The hard life of an artist

At the outset, a few words of clarification to this slightly dramatic title should be in order. Not everyone may recall or know that, prior to promulgation of the legislative Act regarding copyright and associated rights in 1994, questions concerning the rights of creative artists were left hanging without unequivocal answers. The right to artistic performances as a category of associated right was not directly protected and was not the object of express statutory provisions. Every now and again, the argument was raised that, perhaps, these rights ought to benefit from protection along the same lines as copyrighted works (rooted in the reasoning that a performance is a form of a work). The Act as now in force, meanwhile, provides a solid basis for legal protection, providing that any artistic performance of a work or a folk art work shall remain under protection irrespective of the value, designated use, or means of expression. For these purposes, the category of artistic performance includes the activities of actors, lectors, conductors, instrumentalists, vocalists, dancers, and mimes and of other persons creatively contributing to the creation of a performance (and, of course, this is not a closed catalogue). To this very date, some doubt persists as to what are known as free benefits – the activities of stuntmen and sportsmen (…)