  4. ^ Matthias Wießner: The GDR and the international copyright regime . In: Comparativ . No. 5-6 , 2006, pp. 254 .
  5. ^ Petra Arends: The copyright contract law of the GDR . Frankfurt am Main 1991 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  6. ↑ Section 30 (3) GVG 1974
  7. ↑ Dresden District Court , NJ 1980, 92
  8. ↑ OG Z 16, 184 = NJ 1981, 378 = GRUR Int. 1982, 259 ; different for the secondary copyright contract law, Rostock District Court, Spruchpraxis 6, 47