Título III. Derechos conexos

The protection of performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations shall not in any way affect the protection of copyright established in this Law. None of the provisions contained in this Title may be interpreted in a manner that reduces such protection. Likewise, the protection afforded to copyright shall in no way affect the protection of related rights. Consequently, none of the provisions relating to copyright may be interpreted to the detriment of the provisions of this Title.

Related rights shall enjoy protection for a term of seventy-five (75) years counted from January 1 of the year following the year in which the act giving rise to such rights occurred, in accordance with the following rules:

a)In the case of phonograms and performances recorded thereon, from the date of their first authorized publication; or if the first authorized publication has not occurred within the fifty (50) year period following their fixation, the term of protection shall begin to run from their fixation;

b)In the case of performances not recorded on a phonogram, from the date of the performance; and

c)In the case of broadcasting emissions, from the date of transmission.

Every act of transmission or alienation of the rights referred to in this Title must be in writing.

Performers and their successors in title have the exclusive right to authorize or prohibit the fixation, reproduction, communication to the public by any means, distribution, broadcasting or any other form or use of their performances. They also enjoy the right to authorize or prohibit the broadcasting and communication to the public of their unfixed performances, except when the performance itself constitutes a broadcast performance, and the fixation of their unfixed performances. Performers of audiovisual works shall be exempt from this provision.

When a phonogram published for commercial purposes is used in any form of public communication, performers whose performance has been fixed in such phonograms shall have the right to economic remuneration.

Unless otherwise stipulated, it is understood that:

a)Authorization for broadcasting does not imply authorization to allow other broadcasting organizations to retransmit the performance;

b)Authorization for broadcasting does not imply authorization to fix the performance;

c)Authorization for broadcasting and for fixing the performance does not imply authorization to reproduce the fixation; and

d)Authorization for fixing the performance and for reproducing this fixation does not imply authorization to transmit the performance from the fixation of its reproductions.

When several performers participate in the same performance, authorization shall be given by the director of the group and, in the absence of the latter, by the majority of its members.

For the exercise of the rights recognized in this Law, orchestras and vocal or instrumental groups shall be represented by the director of the ensemble or by a legally constituted agent.

Performing artists also have the personal, unwaivable, inalienable and perpetual right to associate their name or artistic pseudonym with their performance and to object to the distortion or mutilation thereof. Upon the death of the artist, the provisions of Article 20 of this law shall apply, as applicable.

Producers of phonograms shall have the exclusive right to authorize or prohibit the reproduction, broadcasting, distribution and direct or indirect communication to the public or any other manner or means of use of their phonograms or reproductions and the making available to the public of the phonograms, by any means, in such a way that members of the public may have access to them from the place and at the time they choose.

The distribution right comprises the power to authorize the distribution of the phonograms, whether by means of sale, rental or any other form. Where distribution is effected by means of sale, this right is extinguished as of the first sale made, save for statutory exceptions. Where distribution is effected by means of rental, the placing on the market of the original or authorized copies of the phonogram does not extinguish it.

The importation right comprises the power to authorize or prohibit the importation of copies of legally manufactured phonograms and to prevent the importation of copies manufactured without the authorization of the holder of the right.

Whoever publicly performs or causes to be publicly performed in any form a phonogram published for commercial purposes shall obtain prior written authorization from its producer and pay remuneration to the latter.

The producer or its representative shall collect the sum owed by users of public performance of phonograms and shall distribute it to the artists, in the proportions contractually agreed with them.

In the absence of a contract, one-half of the sum received by the producer, after deducting collection and administration expenses, shall be paid by the producer to the performing artists, who, if they have not entered into a special agreement, shall divide it among themselves as follows:

a)Fifty percent shall be paid to the performer, meaning the singer or vocal ensemble or other artist appearing in the foreground of the phonogram label;

b)Fifty percent shall be paid to the accompanying musicians and choir members who participated in the fixation, divided in equal parts among all of them. If they fail to come forward to claim such sums within a time limit of twelve months, the producer shall deliver them to the association of the corresponding professional category, which shall allocate them exclusively for welfare purposes for its members.

In cases of infringement of the rights recognized in this chapter, the exercise of the applicable actions corresponds to both the phonogram producer and the assignee of such rights.

Broadcasting organizations enjoy the exclusive right to authorize or prohibit:

a)The fixation of their broadcasts and of their transmissions on a physical base or material medium; including the fixation of any image or sounds or isolated image and sounds disseminated in the broadcast or transmission;

b)The reproduction of the fixations of their broadcasts or of their transmissions by any means, known or to be known;

c)The retransmission of their broadcasts or transmissions by any means or procedure, known or to be known; and

d)The communication to the public of their broadcasts or transmissions when carried out in places to which the public may have access, upon payment of an admission fee or in places to which the public may have access for purposes of consuming or acquiring products or services of any kind.

Equivalent protection to that established in this article is recognized for the originating organizations or stations that carry out their transmissions through cable, fiber optic or other similar procedure.