In the Soviet Union there was no copyright law

Once the world-famous opera singer Fyodor Chaliapin, who immigrated to France from the tyranny of the Soviet regime, the Soviet Union seized at 10,000 francs for copyright infringement. This case is unique because the Soviet Union copyright law did not exist.

In May 1930 the French publishing house book appeared Chaliapin "Pages of my life", and the right to its publication bought from the French state-owned Soviet "International Book". The singer said he did not give permission to publish the book, the manuscript of which remained in the Soviet Union after his immigration. He appealed to the Paris Commercial Tribunal with a lawsuit against the government of the USSR, in which he demanded to compensate the material damage from the infringement of its copyright. A year later, as the Russian press wrote in Paris' Commercial Court declared the Soviet government guilty and ordered to pay damages in the amount of Chaliapin 10 thousand. Francs and court costs on doing business ».



The lawsuit Chaliapin to the Soviet Union was a unique case in judicial practice. The Soviet government believes that the only holder of the rights of intellectual property, it is itself. A good example of this approach was the work of "Melody", which for many years produced 'Melodies and rhythms of foreign music "without paying the owners. For example, a plate of "The Beatles" were published in the Soviet Union without a license until 1986. The term "intellectual property" first appeared in 1990 in the law "On Property in the USSR».

via factroom.ru