Glossary

No

Concept

Definition

1

Interpreting or performing artist

Person who represents, sings, reads, recites, interprets or performs a literary or artistic work. (Art.3 Clause 2 Regulation N.º 24611-J)

2

Registration entry

Characterized by stating in a summary fashion that which according to the registrar is stated in the relevant legal act contained in the request

3

Author

An author is, unless otherwise explicitly stated, a physical person who carries out intellectual creation (Art.3 Clause 1 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

4

Database

Compilation of material, facts or data which, through their manner of selection and arrangement, has elements of originality. (Art.3 Clause 3 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

5

Evaluation for registration

A statement of the principle of legality; it is based on a prior examination to verify the documents submitted to be registered to establish that the entries are exact and in agreement with the legal reality inferred from them

6

Registration certificate

Official document issued by the Registry of Copyright and Related Rights, declaring a copyright or related right, once registration has been made

7

Interpreter or performing artist

Person who represents, sings, reads, recites, interprets or performs a literary or artistic work. (Art.3 Clause 2 Regulation N.º 24611-J)

8

Transfer of rights

Transfer of any patrimonial rights that belong to the holder

9

Public communication

Act through which a piece of work is made available to the public, by any means or procedure which does not consist of distribution of copies. The entire process necessary to make the piece of work to be made available to the public is communication. (Art.3 Clause 4 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

10

Copy or issue

Tangible support that contains the work, as a result of an act of reproduction. (Art.3 Clause 5 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

11

Copyright

An aspect of Intellectual Property which grants acknowledgement and protection to creators of literary or artistic works for the purpose of guaranteeing legal security to authors and holders of rights

12

Rights holder

Individual or corporation to whom the rights acknowledged in the Law are transferred (Art.3 Regulation 6 Nº 24611-J)

13

Moral rights

Personal, inalienable, unrenounceable and perpetual rights of the work's author (Art.13 CRRL)

14

Ownership rights

Exclusive rights of the author regarding use of a work, encompassing all possible ways of exploitation

15

Distribution

Consists of making either the original or copies of the work or phonogram available to the public through its sale, rent, importation, loan or any other similar form (Art.4 Clause or CRRL)

16

Public distribution

Making available to the public the original or copies of a work either through its sale, rental, loan or any other activity (Art.3 Clause 7 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

17

Editor

Individual or corporation which acquires the exclusive right to reproduce a work. (Art.4 Clause i CRRL)
Individual or corporation that through a contract with the author of the work, or its rights-holder, commits him- or itself to guarantee publication and distribution of the work on his or its own account. (Art.3 Clause 9 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

18

Publication or broadcasting

Communication of works, sounds, or sounds with images through radioelectric waves, cable, optical fiber and other similar procedures, either through direct or delayed signals. The concept of broadcasting also encompasses sending signals from a terrestrial station to a satellite which will relay the transmission later. (Art.3 Clause   10 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

19

Conceptual error

When registrations, or the acts which authorize them, omit the expression of any substantial element of the registration or the necessity for some essential element of the contract, or when the true sense of any of the concepts contained in the title is modified or changed, due to an erroneous evaluation or interpretation by the registrar

20

Material error

When in the process of registration, some words or images of plans are unintentionally registered instead of others, the expression of some formal circumstance of the entries is omitted, or a mistake is made when data about the title are being copied or when they are approved from the authorized plan,  without changing for this reason any of its concepts or its general purpose and without it resulting in an annulment of the registrations made

21

Fixation

The incorporation of signs, sounds and images on a material base which will allow their perception, reproduction or communication. (Art.3 Clause 11 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

22

Page

Face and reverse of a sheet of paper. A registration technique to keep books and volumes and/or registration cards

23

Phonogram

Any fixation of sounds of a representation or emission of other sounds. Gramophonic and magnetophonic recordings are copies of phonograms. (Art.3 Clause   12 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

24

Ephemeral recording

Carried out by broadcasting companies, when for technical or scheduling reasons and for the purpose of a single later broadcast, they must record or fix an image, sound or both in advance, of any work suitable to be broadcast. (Art.3 Clause 13 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

25

Lien

Tax or fee imposed on something registered in the corresponding Registry

26

Registration

A definite and permanent entry recording firmly and duly motivated resolutions on the establishment, transmission, modification, renewal or extinction of copyright or related rights 

27

Writ

Judicial Resolution which mandates registration or recording of some right in registry entries

28

Cautionary notes

Temporary notes related to a corresponding registration entry, to publicize the existence of an administrative process, including a cautionary measure.

29

Work

The WIPO Glossary on Copyright and Related Rights defines work as "each original intellectual creation expressed in a reproducible form"
Each intellectual creation in the artistic or literary domain, in the terms of the Law and its Regulations, capable of being disseminated or reproduced in any way or through any procedure (Art. 3 Clause 14 Regulation Nº 24611-J)
The terms "literary and artistic works" encompass all products in the literary, artistic and scientific fields, whatever the way or form of their expression may be. (Art.4 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

30

Anonymous work

Work for which the name of the author is not mentioned, through his or her own decision. (Art. 4 Clause c CRRL)
Work for which the identity of the author is not mentioned through his or her own will. (Art.3 Clause 15 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

31

Audiovisual work

Any creation expressed through a series of related images, with or without sound effects included, which is essentially meant to be shown through projection devices or any other means for projecting images and sound, regardless of the characteristics of the material basis which contains it. (Art.3 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

32

Collective work

Work produced by several collaborators in such a way that it is impossible to assign to any one of them a specific participation. The copyright for a collective work initially belongs to the physical or corporate person who undertakes the initiative to produce and publish the work under his, her, or its name. (Art. 4 Clause h CRRL)
Created by several authors on the initiative and under the responsibility of a physical person or corporation who/that publishes it under his/her/its own name, and in which the contribution of participating authors (because of their large number, or because of the indirect nature of those contributions) is merged in the entirety of the work in such a way that it makes it impossible to single out the various authors, or to assign to any of them a specific participation. (Art.3 Clause   21 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

33

Work of applied art

An artistic creation with utilitarian functions or integrated into a useful article, either hand-crafted or industrially produced. (Art.3 Clause   17 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

34

Derivative work

A work resulting from an adaptation of an original work, provided that it has original aspects (Art. 4 Clause g CRRL).
It is based on other existing work, without any detriment to the rights and corresponding authorization of the author of the original work, provided that it is produced as a result of a different creative act, and shows characteristics of originality, which may be in the adaptation, adjustment or transformation of the preexisting work, or in the creative elements of its translation to a different language. (Art.3 Clause 22 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

35

Joint work

Produced by two or more authors acting in common, and in which the participation of each of them cannot be distinguished, because the work is an indivisible whole. The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright derived from the work. (Art. 4 Clause b CRRL)
Created by two or more authors, acting in common, and in which the participation of each of them cannot be dissociated because the work is an indivisible whole. (Art.3 Clause 20 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

36

Individual work

Produced by a single author. (Art. 4 Clause a CRRL)
Created by a single author. (Art.3 Clause 18 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

37

Unpublished work

Work which has not been published. (Art.4 Clause d CRRL).
Work which has not been published in any way with the consent of the author or, if pertinent, of the right-holders. (Art.3 Clause 19 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

38

Originating work

The original creation. (Art. 4 Clause f CRRL)
Work originally created. (Art.3 Clause 23 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

39

Posthumous work

Work which was not published during the life of its author. (Art.4 Clause e CRRL)

40

Pseudonymous work

Work in which the author uses a pseudonym which does not identify him or her. Works in which the name used does not create doubts about the author's civil identity are not considered pseudonymous. (Art.3 Clause 24 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

41

Broadcasting organization

A physical person or corporation with the capacity to emit sound, visual or both signals, which can be perceived by multiple receiving subjects (Art.3 Clause 25 Regulation Nº 24611-J).

42

Producer

A physical person or corporation which takes the initiative, coordinates and is responsible for the production of a work, for instance in cinematographic and other audiovisual works, or in programs for computers (Art.3 Clause 26 Regulation Nº 24611-J).

43

Cinematographic producer

A corporation or individual which takes the initiative, coordinates and takes responsibility for the making of a cinematographic work. (Art.4 Clause k CRRL)

44

Phonogram producer

Corporation or individual under whose initiative, responsibility and coordination the sounds of a performance or other sounds are fixed for the first time (Art.3 Clause 27 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

45

Computer program

Set of instructions stated by words, codes, graphics, design or  in any other way which, when incorporated into an automated reading device, enables a computer (an electronic or similar device with capacity to process information) to perform a certain task or obtain a certain result. Its technical documentation and user manuals are also part of the program. (Art.4 Clause   ñ CRRL and Art. 3 Clause 28 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

46

Publication (of a work)

Making copies of a work or of a visual or sound recording available to the public, in quantities that will reasonably satisfy their needs, estimated according to the nature of the work, and with consent from the right holder. (Art.4 Clause m CRRL)

47

Registry-related publicity

One of the essential characteristics of the registration process, whose purpose is to provide information regarding registered rights, widely and in detail to those who wish to access or have interest in them

48

Broadcasting

Wireless or satellite transmission of sounds or images and sounds or their representation, to be received by the public, including wireless transmission of encrypted signals, when decoding means are offered to the public by the broadcasting organization or with its consent. (Art. 4 Clause p CRRL)
The public communication of a work through wireless broadcasting or transmission. Broadcasting also includes transmission carried out by a satellite from the introduction of a work or production into the satellite, in both the ascending and descending phases of the transmission, until the work is communicated to the public, making it available to the public, although the public has not necessarily received it. (Art.3 Clause 30 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

49

Reproduction

Copy of a literary or artistic work or of a visual or sound recording, partially or entirely, in any tangible form, including any permanent or temporary storage by electronic means, although it may be a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional work or vice versa. (Art. 4 Clause l CRRL)
The recording of a work or of an intellectual production, through a means that will allow its communication, as well as the obtaining of copies of the whole of the work or parts of it (Art.3 Clause 32 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

50

Fraudulent reproduction

Unauthorized reproduction (art. 4 Clause j CRRL)

51

Rebroadcasting

Simultaneous or delayed broadcast of a transmission of a broadcasting organization. (Art.3 Clause 33 Regulation Nº 24611-J).

52

Collective Management Organization

Legal entity formed as a civil partnership under the standards of the Civil Code, registered in the Public Registry's Registry of Persons, and authorized by the National Copyright and Related Rights Registry to operate. Its sole and exclusive purpose is not to obtain profits or utilities, but rather to protect patrimonial rights of copyright and related rights holders, both national and foreign, acknowledged by the Law and international conventions, as well as to collect in their name, and deliver to them economic remuneration derived from the use of their works and intellectual productions; such remuneration is entrusted to the collective management by its partners or those who it represents, and by members of foreign entities of the same nature (Art.3 Clause   34 Regulation Nº 24611-J).

53

Ownership

The quality of copyright or related rights acknowledged by the Law and formulated in the present regulation. (Art.3 Clause 35 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

54

Derivative ownership

Ownership that derives from circumstances different from those of creation, either through mandate or legal presumption, transfer or expropriation through an inter vivos or mortis causa transfer (Art. 3 Clause 37 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

55

Originating ownership

Stemming from the actual creation of the work or from intellectual production. (Art.3 Clause   36 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

56

Honest use

Use which does not interfere with normal exploitation of the work, nor cause an unreasonable damage to the author's legitimate interests.  (Art.3 Clause   38 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

57

Personal use

Reproduction, or other form of use expressly allowed by the Law, of the work or intellectual production of another person, in a single instance, exclusively for the use of the individual himself/herself, and without there existing any intent to obtain benefits, directly or indirectly, in cases such as research and personal recreation. Art.3 Clause   39 Regulation Nº 24611-J)

Frequently asked questions:

What is copyright?

Copyright is a special juridical discipline which confers and acknowledges a set of moral and pecuniary prerogatives to creators of literary and artistic works based on the fact of creation. Its purpose is to guarantee juridical security to authors and rights holders, and to safeguard, promote, disseminate and improve countries' cultural patrimony.  

What are objects of protection of copyright?

All literary or artistic works, whatever their form of expression, are subject to such protection; Article 1 of the Copyright and Related Rights Law, Nº 6683 (CRRL) presents a non-exhaustive list of protected works:

Books, booklets

Computer programs, databases

Dramatic musical works

Choreographies, pantomimes

Musical compositions

Cinematographic works

Drawings

Paintings

Architectural works

Writings

Sculptures

Engravings

Lithographs

Photographs

Plans, maps, sketches

Plastic art works

Derivative works (adaptations, translations)

What are not subjects of protection of copyright?

Ideas, procedures, operating methods and mathematical concepts are not subjects to copyright protection.

How is a copyright acquired?

A copyright is acquired by the simple fact of creation.

Is registration necessary to enjoy copyright protection?

Copyright protection is given by the simple fact of creation, in such a way that exercising the rights granted does not depend on official procedures. A created work is considered protected by copyright as soon as it exists. However, inscription in the Registry is not useless or nonsensical; to the contrary, registration of works and acts or contracts related to copyright and related rights provides legally recognized proof which is very powerful in court, should there be a legal conflict. Inscription in the Registry therefore declares the ownership of a right, and also allows giving publicity and increases juridical security to registered rights with respect to third parties.

What rights are granted by copyright?

There are two types of rights protected and granted by copyright: moral rights and patrimonial rights.

What are moral rights?

Rights which acknowledge the author having an intrinsic relationship with his/her work, which is inherent to the author's personality.

Moral rights are absolute (opposable erga omnes), perpetual, inalienable, unrenounceable, personal, imprescriptible, and unattachable.

What powers are granted by moral rights?

They grant the author the right to disseminate the work or keep Copyright it reserved in privacy; the right to receive acknowledgement for the intellectual authorship of his/her work; the right to respect and preserve the integrity of his or her work, so that it is not damaged or changed; the right to introduce modifications to his or her work; and the right to retract or repent and withdraw his or her work from the market, among others.

What are patrimonial rights?

Rights that include use or exploitation of the work by the author to obtain economic benefits.

What powers do they grant?

The rights to edit, reproduce, adapt, distribute, translate, communicate, transmit and make the work available to the public, using other currently known or future process or system, among others.

How are patrimonial rights transferred?

A patrimonial right acknowledged as that of the author and holders or related rights may be transferred by virtue of an order or legal presumption, through a concession or expropriation inter vivos or transfer mortis causa, by any legal means.

How long does copyright protection last in Costa Rica?

The Berne Convention stipulates protection of the work throughout the entire life of the author and at least 50 years after his or her death; national legislation establishes protection during the life of the author plus 70 years after his or her death.

What are the exceptions to protection by copyright?

Pursuant to national legislation the following works are not protected

Press news, although the information media which reproduces or rebroadcasts them is required to indicate the original source from which said information was taken;

Current articles in magazines or newspapers may be reproduced provided that such reproduction has not been expressly prohibited, and the source of the information must be indicated;

Speeches given in assemblies and public meetings, and allegations before Courts of Justice may be published by communications media, although they may not be published in printed manner either separately or as part of a collection without the author's consent;

Quoting an author is allowed, provided that quotes are not so numerous and continuous that they may be considered a simulated reproduction;

Reproduction in photographs or pictures of statues, monuments and works of art acquired by Public Institutions, exhibited in streets, gardens or museums is legal;

Playing of phonograms and receiving phonographic signals through radio or television in commercial facilities which sell receiving devices, appliances or phonograms for demonstration to their clients is free;

Theatrical representations and musical performances are free from restrictions when they are made at home for the enjoyment of the family, or for solely didactic purposes, provided that profiting or receiving economic compensation is not intended;

Reproduction of a didactic or scientific work, done personally and exclusively by the interested person and for his or her own use, without the intention of profiting either directly or indirectly is permitted; this reproduction is limited to a single copy, either typed or handwritten. This provision does not apply to computer programs.

Reproduction of constitutions, laws, decrees, municipal agreements, regulations and other public acts is permitted, with the obligation to strictly respect the content of the official version;

Publication of pictures is permitted for scientific, didactic or cultural purposes, or with facts or events of public interest or which took place in public.

What is protection of related rights ?

Whereas the rights provided by copyright apply to authors, "related rights", also known as "neighboring rights" concern other categories of owners of rights, namely, performers, the producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations.

Related rights are the rights that belong to the performers, the producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations in relation to their performances, phonograms and broadcasts respectively.

Who are the holders of related rights?

Artists, interpreters and performers

Phonogram producers

Broadcasting organizations