Copyright Licensing in Georgia
Licensing copyright begins with three questions: what may be transferred (Article 35 — the grounds of transfer), what type of licence is granted — exclusive or ordinary (Articles 37 and 38), and what the contract must say (Article 40). This page explains all three blocks so that licensor and licensee understand the risks in advance.
Of the three grounds of transfer — law, testament, contract — licensing practice directly concerns the third, yet the first two constantly descend upon it: when a contract is concluded with an heir or successor, the status is determined by the document of succession, and that document is checked at the very first stage of the negotiations — otherwise the whole transaction becomes questionable.
What Is Transferred — Article 35
Copyright is transferred by law or by will under inheritance, or by contract. By law, within the term of copyright, the exclusive rights of use pass to the heirs unless the will provides otherwise. The rights of authorship, name and integrity do not pass by inheritance — heirs have the standing to defend them, without limitation in time. The author may appoint a person to defend these rights during his life, and where heirs are absent or act improperly, the defence is conducted by Sakpatenti. For licensing this means: the subject of negotiation is only the economic sphere — personal rights are not subject to licence.
One detail of inheritance also matters here: unless the author determined otherwise during his life, only one of his personal rights passes by inheritance — the right to permit others to attach illustrations, forewords, commentaries or explanations to the work — and that right too only for the term of copyright. Such details enter licensing negotiations because the holder's status and its definition are determined precisely by these rules.
In dispute practice this distinction decides standing: the holder of an exclusive licence himself restrains third parties — the author included — from use, and where the licensee does not enforce the prohibition the author intervenes; the holder of an ordinary licence is merely one among equal persons, and his claim is assessed in comparison with the other licensees. The type of the contract therefore determines even the formulation of the subject of the claim in court.
Exclusive and Ordinary Licence — Articles 37 and 38
Under an exclusive licence contract the author or other holder grants only the licensee the exclusive right to use the work in the manner and within the limits defined by the contract, and gives the licensee the right to prohibit such use by others — including the author. If the licensee does not enforce this prohibition, the author may exercise it himself.
Under an ordinary licence the licensee uses the work on equal terms with those who received the right of use in the same manner — there is no exclusivity here. And the decisive presumption: a right transferred by an author's contract is deemed ordinary unless the contract provides otherwise — exclusivity must therefore be written directly, otherwise it is not presumed.
The gap-fillers — the intention rule, the 3-year termination with 6 months' prior written notice, the presumption of Georgian territory and the ban on sub-licensing — are part of the contract's design: the parties write what matters most to the market — exclusivity, territory, term, royalty, print run — and entrust the rest to the law's defaults; that entrustment must be a calculated risk, not an accident.
The Content of the Contract — Article 40
A licence contract must provide: a precise description of the work — title, volume, genre; the specific manner of use; the term and territory of the contract; the amount of the royalty or the method of its determination for each manner, with the procedure and deadline of payment; and other material terms. Whatever is not directly provided remains with the author — every manner of use not included in the contract belongs to him.
The rules of interpretation belong here as well: a contract concluded without a specific manner is deemed concluded for the use that must be considered necessary for the parties' intention; without a term — the author may terminate after 3 years, notifying the licensee in writing 6 months in advance; without a territory — it operates only in Georgia; further transfer of rights to others is possible only if directly provided; and with a fixed royalty for reproduction, a maximum print run must be set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the questions most frequently raised about copyright licensing.
Is a licence exclusive if not stated?
No — the transferred right is deemed ordinary; an exclusive licence must be directly provided in the contract.
May the author also use the work after an exclusive licence?
No — under an exclusive licence the licensee may prohibit use by others, the author included; the author may step in only where the licensee does not enforce the prohibition himself.
What happens with a contract without a term?
The author may terminate it after 3 years, giving the licensee written notice 6 months in advance; without a territory, the contract covers only Georgia.
May the licence be passed on to another?
Only where this is directly provided by the contract — otherwise a sub-licence is not possible.
Who defends the personal rights if there are no heirs?
Sakpatenti — where the heirs do not exist or perform improperly, the protection is carried out by the National Center of Intellectual Property.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The text of the licence decides the market: exclusivity, territory, term, print run and royalty — every clause counts in money. The specialists at Legal.ge will explain Articles 35, 37, 38 and 40, assess the draft contract, and help in negotiation or dispute. Contact us through the Legal.ge form.