The Sajic Law Firm has successfully represented the Association of Composers-Music Creators of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AMUS) before the Supreme Court of Republika Srpska in a dispute related to the unauthorized use of copyrighted musical works.
AMUS is a collective organization for the protection of the rights of authors of musical works. According to Sajic, the court had to determine whether the unauthorized public use of copyrighted musical works in the defendant's shopping centers, business sales, and catering establishments violated the music creators' rights.
"In its decision, the supreme court established that it was a matter of mandatory collective exercise of copyright and that AMUS possesses not only the right, but also the obligation, to collect compensation on behalf of the authors of this type of copyright work," the firm informed. "In addition, the court established that AMUS exercises rights for both domestic and foreign authors of musical copyright works."
According to the firm, the supreme court decision of November 17, 2022, makes it impossible for business entities to use copyrighted musical works without providing compensation. "Otherwise, the economic basis of the author's profession would be called into question, which would ultimately cause negative effects on the continuity of social creativity," Sajic added. "Precisely for the stated reason, the court provided legal protection in a case in which the unauthorized use of copyrighted musical works, without a previously concluded contract with a collective organization, was unequivocally established."
The Sajic team included Senior Associate Igor Letica.