Online Courses as Complex Objects of Intellectual Rights

Online courses have recently been increasingly created and used in various fields of knowledge. Due to the spread of online learning, there are more opportunities for development. At the same time, a large number of author’s courses created are beginning to be copied and distributed on the Internet without the consent of the authors and copyright holders. In the paper, the author examines the legal nature of online courses, issues of judicial practice, and gives examples when online courses can be recognized as complex objects of intellectual property rights. Article 1240 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation contains a limited list of complex objects, but online courses can be classified as multimedia products, databases or audiovisual works, taking into account the existing features of such objects. The author also examines the most frequent cases of violation of the rights of authors and copyright holders to online courses and provides an analysis of judicial practice.

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