Giving credit to creations of the mind

Copyright as an EU requirement

Kosovo does not have functioning collecting societies, which are bodies authorised to collect copyright fees for the use of creative works and to pay the owners of those rights, such as songwriters, authors, artists, and publishers. This gap has influenced the way in which society perceives the requirement to pay for materials under copyright, and created a need to raise awareness on how copyright affects creative industries, including creators in film.

“Film festivals are visible occasions to disseminate information about the role of copyright,” says Ioannis Kikkis, an expert on copyright, on the opportunity to talk to industry representatives directly. Along with other prominent specialists in the field, he presented real life examples of how creators and rightsholders were “robbed of opportunities” at this summer’s Dokufest and Anibar festivals. He confirms that some viewers do not have a clear understanding of why copyright is important for this industry, and why it needs to be respected. Kikkis has been in Kosovo for over two years now, and is working with an EU-funded project to strengthen the position of institutions in intellectual property through awareness-raising.

“Copyright is at the foundation of all film production. It gives creators the confidence that they own their work, and that they will be entitled to manage the distribution of the finished product,” says Kikkis. “At the same time, audio-visual content is among the most heavily pirated material.”Festival-goers also learnt about EU best practices for opportunities deriving from copyright, including film funding, protecting animation creations in the gaming industry, and other topics on the economics of copyright-based industries.

Protecting rights to inspire innovation

Works that require registration, rather than copyright, are creations that fall under industrial property like trademarks, industrial design, and patents. Kosovo registers thousands of trademarks through its Industrial Property Agency every year. Efforts have been made in recent years to encourage local businesses to do more in this regard, by registering their products and ensuring protection becomes more competitive both at home and abroad. The protection of existing products provokes the minds of creators to invent new things, introducing innovative solutions for modern-day problems that also reward the rightful owners of innovations in the long run.

Meanwhile, intellectual property is gaining wider acceptance as a crucial element in the creative economy. “Countries are adopting a strategic approach to the role of intellectual property in unleashing the potential of creativity to the benefit of creators and society as a whole,” says Kikkis.