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THE CHARTER OF THE COPYRIGHT AGENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN
Has been approved by Decree of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated to September 06, 2017 number 1593
1. General Provisions
1.1. The Copyright Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (hereinafter called as Agency) is the legal entity of public law that has been created according to the second part of the decree of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated to November 24, 2016 number 1125 and according to this Charter, it provides development of the sphere of copyrights, related rights, intellectual property rights on the expressions of Azerbaijan folklore,(traditional cultural expressions), intellectual property rights on topography of integrated circuits and data bases (hereinafter called as intellectual property rights) and carries out the only regulation and control in this sphere, coordinate the activity in this sphere.
1.2. The Agency is guided in its activity the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Decrees and Orders of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Decisions and Orders of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan and other normative-legal acts.
1.3. While carrying out its duties and implementing its rights, the Agency acts in mutual relation with state and local self-governmental bodies, international and non-governmental organizations, other legal and physical entities.
1.4. The Agency is engaged in activity that has state and public importance. The earnings obtained in the result of the Agency’s activity are aimed to the providing of its activity.
1.5. The Agency possesses own balance, property, treasury and bank accounts, stamp with description its name, corresponding stamps and blanks.
1.6. According to the Law, the Agency possesses rights and duties to deal, to get and carry out property and non-property rights on its behalf. The Agency acts as a claimant or defendant in the court.
1.7. The Agency is situated in Baku.
2. Activity goals and directions of the Agency
2.1. Thegoal of the activity ofthe Agency is to provide the effective activity, sustainable development and its transparency of the sphere of intellectual property rights in the Republic of Azerbaijan, to protect the authors’, right holders’ and intellectual property rights belonging to Azerbaijan people, to increase knowledge in mentioned sphere and influenceon information society and to take as a base the advanced principles and standards, connected with regulation of intellectual property rights while carrying out the activity defined in the Charter.
2.2. Theactivity directions of the Agency are the followings:
2.2.1. to participate in forming of the only state policy in the share of intellectual property rights and to provide implementation of this policy;
2.2.2. to implement the control over execution of present legislation in the sphere of intellectual property rights;
2.2.3toprovide implementation of intellectual property rights, to keep a record of state registered collective management organizations, to register the same organizations;
2.2.4. state registration of the object of intellectual property rights, creation of national system about right holders, users and taking relevant measures on its permanent improving;
2.2.5. for the purpose of supporting the development of information society, including digital information technologies and electronic trade, to organize protection and management of intellectual property rights on digital networks;
2.2.6. to take measures on increasing the role of intellectual property in modern economy and improving investment environment in economy based on intellectual property (in creative economy), commercializing of intellectual property results and determining share of creative economy of the country in GDP;
2.2.7. to provide legal protection of objects of intellectual property rights, including folklore expressions (traditional cultural expressions) belonging to Azerbaijan people, traditional knowledge and other specimen of intangible cultural heritage, to prevent infringement of rights about their appropriation and use;
2.2.8. to provide international exchange and cooperation in the sphere of intellectual property rights;
2.2.9. to participate in forming of culture of intellectual property rights.
3. Duties and rights of the Agency
3.1. The Agency carries out the following duties according to the activity directionsdefined by this charter:
3.1.1. Participates in preparation of legislative acts, development conceptions, aimed programs in the sphere of intellectual property rights and in their implementation;
3.1.2. Prepares proposals connected with improving of legislative acts taking into consideration the international treaties in the sphere of intellectual property rights that the Republic of Azerbaijan becomes a partner;
3.1.3. Analyses cultural, social and economic role of intellectual property rights, prepares proposals on development of intellectual property rights sphere and presents to the corresponding bodies;
3.1.4. coordinates the activity of central and local executive powers, local self-governing bodies, public unions in the sphere of intellectual property rights, including collective management organizations and other legal entities (right holders and users) within its authority;
3.1.5. takes measures on effectively and quality serving to the right holders;
3.1.6. controls implementation of property rights of right holders of intellectual property rights on collective management base, interacts with subjects of this sphere;
3.1.7. gives proposals on becoming a partner of the Republic of Azerbaijan of the international treaties in the sphere of intellectual property rights, collects materials connected with participation of the Republic of Azerbaijan in this sphere, summarizes and analyses them;
3.1.8. participates in preparation and implementation of international treaties in the sphere of intellectual property that the Republic of Azerbaijan becomes a partner;
3.1.9. takes measures on taking into consideration of decisions and recommendations of World Intellectual Property Organization and UNESCO connected with intellectual property in this sphere, replies questionnaires of international organizations on intellectual property, exchanges experience with them, implements systemized analyses taking into account the international experience and takes measures;
3.1.10. arises the question to the international organizations on protection of rights during illegal use of Azerbaijani authors’ and right holders’ works, folklore expressions (traditional cultural expressions), other specimen of intangible cultural heritage, other objects of intellectual property rights in abroad and takes relevant measures, also gives proposals on taking measures connected with following the demands of legislation during use of foreign authors’ works in the Republic of Azerbaijan;
3.1.11. publishes books, brochures about belonging to Azerbaijan people of folklore expressions (traditional cultural expressions), traditional knowledge and other specimen of intangible cultural heritage, prepares different propaganda means, organizes international conferences, seminars, round tables;
3.1.12. makes proposals on carrying out the measures connected with protection of the rights of Azerbaijani authors' and other right holders' works and other intellectual property objects during their use in abroad and fulfill the requirements of legislation while using the works of foreign authors in the Republic of Azerbaijan;
3.1.13. looks through the petitions on recognition of intellectual property rights and makes appropriate decisions, organizes expertise on determining the originality of the objects of intellectual property rights;
3.1.14. organizes state registration of the objects of intellectual property rights, enters data about the objects of intellectual property rights and right holders, gives relevant certificate on state registration to the right holders of registered intellectual property rights objects, provides registration, inventory and saving of these objects;
3.1.15. registers documents on transition and transfer of the rights to the objects of intellectual property rights and implements entering the appropriate changing into the state registration, publishes information about registration of the objects of intellectual property rights which are included to the state registry;
3.1.16. gives necessary information aboutstate registered objects of intellectual property rights, changing in state registrations and intellectual property objects that protection term has expired, also about registration of these objects at the Agency on the bases of questionnaire of relevant bodies;
3.1.17. determines the beginning term of the protection of topography of integrated circuits presented for registration and registers topographies of integrated circuits used in production and their users;
3.1.18. lets the physical and legal entities of other states use of Azerbaijani folklore specimens (traditional cultural expressions) beyond the boundaries of the Republic of Azerbaijan for commercial purposes;
3.1.19. organizes the registration of Azerbaijani folklore specimens (traditional cultural expressions) and other objects of intellectual property rights belonging to Azerbaijan people, organizes the monitoring and makes a record of broadcasting, publication, public performance and other cases of use of folklore specimens (traditional cultural expressions) in sale and broadcasting objects, in cable and broadcasting organizations and in digital networks, determines cases of illegal use, takes relevant measures, defends the state’s interests in courts in this regard and determines material damage in the result of infringement of law;
3.1.20. determines the protection of data collections by copyright or special protection presented to the registration according to the legislation, specifies protection term of these collections in case of disclosure of undisclosed data collection which is formally registered and protected by special protection right, also doing necessary changing and additions to data collection protected by special protection right;
3.1.21. determines and registers the copyright and related rights objects that protection term has expired and has transferred to public property, for the purpose of transferring the works to the state domain, gives proposals on choosing the works among the works that have transferred to public property and for declaring them as state domain by agreeing with connected state bodies and creativity unions;
3.1.22. takes relevant measuresin case of infringement of copyrights and against their distortion during use of the works transferred to the state domain, provides collecting a special payment for use of the works declared the state domain and transferring them to the state budget;
3.1.23. makes a record of state registered organizations that manages the property rights on collective base, registers the same organizations and controls the implementation of property rights on collective base
3.1.24. determines the list of documents and its presentation form required on registration of state registered organizations at the Agency which manage property rights on collective base, presents based comments and proposals connected with their registration;
3.1.25. prepares the list of documents to control the activity of collective management organizations, accepts these document, carries out monitorings for the purpose of checking the compatibility of their activity with the legislation and charters on copyright and related rights, summarizes the results and gives proposals connected with the activity of those organizations, takes relevant measures in cases of violation of the law in their activities;
3.1.26. regulates relations of the collective management organizations with the authors and other right holders in debatable cases, looks through the applications and complaints of authors and other right holders which represent public unions of these organizations, determines the activities of collective management organizations in debatable cases with the users;
3.1.27. gives proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers on determining the amount of annual payment of the collective management organizations;
3.1.28. requests stopping the acts and canceling the decisions in cases discovering giving for use of authors' works that not given their property rights to the collective management organizations and adopted decisions on fee allocation for the authors which are contrary to the authors' interests;
3.1.29. cancels registration of organizations that manages property rights on collective base in cases defined by Law;
3.1.30. implements authors’ and right holders’ property rights on collective basis in cases defined by law, relevantly collects remuneration for use and leads it up to the right holders, provides forming communications between foreign authors and related rights holders and organizations that manage property rights on collective base, signing the cooperation agreements in this sphere, accepting and lead of the remuneration for use of Azerbaijani authors’ and other right holders’ works in abroad;
3.1.31. carries out educational-legal work in the sphere of intellectual property rights, holds the international and national seminars, disputes and symposiums, gives juridical consultations to the authors and to other right holders, and also to their heirs concerning restoration of the infringements of their rights;
3.1.32. takes measures on illegal use of intellectual property objects for the purpose of providing healthy competition principles in the markets, protection of interests of the peoples engaged enterprise activity in the sphere of industry based on intellectual property;
3.1.33. for the purpose of providing intellectual property rights, organizes and implements the works on giving the international standard identification numbers, provides preparation of control marks for sticking them on copies of copyright and related rights objects (audiovisual work, phonogram, computer program, database, a book) and gives them to the users, controls their spreading by sticking control marks, carries out state registry of these objects, determines legality of creation of those copies.
3.1.34. prepares and sends protocol to the court according to the Code of Administrative Offences, in order to provide administrative measures against producing and spreading copies of the objects of copyright and related rights (audiovisual work, phonogram, computer program, database, a book) by piracy way, also spreading the copies which have not been stamped control marks;
3.1.35. controls use of authors’, performers’ and phonogram producers’ property rights on digital networks, organizes the administration of these rights on collective management according to the right holders' interests, takes measures for the purpose of making responsibility in case of changing and cancelling the information about management of rights without permission of the right holder, infringement, illegal destroying of the technical support measures providing limitations put to the use of the rights, also stopping use of informational reserves belonging to them;
3.1.36. takes measures on creation and use of administrative system of digital rights based on giving permission for use of the objects protected by intellectual property rights on global digital network in “one-stop-shop” format and online;
3.1.37. carries out monitoring for the purpose of determining the products got by piracy way and producers that produce products by infringing demands of legislation on copyright and related rights, collects information about law infringements in the sphere of intellectual property and transfers them to the corresponding bodies;
3.1.38. under right holders’ initiative and in other demanded cases for restoration of the infringing rights, presents claims in corresponding courts and defends right holders’ interests, prepares expert views on the basis of questionnaire of corresponding state and court bodies, participates as an expert and representative in courts and events held by other authorized bodies, registers and analysis of works connected with infringements of the legislation in the copyright sphere, systematizes collected information;
3.1.39. carries out monitoring on use of intellectual property rights objects protected by the law in global digital networks, prepares references and presents them to the relevant authorized bodies;
3.1.40. presents the proposals for the purpose of improving rights protection of intellectual property rights objects in legislation on electronic trade and takes relevant measures;
3.1.41. observes the economic indicators of branches of the national economy based on intellectual property rights, determines the problems appeared in process of their development, works on encouraging the creation of national brands, prepares proposals on improvement of commercialization mechanisms of intellectual property results, carries out works on more exact valuing of the share of industry based on intellectual property in GDP;
3.1.42. methodically assists to physical and legal entities on valuation of intellectual property assets;
3.1.43. carries out works on economic valuation of damage, connected with infringement of intellectual property rights;
3.1.44. cooperates with custom bodies in determining the infringements of intellectual property rights of goods containing intellectual property objects and moved through customs border, summarizes such facts in cooperation with them, gives reviews on infringements of intellectual property rights, on the basis of questionnaires of custom bodies;
3.1.45. participates in implementation of identification of the goods containing intellectual property objects in custom border in cooperation with custom body on the basis of their inquiry for determining infringements of the rights on intellectual property objects, gives proposals for inclusion the goods containing intellectual property objects to register by customs body;
3.1.46. analyses international and national technologies protected by intellectual property rights, observes protection status pf information technologies as intellectual property rights objects and investigates its protection status on national level, takes measures for adaptation to the international standards of their protection and gives proposals on protection of new information technologies objects;
3.1.47. registers documents on transition and transfer of the rights to the objects of intellectual property rights and implements entering the appropriate changing into the state registration, publishes information about registration of the objects of intellectual property rights which are included to the state registry;
3.1.48. provides application of information system in the sphere of intellectual property rights, informing the people about its activity, creation internet portal, setting the disclosed public information which it possesses and its list that is determined by the law in that portal and constantly refreshing this information;
3.1.49. organizes continuously getting, working and transferring information within internal information-communication system of the Agency. It widens the relation by Enforcement Centre of Intellectual Property Rights of Azerbaijan within the framework of Academy of World Intellectual Property Organization, organizes information exchange in this sphere and prepares information on innovation by using digital libraries of network;
3.1.50. organizes clerical work, citizens’ reception, looking through their requests applications and appeals according to the demands of normative-legal acts; takes measures for additional education and developing of professionalism of the staff;
3.1.51. takes measures for the purpose on preparing professional recommendations and reviews on intellectual property for state and local self-governing bodies, legal and physical entities;
3.1.52. gives proposals on training of intellectual property specialists and on preparing educational programs and participates in their implementation;
3.1.53. provides efficient use of budget credits, grants and other financial funds allocated for the Agency on its destination;
3.1.54. Implements other duties determined by the acts of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
3.2. The Agency carries out the following rights according to the activity directions defined by this Charter:
3.2.1. Gives proposals on preparing and improving the normative-legal acts in the sphere of intellectual property rights, presents analytical materials and requests on status and development of this sphere;
3.2.2. Gives questionnaire about information (documents) connected with their own activity directions to the state and self-governing bodies connected with intellectual property rights, to the legal and physical entities and receives information (documents) from them;
3.2.3. Prepares review on the sphere of intellectual property, carries out other issues and serves according to the treaties concluded with legal and physical entities;
3.2.4. Presents the employees working in the sphere of intellectual property for the state and other awards, takes measures on their encouragement;
3.2.5. Takes measures for the purpose of determining the compliance of products, issues and serves connected with intellectual property with existed demands;
3.2.6. Involves foreign and local experts and specialists for preparation and implementation the issues on their authorities;
3.2.7. Cooperates with state bodies, legal entities and international organizations in the sphere of intellectual property, represents the Republic of Azerbaijan in international organizations;
3.2.8. Publishes special bulletins and publications;
3.2.9. Organizes trainings on improvement of professional skill and on other directions for the purpose of increasing the professionalism level of the employees;
3.2.10. Creates on economic society or participates in them for the purpose of carrying out the duties;
3.2.11. Implements other rights determined by the acts of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
4. Management of the Agency
4.1. The Agency uses progressive corporative standards of management in its activity and management;
4.2. The Board manages the Agency:
4.3. The Board carries out the management and control for the Agency. Staff of the Board consists of 3 people – Chief of Board who is appointed to the post and dismissed from the post by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and other two members who are appointed to the post and dismissed from the post by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan by agreeing with President. An authority term of the members of Board is 5 years.
4.4. In case the absence of chief of Board, the other member of Board who is determined by chief of Board carries out execution of his authority;
4.5. The Board carries out the following duties:
4.5.1. Determines development directions of the Agency;
4.5.2. Gives proposals and presents the documents to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan for implementation of the founder’s authority;
4.5.3. Prepares the annual report on the Agency’s activity and presents it to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
4.5.4. Looks through the projects of legal acts connected with improvement of the Agency’s activity, presents those projects to the corresponding state bodies;
4.5.5. Provides efficient use of the fund considered in Paragraph 3.1.53 of this Charter;
4.5.6. Looks through the appeals of the members of Board and makes a decision;
4.5.7. Confirms the structure of the agency and its bodies, staff schedule within the determined structure, salary fund and number of employees, cost estimate within the allocated budget, determines additional paid encouragement system for the employees on account of fund that the Agency got;
4.5.8. Confirms internal rules connected with the Agency’s activity, as well statues of the offices, branches and representative offices;
4.5.9. Determines the rules and conditions of exception of interests’ conflict during activity of the Board and the employees and controls their execution;
4.5.10. Makes decision on creation of economic societies of the Agency of participation in them, also on creation of the offices, branches and representative offices with agreement of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
4.5.11. Makes decision on signing deal with a value of more than 25 percent of net assets (special deal) and deal which contains value of 5 percent and more part of assets with corresponding person with agreement of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
4.5.12. Makes decision on signing deal with which contains up to 5 percent of the Agency’s assets with corresponding person;
4.5.13. Appoints an external auditor of the Agency and receives auditor report;
4.5.14. Takes measures on results of controls of the external auditors and also other controls.
4.6. Meetings of the Board are held no less than once a month. Member of the Board acts on initiative to hold the meetings of the Board. Meetings of the Board are authorized only in case less than two of the members of the Board present. Meetings of the Board are relevantly recorded and decisions are made on discussed issues. In the meeting of the Board each member has one vote and the decisions are made by a simple majority of votes. If the votes are equally divided, the vote of Chief of the Board (or acting member of the Board) is considered decisive. During voting it is not allowed to abstain
4.7. Chief of the Board:
4.7.1. Leads the activity of the Agency and represents it;
4.7.2. Organizes the activity of the Agency, determines the agenda of the meetings and chairs them;
4.7.3. Holds the meetings of the Board by initiative of his/her own or other members of the Board;
4.7.4. Invites other people to participate in meeting of the Board by initiative of his/her own, also on the base of request of any other member of the Board;
4.7.5. Organizes, analyses and controls an execution of acts that accepted on directions of the Agency’s activity;
4.7.6. Gives internal orders and decrees connected with organization of the Agency’s activity which have a compulsory execution;
4.7.7. With the exception of the cases that determined by this Charter, makes a decision on appointment and dismiss the workers of the Agency to the post, including the workers of offices, branches and representative offices and other bodies under its authority (but only leaders in economic societies), encouraging about them and measures on discipline;
4.7.8. Controls the use of the property of the agency according to the aims considered in this Charter;
4.7.9. Cancels the decisions of the Agency’s officials which are contrary the legislation;
4.7.10. Operates on behalf of the Agency within the authority that determined by this Charter, signs contracts and provides their implementation;
4.7.11. Takes necessary measures on providing state secret and confidential regime on activity directions of the Agency;
4.7.12. Creates consultative committees and working groups on activity directions of the Agency;
4.7.13. Takes other measures connected with organization of the activity of the Board;
4.7.14. Provides the carrying out the clerical and archive work at the Agency;
4.7.15. Provides citizens’ reception and their appeals at the Agency;
4.8. Members of the Board;
4.8.1. Participate in solution of the issues on authority of the Board;
4.8.2. Get acquainted in advance with the agenda of the meeting of the Board and with the materials which are considered be looked through in advance;
4.8.3. Express their opinion on decisions will be made by the Board;
4.8.4. Gives proposals on looking through the issues connected with the authorities of the Board in meetings of the Board;
4.8.5. Get acquainted with decisions, meeting protocols of the Board and other documents;
4.9. Members of the Board should impartially approach to the documents which are looked through in meetings of the Board, should not allow the acts and reports which harm the member’s name.
5. Charter fund, property and basis of financial activity of the Agency
5.1. The initial charter fund of the agency is 1000000 (one million) manat.
5.2. Property of the Agency is formed from the Charter fund, other property given by the founder, also fund allocated from the state budget, income obtained from its activity, domains, grants, involved invests and from other funds which are not forbidden by the Law;
5.3. The Agency uses its property only according to the goals determined by this Charter. The Agency carries out its responsibilities regarding to the state property according to the legislation;
5.4. Providing the legal protection of folklore expressions (traditional cultural expressions) belonging to the Azerbaijan people, traditional knowledge and other specimens of intangible cultural heritage, preventing their appropriating and infringement of rights connected with their use and taking relevant measures on this are financed on state budget;
5.5. After paying the taxes and other important payments determined by the Law, the Agency has the right to give an order independently on funds obtained by the activities of the Agency, its offices, branches, representative offices, economic societies and other bodies under the Agency.
5.6. The Agency charges state fee in amount and regulation as determined by the Law;
5.7. In cases that taken into consideration in Article 43.1.4 of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights and Fight against Piracy”, in Article 6.3 of the Law “On legal protection of expressions of the Azerbaijan folklore”, the amount of the fee payed to the Agency is included in regulated tariffs;
5.8. Colleagues of the agency are equated to civil servants. The norms of salaries of chief of the Board, other members of the Board, the Agency staff and other providing are equated to the salary norms of chiefs, depute heads and employees of the staff of central executive bodies of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
6. Control form of activity of the Agency and its coverage
6.1. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, also Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of the Azerbaijan within the authority of founder carry out the control of the activity of the Agency.
6.2. Annual report on the activity of the Agency is presented to the President of the republic of Azerbaijan.
7. Registration and report at the Agency
7.1. The Agency carries out accounting as determined for legal entities in law by the Law of the republic of Azerbaijan “On Accounting”, it prepares, presents and publishes the financial reports.
7.2. The Agency statistically carries out accounting, prepares and presents statistical reports according to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On official statistics”.
7.3. The Agency provides control the financial-economic activity of offices, branches, representative offices, economic societies and other bodies under its authority.
7.4. The Agency involves other auditors for independently controlling its own activity.
8. Liquidation and reorganization of the Agency
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan organizes liquidation and reorganization of the Agency.
