Do I need permission to play a phonogram in an institution?

Yes, you do. Intellectual property rights of authors of music works and phonograms are protected by law (Art. 1225 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

You will have to pay for audio and video content reproduced in the public place.

The institution is obliged to pay copyright holders, whose rights are recognized in the territory of the Russian Federation (sbpt.1 of p.1 of article 1315, p.1 of article 1317, sbpt.1 of p.1 of article 1323 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Whom exactly do I have to conclude the agreement with? Is it the author of the song, that is the direct owner?

No. It's much easier.: you pay the copyright holder through an intermediary, namely, through an organization that deals with copyright protection. There are two such organizations in our country: Russian Academy of Education and WIPO.

How much will I have to pay?

There are many nuances related to the type of your institution, the presence or absence of entrance fees for visitors, etc.

These nuances will be taken into account when calculating the amount of fee that you have to pay. You can consult the RAE/WIPO staff and find out the information about rates stated on official websites of organizations or you can contact our support service for free.

GUSLI service specialists will provide you with free legal assistance in concluding contracts, calculating remuneration payment rates, and preparing reports.

How can GUSLI staff help me?

GUSLI is a service created to make the public places owners' work easier.

The service staff will help you on all matters relating to copyrights and contract design for free, they will advise you and teach you how to prepare monthly reports for RAS / WIPO automatically using our service.

Why are there two organizations?

Because there are two types of rights holders.

  • The first type is
    the authors of texts and music; composers and poets. Their rights are protected by RAS (Russian Authors Society).
  • The second type is
    holders of related rights; singers, artists, record companies. Their rights are protected by WIPO (All-Russian Intellectual Property Organization).

Both organizations distribute money among those copyright holders whose works are used for commercial purposes. The contract must be concluded with both.

What is RAS?

RAS or Russian Authors Society - is a state organization that monitors the compliance with the authors' rights and ensures that all authors receive a reward for using their own musical works. According to the legislation adopted, the use of any works is possible only upon the consent of the author or his representative, which implies payment of remuneration to the author.

What is WIPO?

WIPO is the All-Russian Organization of Intellectual Property. It deals with almost the same matters as RAS. The main difference is that WIPO represents the interests of related rights holders (performers and holders of phonograms).

If RAS makes payments to music and text authors, WIPO pays rewards to performers and phonogram manufacturers.

That is, the rights holders may not know that their songs are performed in a particular institution?

Exactly. Public phonogram performance for commercial purposes, as well as its radio airing or cable broadcasting is allowed without the permission of the copyright holder, but with payment of remuneration.

How do I work with these organizations?

It is necessary to sign an agreement with each of them.

Under the contract with RAS, you will pay remuneration to holders of the exclusive right to a phonogram, and under a contract with WIPO - you will pay to holders of the exclusive right to the performance recorded in the phonogram.

What happens if I have not signed an agreement with RAS / WIPO?

In this case, sooner or later you will have to deal with a lawsuit and then pay a fine, which sometimes seriously exceeds the amount of official payments. The fine amount varies and depends on the copyright holder.

We advise you to sign these contracts, since the cost of a fine can significantly exceed the amount of remuneration.