Legal Protection of Derivative Works and the Condition of Their Originality in Romanian Law

According to Romanian law, creative intellectual work is acknowledged and protected, independent of its public disclosure, by the mere fact of its creation, even in unfinished form. From the multitude of intellectual creations protected by the special law in this field, in this study, the author analyzes how derivative works are protected when they are realized by using an original (pre-existing) work. The analysis considers both national legislation and European Union regulations, alongside numerous scholarly contributions from Romanian authors and relevant decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union and national courts. The study aims to clarify the conditions under which an intellectual creation qualifies as a derivative work and examine whether the creation of such works infringes upon the patrimonial or moral rights of the original author. At the same time, given that the making of a derivative work without the written consent of the author of the original (pre-existing) work is unlawful and may entail civil or criminal liability, this paper briefly addresses the implications of this offense.