The Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances: Benefits and Perspectives for Ukraine

The article analyzes the 2012 Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances as one of the key international documents in the field of protection of the rights of performers of audiovisual works. The article examines the legal prerequisites for the conclusion of this treaty, its content, structure and main provisions, as well as the relevance and prospects of Ukraine's accession to it. The author emphasizes that the Beijing Treaty significantly expands the system of international protection of related rights, for the first time providing performers of audiovisual works with a set of rights equivalent to the existing rights of phonogram performers. In particular, the treaty provides for the recognition and protection of performers' moral rights(the right of authorship and the right to the integrity of the performance), establishes exclusive property rights (to reproduce, distribute, hire and provide access to performances), and contains provisions on the protection of technological measures of protection and information on rights management. The article discusses some of the terminological and legal difficulties that arose in the process of drafting the treaty, including different approaches to the conceptof ’’audiovisual performance’’ in national legal systems.Special attention is paid to the implementation of the Beijing Treaty into the national legislation of Ukraine, which is not yet a party to the treaty. It is shown that accession to the treaty will open new opportunities for Ukrainian performers in the field of international rights protection, increase their competitiveness and facilitate the attraction of additional royalties. The article argues that ratification of the treaty will meet both the strategic goals of state policy in the field of intellectual property and the needs of the cultural and creative sector, especially in the context of an armed conflict, when support for national culture is extremely important. In conclusion, the author notes that accession to the Beijing Treaty could be an important step towards harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with international standards and help protect the rights of performers in the digital economy.