The publication, performance and digital distribution of a musical work operate inside the framework defined by the copyright statute: the author or other holder of the copyright decides who, where and how the work is used. This page explains what property rights the author holds, how an exclusive licence differs from an ordinary one, what terms a licence contract must contain, and how the collective-management organisation works — under the norms that govern this field in Georgian legislation.
The Author's Property Rights
Under Article 18 of the statute, the author or other copyright holder has the exclusive right to use the work in any form — the right to carry out, permit or prohibit: reproduction of the work; distribution of the original or copies by sale or other transfer of ownership; import of copies; public display; public performance — the right on which concerts and appearances stand; public communication, including communication in such a way that the work is available to any person at a time and place chosen by that person — the basis of streaming; as well as translation, adaptation and rental. The author is entitled to a royalty for any form of use. The exhaustion rule also matters: the right over further distribution of a copy is exhausted by its first sale in Georgia, while for a musical work expressed in notes, a work on a phonogram and a computer program the rental right remains with the author regardless of ownership of the copy.