Albania: Law No. 35/2016 of March 31, 2016, on Copyright and Related Rights

October 20, 2016

Albania: The Law No. 35/2016 of March 31, 2016, on Copyright and Related Rights was published in the Official Gazette on April 20, 2016, and entered into force on October 20, 2016. It repeals Law No. 9380 of April 28, 2005, on Copyright and Related Rights.

The Law provides, inter alia: (i) an expansion of the scope of copyrighted works and authorship; (ii) an improved balance between the interests of copyright owners in receiving fair reward for their efforts and the interests of copyright users in receiving reasonable access to copyrighted materials; (iii) a "one-stop-shop" system that permits commercial users to pay a single license fee to different collecting societies; (iv) governance mechanisms on the relations between collecting societies and users, in line with Directive 2014/26/EU on collective management of copyright and related rights; (v) an imposition of fines between ALL 200,000 (=~ US$1,630) and ALL 500,000 (=~ US$4,100) for collecting societies which do not obtain authorization from the Ministry of Culture; and (vi) remedial measures available to right holders, including the ability to apply for preliminary injunction to prevent or restrain infringement of a copyright.