MISSION OF ALBANIAN COPYRIGHT OFFICE
1. Albanian Copyright Office (ACO) is a central institution, with the status of public legal pollution under the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports, with the seat in Tirana. It has its seal and logo, approved by the director, pursuant to decision 474 of 10.7.2003, “On Mode of Use of Emblem of the Republic of Albania”.
2. ACO practices its activity pursuant to the Constitution, Albania legislation on author’s right and other related rights, other legal provisions and secondary legislation in force, other international conventions and agreements, in which Republic of Albania is a party.
3. AARO object of activity is to supervise and monitor the observance of author’s right and other related rights, by natural/legal persons, subjects, private or public users of literary, artistic or scientific property.
4. It examines and registers every application for registration of author’s right and related rights, for the applying author or holder of author’s right on a work.
5. It deposits all applications, registrations and changes of author’s right that it keeps the database, administered in the Author’s Right Register, which is documental and electronic.
6. It certifies every signed and/or changed agreement or contract, between parties, subject to Law No. 9380 of 28.4.2005 “On Author’s Right and Other Related Rights”, when the contract object are the rights on the work and/or the transfer of property rights on the work, in case of use, exploitation, reproduction, distribution or public presentation pursuant to article 45/1, 47 and 51/3. In order for ACO to implement this law most effectively, all contracts of exclusive transfer of whatever property rights on the work are registered and certified, providing the artistic stamp for all works copies, which are the result of reproduction from an original copy.
7. It offers specialized services, against tariffs approved by Council of Ministers for every subject concerned, it makes the appraisal and assessment in writing for every case of conflict between the parties about author’s right and other related rights.
8. At the author’s request, it defines the payment for the transfer of propriety rights on the work, through the author and/or the holder of author’s right and the other contracting party pursuant to the contract object, when this remuneration is not provided for expressively in the contract between the parties, pursuant to articles 34/2 and 68/3 of the law in force.
9. It examines and gives a final explanation in writing for the author’s request, for the claim that the work was used, exploited, changed, reproduced, distributed or presented in public, contrary to provisions of law No. 9380 of 28.4.2005 “On Copyright Right and Other Related Rights”.
10. It examines disputes about the author’s right and other related rights pursuant to article 104 of the law.
11. It appoints author’s right experts for judicial bodies, in accordance with respective areas, based on provisions of Civil Procedures Code.
12. It examines requests of the concerned to be licensed in the field of collective management of the author’s right, it controls the presented documentation, it carries out the full administrative investigation and presents to Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports the applicant’s file, the report and its opinion for meeting of conditions for license granting, pursuant to article 108 of the law.
13. It arranges and certifies every contract joined between the author/s or holder/s of the author’s right and collective management agency of the author’s right and other related rights.
14. It fixes the AARO artistic seal and deposits an original copy of the phonographic /videogram recorder or a similar means for their reproduction, it controls the observance of the author’s right by producers or distributors of authorized copies of phonograms, pursuant to article 60 of the law.
15. It cooperates with taxation, customs, judicial and other public institutions, with private organizations, which represent different users of the artistic, cultural and scientific propriety for issues of mutual interest about the manner of implementation and observance of author’s right and other related rights pursuant to legal provisions in force.
16. It establishes cooperating relations with different organizations and counterpart institutions abroad.
17. It proposes improvements of legal acts and secondary legislation in the field of author’s right and other related rights and presents them to Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports.
18. It publishes the periodic bulletin with information, analyses, studies and other the author’s right and informs the public by its web site about its activity and mission in author’s right field
