In the dissertation the key theoretical and applied aspects of the protection of intellectual property rights to cinematographic works in Ukraine based on the analysis of doctrinal developments, relevant provisions of national legislation and international experience have been investigated, and proposals to improve legal regulation of this sphere of relations have been developed. Particularly, in the Chapter 1 «General Theoretical Provisions on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights to a Cinematographic Work» the key legislative and doctrinal provisions concerning the protection of intellectual property rights to a cinematographic work have been analyzed, and the most relevant areas of research have been identified. The main international normative legal acts devoted to the regulation of acquisition, realization, protection and defense of intellectual property rights in the field of cinematography have been considered. The process of formation of the national legislation on protection of intellectual property rights to a cinematographic work has been characterized. The legal nature of the film as an object of copyright has been investigated and its main features have been formulated. In the Chapter 2 «The Legal Status of Subjects of Intellectual Property Rights to a Cinematographic Work» the key concepts of determining the authorship of a cinematographic work used in the Romano-Germanic and Anglo-American legal systems have been considered. The study has found that in the first group of countries the primary subjects of copyright in a film are recognized as persons through whose creative efforts it has been created, and in the second – a person who carried out organizational functions for the creation of a work. It has been established that the specificity of the process of creating a cinematographic work (a large number of participants, the diverse nature of their contributions) makes it impossible to consider the relationship between its authors within the traditional co-authorship. The author’s definitions of the producer of a cinematographic work, film studio and the process of making a film have been formulated and the appropriate amendments to the Law of Ukraine «On Cinematography», which will serve to improve legal regulation in this sphere of relations, have been proposed. The main grounds for acquiring intellectual property rights to a cinematographic work have been determined. The provisions on the justification of allocating script, production, artistic contracts and other agreements used in the field of cinematography have been developed. It has been stated that the names of these contracts serve to demonstrate the specifics of their subject, while their legal nature is identical to the legal nature of the agreements on the disposal of intellectual proprietary rights. The content of proprietary and personal non-proprietary intellectual property rights to a cinematographic work has been characterized. In the Chapter 3 «Protection of intellectual property rights to a cinematographic work» the main types of infringements of intellectual property rights in the field of cinematography and the ways to protect these rights have been considered. The need to develop a clear legislative approach to the issue of distinguishing between such concepts as «piracy», «camcording» and «card sharing», which, given specificity of their manifestation, should be treated as independent types of infringements of intellectual property rights, has been underlined. The expediency of applying positive international experience in the field of combating infringements of intellectual property rights to cinematographic works in Ukraine in terms of distinguishing actions that attempt to circumvent technical means of copyright protection from the manufacture, import and distribution of devices for such circumvention has been proved. It has been emphasized that in disputes concerning the protection of copyright in a cinematographic work, the plaintiffs may use both general and special methods of protection. The expediency of choosing the method of protection in each case individually, based on the nature and degree of copyright infringement, has been substantiated. The key aspects of judicial proceedings for the protection of intellectual property rights to a cinematographic work have been analyzed. It has been noted that they are carried out according to the general rules established by the procedural legislation. At the same time, it has been emphasized that the peculiarities of the creation of a cinematographic work determine the specificity of the parties to judicial proceedings, as well as means of proof in this category of cases.
