Who has copyrights to translate by the law? In some situations it means a lot and this question is of great importance.

 

In the Ukrainian legal field copyright is regulated by the Law of Ukraine "On Copyright and Related Rights" (Law). It is legally enshrined that the translation of a "work" into another language is a "derivative work".

 

Simply put, in a situation where the source material corresponds to the notion of "work", the text of its translation into another language is covered by the Law of Ukraine "On Copyright and Related Rights" as a "derivative work".

 

But not all text materials correspond to this norm, because not all of them are objects of protection. For example, the information provided to the media is not considered to be a "work" according to the Law.  Such texts may include press releases, reports and news. Accordingly, the translation of such materials is not an object of protection.

 

According to the Law of Ukraine "On Copyright and Related Rights" any state documents, including regulatory ones, court decisions or official documents (acts of civil status, certificates, extracts) are not considered to be "works".

 

A translation that is related to the creative translation is protected by copyright according to the Law of Ukraine. But it is important to consider: in our legislation there are no clear criteria defining such concepts as "creativity" and "creative translation".

 

So-called literal translation (subscript) which in some cases is done as a preliminary preparation for subsequent editing is not protected by the copyright. Although a literal translation can require from a linguist as much effort and time as a literary translation, it must be remembered that it is not protected by copyright law.

 

In addition, copyrights of translator are not protected when he used specialized computer programs to perform work.

"Reverse translation" of the text into the language in which it was issued (for example, in case of loss) is also not defined as an object of copyright in accordance with Ukrainian law.

 

In Ukraine is possible to protect the copyrights of a translator for a "derivative work" only if the linguist observes all the property or non-property rights of the author of the work during the translation. It means that translator must conclude an agreement with the copyright holder of the "work" or obtain a license from him. In this case translator can declare his claims for copyrights to the "derivative work".

 

It should be borne in mind that in addition to respecting the property right when translating a "work" from translator, the non-property rights of the author are required. A linguist can change the author's design, literary style and used artistic techniques. The translator has the right (unless otherwise specified in the license agreement with the author) to change only the language of the work.

 

It happens that the author prohibits the use of the translation, arguing that his original design is distorted in translation. To avoid such a situation (the ban on using the translation of the "work"), the translator should make a test translation of several of the most expressive passages of the text before signing the license agreement with the author. Expert opinions on the quality of the completed translation do not have legal status since the Ukrainian legislation does not develop norms for assessing the quality of translation services.

 

Who is the holder of the copyright for translation according to the Law? Translation ("derivative work") becomes the subject of copyright law on several conditions: