June 26, 2024

Att. Ivan Yankov is now officially listed as a mediator

The managing partner of YNG Legal Attorney-at-law Ivan Yankov was just officially listed as a mediator in the The Unified Register of Mediators of the Minister of Justice of Bulgaria.

Besides being a qualified lawyer with many years of experience and a licensed intellectual property appraiser, Att. Yankov has also undergone special training in mediation.

Ivan is the second mediator colleague in the team after associate Iveta Ivanova, who was already certified when she joined the team.

We would especially like to thank Academy “Sporazumeniya” (Agreements) and Sevdalina Alexandrova – one of the founders and teachers at the Academy. Not only was the training filled with meaningful content, but the process was easy and purposeful.

Mediation is a way to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, within or outside of court proceedings. This process is conducted by a mediator – a third party neutral to the dispute, who aims to assist the disputing parties in reaching the optimal resolution of the issues in question. Mediators, in addition to being good intermediaries, need to be specially trained and selected before they are officially registered.

The listing of Att. Ivan Yankov in the Unified Register of Mediators is a testimony to his high level of training in various areas of law and its accompanying activities. Anyone who chooses to try to reach a settlement can do so with the help of Att. Yankov.

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May 15, 2024

Training in sports law successfully accomplished

Attorney-at-law Radina Vakrilova and associate Filena Vassileva from our team took part in a two-day seminar on sports law – one of the areas in which YNG Legal.

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March 20, 2024

The AI Act: Preserving civic rights or hindering innovation in the EU?

The first set of regulatory frameworks aiming at responding to the new challenges this technology brings

In recent years artificial intelligence tools of various applications and scales became more and more included in our life. And the faster the technology developed, the more present and available it became outside of specific industries and big corporations. To a point of a commercial boom so wide, that such AI tools swiftly reached small and medium enterprises (SME) and end-customers en mass.

This quick and wide spread of a technology which evolves every day inevitably brought threads to information, personal data, intellectual property, jobs, businesses, human rights. That is why the European union moved to regulate artificial intelligence.

The AI Act’s aim

On 13 March The European Parliament adopted the first amendments to the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence the so-called Artificial Intelligence Act.

The new regulation aims to ensure safety and compliance with fundamental rights and also boost innovation.

According to the first recital the purpose of this legislation is to:

“improve the functioning of the internal market by laying down a uniform legal framework in particular for the development, placing on the market, putting into service and the use of artificial intelligence systems in the Union in conformity with Union values, to promote the uptake of human centric and trustworthy artificial intelligence while ensuring a high level of protection of health, safety, fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter, including democracy and rule of law and environmental protection, against harmful effects of artificial intelligence systems in the Union and to support innovation.”

Whom will the AI Act apply to?

Providers
- placing on the market or putting into service AI systems or
- placing on the market general-purpose AI models in the Union, irrespective of whether those providers are established or who are located within the Union or in a third country.

Deployers of AI systems that have their place of establishment or who are located within the Union.
Providers and deployers of AI systems that have their place of establishment or who are located in a third country, where the output produced by the system is used in the Union.
Importers and distributors of AI systems.
Product manufacturers placing on the market or putting into service an AI system together with their product and under their own name or trademark;
authorised representatives of providers, which are not established in the Union;
affected persons that are located in the Union.

What does the AI Act actually regulate?

The new regulation works in several directions to protect the interests of EU citizens and businesses.

The AI Act defines AI applications which pose a significant threat and completely bans them, such as certain cases of biometric categorisation, emotion recognition, social scoring, predictive policing, manipulation of human behaviour or exploitation of people’s vulnerabilities.
It provides an exception for strictly and narrowly defined situations in which biometric categorisation could be used by law enforcement only if strict safeguards are met: such as limited use in time and geographic scope and prior judicial or administrative authorisation.
The Act defines and regulates high-risk systems, for example AI uses in critical infrastructure, education and vocational training, employment, essential private and public services (e.g. healthcare, banking), certain systems in law enforcement, migration and border management, justice and democratic processes (e.g. influencing elections). It also gives citizens the right to submit complaints about AI systems and receive explanations about decisions based on high-risk AI systems that affect their rights.
The regulation imposes transparency requirements, including compliance with EU copyright law and publishing detailed summaries of the content used for training. Artificial or manipulated images, audio or video content (“deepfakes”) will need to be clearly labelled as such. Systems posing systemic risks will need to undergo additional evaluations.
The AI Act also requires measures at the national level to ensure SMEs and start-ups have a healthy environment to develop and train innovative AI before its placement on the market.

What’s next?

The development of The AI Act took 3 years until it reached this point. Now the final Regulation needs to be formally adopted by both European Council and European Parliament before its publication to the Official Journal of the European Union. After the adoption from the European Parliament, the European Council is expected to adopt in due time the text without further changes or negotiations as the two institutions reached a deal on the Regulation at the beginning of December last year.

The European Union is thus becoming a global pioneer in the regulation of the artificial intelligence sector, as happened a few years ago with the regulation of personal data. Since the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, similar regulations have been introduced elsewhere in the world.

The new legislation enters into force 20 days after its publication in the official Journal and should fully apply from 2026. Yet there are some exceptions:

bans on prohibited practises will apply 6 months after the entry into force date;
codes of practise – 9 months after entry into force;
general-purpose AI rules including governance – 12 months;
and obligations for high-risk systems – 36 months.

Only the time will tell to what extent and how the new Regulation will face the many challenges the AI technology brings to the legislative and economic landscape within the member states of the European Union. Our team will analyse and stay up do date with the new set of rules making sure your business needs comply with the Regulation. We are committed to help companies navigate through the complexities of the European Union’s legal landscape.

If you work in the field of AI, do not hesitate to get in touch and prepare your business ahead of time for the new legislation before its mandatory provisions kick-in.

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February 2, 2024

Join the Artists’ Rights Forum

About the event

In Bulgaria, practice shows that the rights of actors are not properly valued. The purchase of rights in advance together with remuneration for work performed does not allow for additional economic realisation for performing artists from future uses of the works with their participation. But this situation is far from immutable!

Together with our partners the Institute of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer “Prof. Dr. Borislav Borisov” (IISTT) of the UNWE and the collective rights management organization “ArtistAuthor” we organize a forum “Performing Artists’ Rights”. It will take place on 27 February at 09:30 in the Large Conference Hall of the UNWE.

To participate, you need to register by filling in the online form from this link or the button below.

With our partners, we recognize that there is a need for regular awareness campaigns that present well-structured information on performing artists’ rights in today’s business environment. The forum will address issues essential to enhancing the competitiveness of actors. The topics discussed will also be relevant for performing artists other than actors, for producers, lawyers, intellectual property specialists, communicators, students.

During the forum, experts from academia and practice will address the following topics:

collective management of intellectual property rights;
the role of the Ministry of Culture in collective rights management;
amendments to the Copyright and related rights act;
specificities of artists’ contracts.

Agenda

09:30 | Registration

10:00 – 10:10 | Welcome speech by the Rector of the UNWE

10:10 – 10:35 | Collective Rights Management. The role of ArtistAuthor

Speakers Simeon Hristov, Executive Director of the organization and Att. Ivan Yankov from YNG Legal

10:35 – 11:00 | The role of the Ministry of Culture in collective rights management

Speaks as. Dr. Stefan Radev from UNWE

11:00 – 11:10 | Break

11:10 – 11:30 | Amendments to the Copyright and Related Rights Act

Att. Ivan Yankov and Att. Yordan Vladov from YNG Legal

11:30 – 11:50 | Performing Artists Contracts

Dr. Ivan Nachev, Director of the Institute of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer, speaks

11:50 – 12:30 | Discussion

About our partners

The Institute of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer “Prof. Dr. Borislav Borisov” (IISTT) is a core unit of the UNWE that conducts research and assists business and government on intellectual property and technology transfer issues. IISTT works in close research and expert cooperation with a number of national and international organisations, such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the European Patent Office and the European Union Intellectual Property Office, the Executive Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, employers’ organisations, creative industries, lawyers, industrial property attorneys and others.

“ArtistAuthor” is a collective rights management organisation registered with the Ministry of Culture. The association has been taking care of collective representation, management and protection of the rights of performing artists in Bulgaria since 1998. More than 340 professional Bulgarian performing artists are members of ArtistAuthor.

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January 24, 2024

How can artistes protect their rights after changes to the Bulgarian Copyright Act?

At the end of 2023, significant changes to the Bulgarian Copyright and Related Rights Act were adopted. The aim was to harmonise the national legislation with the European legal framework – namely, by introducing two directives: 2019/789 and 2019/790.

These changes were largely driven by the digitalization of the market and the innovations in the distribution of various products subject to copyright and related rights.

One of the most crucial amendments is the abolition of the 10-year limitation on contracts with authors and performers for the use of works. It is now possible to enter into contracts for the full term of protection of the rights of both authors and performers – 70 years after the death of the author and 50 years after the date of the performance for the performers, subject to only a single payment for use.

However, the amendments also provide for a right to additional remuneration where the original agreed remuneration proves disproportionate. As the protection of this right is difficult to achieve in practice, the importance of initial fair negotiation becomes even more important.

It is precisely the proper understanding of the rights and obligations in the proposed text of the contract that enable the right holders to negotiate adequate terms.

If you need help doing so, YNG Legal are here to assist.

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May 1, 2023

Seminar: Fair payment for actors and their rights

"According to the law
and not to a script. "

How often do you get paid a small lump sum for an acting or other artistic engagement, such as a role or voiceover in a film or TV series? Even without a contract?

And did you know that in addition to being paid for your creative work, you are also entitled to be paid for the buyout of your performance rights, and only for certain purposes and time periods?

Come on May 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the G8 Cultural Center on ul. “Gladstone 8 to learn more about your rights as an artist, best practices and the ins and outs of negotiating for various productions, and how to protect your intellectual work, even with unfavorable contract language.

You are welcome on 18 May at 7:30 pm at the G8 Cultural Centre, “Gladstone” str. 8 to learn more about your rights as an artist, best practices and the ins and outs of negotiating for various productions, and ways to protect your intellectual work, even with unfavorable contract texts.

In Bulgaria, practice shows that actors’ rights are not properly valued and are bought out in advance along with the remuneration for the work. This does not allow for additional economic realisation for the performing artists from future uses of the works with their participation.

The seminar is jointly organised by “Artistautor”, the Association for the Protection of Performing Artists’ Rights, and YNG Legal.

The event will take place in two parts of 40 minutes each, with the opportunity to ask questions.
It is especially suitable for practicing actors.
Entry is free for freelance artists.

We are running the event in partnership with the collective rights management organisation “ArtistAuthor”. The association takes care of collective representation,
management and protection of the rights of performing artists in Bulgaria since 1998. Over 340 professional Bulgarian performing artists are members of ArtistAuthor.

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Att. Ivan Yankov is now officially listed as a mediator

Training in sports law successfully accomplished

The AI Act: Preserving civic rights or hindering innovation in the EU?

The first set of regulatory frameworks aiming at responding to the new challenges this technology brings

The AI Act’s aim

Whom will the AI Act apply to?

What does the AI Act actually regulate?

What’s next?

Join the Artists’ Rights Forum

About the event

Agenda

About our partners

How can artistes protect their rights after changes to the Bulgarian Copyright Act?

Seminar: Fair payment for actors and their rights

"According to the lawand not to a script. "

"According to the law
and not to a script. "