Croatia/ 5.1 General legislation  

5.1.7 Copyright provisions

The Law on Copyright and Related Rights was adopted in November 2003 (amended in 2007 and 2011) and brought Croatian regulations into line with EU regulations.

The Croatian model follows the droit d'auteur tradition. Both in theoretical deliberations and in legal texts, it follows the continental European tradition on the protection of moral rights which has been incorporated in the text of the Law passed in 2003.

The Law includes provisions for the "fair use" of copyright material for educational purposes without remuneration. It regulates the use of "private copying" and adequate remuneration through provisions for blank tape levies.

According to Croatian legislation, authors and performers have exclusive rights of public performance while the owners of secondary rights (i.e. phonogram producers) have the right of remuneration for secondary use. The process of negotiations for full membership in the EU brought some additional changes in the existing legislation as a consequence of the further harmonisation with the acquis communautaire, particularly with regard to the anticipated enforcement of the public lending right provisions.

Associations registered as collective rights management associations are:

• Croatian Composers' Society, Collecting Society (ZAMP-HDS);
• Croatian Performers' Rights Collecting Society (HUZIP);
• Protection, Collection and Distribution of Phonogram Producers' Rights Society (ZAPRAF);
• Croatian Film Directors Guild (DHFR);
• Society for Protection of Publishers Rights (ZANA);
• Croatian Association of Writers (DHK);
• Society for Protection of Journalists' Authors' Rights (DZNAP); and
• Croatian Association for Protection of Artistic Works "ARS CROATICA".

Regarding individual rights management – the Croatian Authors' Agency Centre for Intellectual Ownership ltd. (HAA) is a legal successor of the Croatian Authors' Agency that has been in charge of authors' rights and their legal successors for over 55 years, representing them and promoting the importance of copyright.

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