The aim of this work was to provide complete overview of rights that the law confers on performers and to focus in more detail on the possibility of protection and defence of these rights. This goal is reflected in the whole concept of the work - the first chapters describe the performer's rights and the second part focuses on the protection of these rights whether by the performer him or herself or by the collective administrator. The opening chapter deals with explanation of the basic terms. First, it was necessary to clarify, who is a performer from the lay point of view but also under the Copyright Act definition. Then I define the subject of the performer's rights in general - the performance. Finally, the chapter covers also the joint representative of performers who often represents an artistic body externally. The second chapter is slightly more extensive. It deals with the historical development of copyright. Because the Czech copyright is significantly influenced by international and European law, the following two big sub-chapters focus on these two huge legal systems and mainly on agreements and regulations that have directly affected the performers' rights in our country. Very important for the whole work is the third chapter which contains moral and economic rights of performers. This...

Resume The thesis is focused mainly on the rights of phonogram and audiovisual fixation producers. Choosing this topic came as a result of my own personal interest in music, as well as the constantly active public debate regarding the protection of rights of the producers in relation to the expantion of internet and related transmission of digital data. Part one is followed by establishing main terms, specifically the phonograms and their producers, and audiovisual fixations and their producers. The history of copyright protection and related rights is discussed in the third part. Despite the long history of intelectual property protection, copyright and related rights were not included into the Czech legal system until 1953. The historical excursion into copyright and related rights leads to exploration of the rights of phonograms and audiovisual fixations producers, especially in the light of how easy their worldwide distribution in today`s world is. Copyright is based on the quasidual concept of personal and property rights. Producers of phonograms or audiovisual fixations are granted solely property rights. The last two chapters are devoted to the explanation of individual rights and their potential civil or public protection under the valid Czech legal system.

The subject of my thesis is The Rights of Producers of Phonograms (Sound Recordings) and Films. I have chosen this topic because of my fondness for music and for media that carry such recordings. The Rights of Producers are denominated as rights related (to Copyright) because of the absence of creativity and individuality. The term neighbouring rights is exactly equivalent. In the first chapter I provide reader with basic terms and a concept of continental copyright law as well as a comparison with common law copyright system. These two law systems are essentially important to comprehend the rights of producers in general and to have basic overview on their role in global society and economy. Both authors' rights and related rights are copyrights in the sense of common law. The second chapter analyses international law on this subject. I describe the relationship between czech national law and international law. Although the majority of international agreements is phrased generally, mentioned agreements have impact on legislations of contracting parties. They form a part of czech law since their ratification and publication in Collection of Laws. The important agreements on the subject are Rome Convention, Geneva Convention, TRIPS Agreement and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. In addition, I...

La condition juridique de l'artiste-interprète se caractérise par une imbrication étroite du droit du travail et du droit de la propriété intellectuelle. Chaque source de droits appréhende des temps différents de l'activité de l'artiste-interprète. Le droit du travail s'intéresse à l'artiste-interprète en tant que travailleur. Le modèle du salariat s'impose largement puisque le législateur a instauré une présomption de salariat. Le droit de la propriété littéraire et artistique s'intéresse au résultat du processus de création sur lequel les artistes-interprètes bénéficient de droits voisins du droit d'auteur. L'artiste-interprète se trouve donc au cœur d'une articulation délicate entre la liberté d'expression inhérente à son activité et la subordination juridique qui caractérise la relation de travail salariée. En réalité, le droit du travail n'ignore pas la nature particulière de l'activité de l'artiste-interprète. D'une part, l'artiste-salarié est largement soustrait aux conditions traditionnelles de la subordination juridique, d'autre part, un espace est laissé aux artistes qui souhaitent exercer en qualité d'indépendant. Malgré l'existence d'une double protection juridique, l'artiste-interprète demeure un sujet de droit fragile. Il fait souvent figure de travailleur précaire avec la généralisation de formes d'emploi flexibles et son droit voisin fait figure de « parent pauvre». L'artiste-interprète est d'autant fragilisé que son droit fait l'objet de contestations dans le cadre de l'Internet. Le rapport de force avec les acteurs de l'économie numérique est inégal et les revendications du public sont fortes. Il s'ensuit le besoin de définir un cadre plus équitable. / The legal position of the performer consists in a narrow interweaving of the labour law and intellectual copyright rights. Each source of rights bandles different times related to performing artists's activities. Labour law refers to the performer as a worker. Salaried staff status is predominant since the legislator bas introduced a presumption of employment. Literary and artistic property rigbts focus on the result of the creating process on which performers benefit from rights related to copyright. Performing artists are indeed at the heart of a delicate joint between the freedom of speech inherent to their activity and the legal subordination which characterises salaried staff relations. Actually, the labour law is not unaware of the peculiar nature of performing artists's activities. On one band, the salaried artist is exempt from the usual requirements of legal subordination; on the other hand, room is left to artists hoping to work as self-employed. Although a double legal protection exists, performing artists remain a fragile subject of law. They are often considered as precarious workers with the generalization of flexible forms of work and their neighbouring rights are often seen as a poor relation. Performing artists are even more so weakened that their right is subject to protests on the Internet. The power relationship with the players in the digital economy is uneven and grievances from the public are very strong. There is a need to define a more equitable frame.