Romania

[RO] Culture and Religious Affairs Ministry Takes Control of Copyright Authority

IRIS 2005-6:1/34

Mariana Stoican

Journalist, Bucharest

The Oficiul Român pentru Drepturile de Autor (Romanian Copyright Authority - ORDA)was founded in 1996 as a specialist body answerable to the Government and was the only national regulatory authority responsible, in partnership with the public monitoring bodies, for protecting copyright by means of national registers.

For a while, the ORDA worked under the auspices of the National Control Authority (Autoritatea Naţională de Control). However, following the adoption of the "National Copyright Strategy 2003-2007" (Strategia Naţională în domeniul Proprietăţii Intelectuale în perioada 2003-2007), which was monitored by the European Commission, it became clear that the ORDA could more easily develop its activities as a regulatory body in close co-operation with the Ministry for Culture and Religious Affairs. Therefore, on the basis of Act No. 25 of 7 March 2005 and as part of a restructuring of the national public administration, the ORDA became an authority managed by a Director General appointed by the Romanian Prime Minister at the proposal of the Minister for Culture. All its running costs and capital expenditure are now funded by the state from a specially allocated ORDA budget created within the budget of the Ministry for Culture and Religious Affairs.