Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan is implementing a plan aimed to protect copyright on the Internet and digital networks, Azerbaijan's Copyright Agency chairman Kamran Imanov said on December 19.

Actually, the system that helps control copyright on the Internet is being created, he said.

This is a very complex system based on the latest technological advances, Imanov said. In this regard, the Communications and Information Technology Ministry will hold an expanded workshop on December 25. The Copyright Agency together with the Press Council will hold an event on the protection of copyright in media.

"It is the media which is mostly violating copyright. Representatives of some media are violating copyrights of their colleagues by taking their information and after "privatizing" it, issue as their own. Lately we are increasingly come into such cases," Imanov said.

"The reason is that in many cases the journalist is thinking about the information of another journalist as the thing that has no copyright. However, the days-long work, development of the theme, collection of the materials from various sources, is standing after this material. This is his work already. And those who do not understand it, are violating the rights," Imanov said.

Copyright infringement is not connected with the laws or their rigidity, but with a respectful attitude of people to other people's creativity and their intellectual property, he believes.

Copyright is very vulnerable issue in Azerbaijan, especially in media sphere. Imanov did not exclude, that the legislation on the copyright protection can be tightened in Azerbaijan.

"Our main aim is to create an intellectual property culture. Copyrights in digital networks and the Internet has broken at such a level that this issue is of concern throughout the world. However, it does not mean that the legislation in this area should be toughened.

"Willing or not, the information technology are influence on our lives more and more every day. The life goes forward fast. The laws need to keep pace with the times. That is why, logically, it would be right to make changes and amendments into the law each time. We have already presented our proposals on the issue," he said.

Recently this year, the law "On ensuring intellectual property rights and fight with piracy" was enforced in Azerbaijan.

A Center of the intellectual property rights also functioning under the Copyright Agency, a body in charge of implementing state policy on copyright protection, from December 2013. This center is objected to create a system of digital monitoring and licensing to protect the copyright in the Internet.