The conception of a "protected work" in Spain (contained in Title II, Chapter 2) is generalist, and covers (art.
Such an agreement must normally guarantee the author a reasonable share of the income derived from the exploitation of the work (art.
The authors of works of plastic art have the right to 3% of the resale price of their works when the resale price is greater than or equal to 300,000 pesetas (1,807 euros): this right cannot be renounced or transferred during the lifetime of the author (art. 24).
The main dispositions concerning the duration of copyright are contained in Title III, Chapter 1, as modified.
In general, copyright protection in Spain lasts for the life of the author plus seventy years (art. 26).
In the case of authors that died before 7 December 1987,the exploitations rights last for the time granted by the 1879 law, which granted a term of 80 years, but it is not clear if the 1 January rules applies in this case[1] As in other countries, there are a number of societies which collectively manage the licensing of different types of work and the collection of royalties on behalf of copyright holders.
These societies (entidades de gestión) are governed by Title IV of Book Three of the Intellectual Property Law (arts.
The moral rights of the author, contained in Chapter 3, Section 1, of Title II, go beyond the minimum requirements of the Berne Convention.
87): The authors are presumed to grant an exclusive licence to the producer, unless there is an agreement to the contrary, covering the reproduction, communication to the public and distribution of the work (art.
88): this is the opposite of the case for other types of work, where the licence is assumed to be non-exclusive unless there is a provision to the contrary (art. 48).
An employer is assumed to have an exclusive grant of the rights of exploitation of computer programs written by employees in the course of their work (art. 97.4).
A performer is any person who "presents, sings, reads, recites, interprets or exercutes a work in any form," including the stage director and the conductor of an orchestra (art. 105).
The person who takes the "initiative and responsibility" to make such a recording has the exclusive right to authorize its reproduction, communication to the public and distribution (arts. 121–123).
134) There are (limited) exceptions for the private use of non-electronic databases, for teaching and research and for public security and for administrative or judicial procedures (art. 135).
31): the author is compensated by a tax on the means of reproduction (e.g. photocopiers, blank cassettes) determined at article 25.
Some consumer's associations and specialized lawyers contend that the current legislation allows file sharing (as with p2p networks) as this is not for profit and is for private use [6] Archived 9 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine[7].
Additionally, the Penal Code explicitly requires the intention of commercial profit in order to commit a crime against the Intellectual Property [8].
Lectures, addresses, judicial proceedings and other works of the same nature may be reproduced or communicated for the sole purpose of reporting on current events (art. 33.2).
Any work which can be seen or heard may be reproduced, distributed and publicly communicated for the purpose of, and only to the extent necessary for, providing information thereof in the context of reporting on current events (art. 34).
Museums, libraries and similar public or cultural institutions may make reproductions of works for the purposes of research (art. 37).
Transcription of works may be made into Braille or another medium specific for the use of the blind, provided that the use of the copies is non-lucrative (3º of art. 31).
Works which are permanently situated in parks, streets, squares or public routes may be reproduced in paintings, drawings, photographs and by audiovisual means (art. 35).
Its role is to mediate between cable distributors (widespread and numerous in Spain) and rightsholders; and to arbitrate between copyright management societies and those who use their repertoires.
Spain is a signatory to the following international intellectual property treaties, which have direct force under Spanish law.