in the country (or in a country signatory to an international treaty) within 30 days following its first publication. In the absence of international treaties, the protection of foreign works will be subject to reciprocity. The author is the authentic titleholder of the copyright of his work or creation. All the rights conferred to other persons, by virtue of law or contract, have a derivative character. Authors have the moral and economic rights over their creations. Moral rights permit the following: 1. Receive credits for the creation; 2. Oppose changes that may affect the merit of the creation; 3. Abstain from publishing the creation or to maintain it in anonymity; and 4. Take the work out of circulation, as long as the author compensates for damages that this decision can entail.
Moral rights are inherent to the author. Upon the author’s death, they are transferred to the author’s legal heirs or, in their absence, to the State. The heirs can use the work or creation for a period of 50 years. Economic rights allow the author to exploit the author’s creation by means of any method of use, publication, re- production, or distribution that exists or may exist and grants rights to third parties for its use. The methods of use are independent among themselves, and therefore the author may transfer the author’s rights separately for each method of use. The law regulates the different kind of contracts and licenses for the transfer of economic rights. The distribution, reproduction, publication, or other use of creative works without the consent of the author or ti- tleholder, totally or partially, is illegal and therefore may be subject to civil and criminal sanctions. To ensure the protection of rights, the author or title bearer for the distribution of the author’s work may apply or require the application of methods, systems, or machines that prevent the transmission, reproduction, or modification of the work without the author’s authorization.
COMMERCIAL AGREEMENTS
Business agreements and covenants in the Dominican Republic are primarily based on the principle of free- dom of contract, as provided in the country’s Civil Code. Accordingly, parties to an agreement are free to es- tablish the provisions that will regulate their relationship and to make those provisions legally binding on them, as long as they do not contravene laws regarding public order. All commercial agreements are executed on the basis of this principle, and on any other law that specifical- ly regulates certain types of business.