- ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
- PART I: PRELIMINARY
- Short title
- Interpretation
- Publication
- Lawful reception of transmission
- PART II: COPYRIGHT Protected Works
- Copyright in general
- Category of works of authorship
- Qualification for protection: national origin
- Bahamas Government works
- Nature of copyright protection: economic and moral rightss
- Duration of copyright in works of authorship
- PART III: MORAL RIGHTS AND RELATED RIGHTS
- Right to be identified as author
- Objection to Treatment of Work of Visual Art
- Right to object to derogatory treatment of work of visual art
- Related Rights
- False attribution of work
- Right to privacy of photographs
- Duration of moral rights and related rights
- Consent and waiver of rights
- Application of provision of joint work
- Application of provisions to parts of work
- PART IV: OWNERSHIP AND ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS
- Ownership of Copyright
- Transfer of copyright ownership or rights
- Ownership of a copyright as distinct from ownership of material object
- Exclusive licence
- Copyright in unpublished copy or phonorecord passes under will
- Moral rights etc. not assignable
- Transmission of moral rights etc. on death
- Execution of transfers of copyright ownership
- Recording of transfer ad other documents
- PART V: COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT AND REGISTRATION
- Notice copyright visually perceptible copies
- Notice copyright: phonorecords of sounds recordings
- Publications incorporating Bahamas Government works
- Notice of copyright: contributions to collective works
- Deposit of copies or phonorecords for the Department of Archives
- Copyright registration in general
- Application for copyright registration
- Registration of claim and issuance of certificate
- Registration and infringement actions
- Registration not a prerequisite to actions for infringement
- PART VI: INFRINGEMENT OF RIGHTS
- General Provisions
- Meaning of action
- This Part subject to other provisions
- Infringement of Copyright
- Acts infringing copyright
- Remedies for Copyright Owner
- Action owner of copyright
- Order for delivery up in civil proceedings
- Remedies of Exclusive Licensee
- Infringement of rights of exclusive licensee
- Infringement where rights concurrent
- Infringement of Moral Rights and Related Rights
- Infringement o fright to be identified as the author
- Infringement of right to object to derogatory treatment of work
- Infringement by possession of infringing work of visual art
- Acts not infringing section 12
- False attributionof work: infringement of right
- Infringement of privacy right respecting photographs, etc.
- Remedies for Infringement of Moral Rights and Related Rights
- Remedies for infringing moral rights, etc.
- Penalties in respect of dealings which infringe copyright
- Order to delivery up in criminal proceedings
- Supplementary
- Application of provisions as to entry and search
- Provision for restricting importation of infringing phonorecords or copies
- PART VII: EXCEPTIONS TO INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT
- Preliminary
- General Exceptions
- Definition of “sufficient acknowledgement”
- General Exceptions
- Research and private study and teaching
- Criticism, review and reporting
- Determining fair dealing
- Incidental inclusion of protected work
- Use of Work for Educational Purposes
- Acts done for purposes of instruction or examination
- Collective works for educational use
- Fixation of transmission by educational establishment
- Restriction on reproduction by educational establishment
- Subsequent dealings with authorized copies or phonorecords
- Exceptions affecting Libraries and Archives
- Interpretation of references; regulations
- Distribution by librarian of copies or phonorecords of published works
- Supply of copies and phonorecords to other libraries
- Replacing copies of works
- Reproduction of any unpublished works
- Exceptions relating to Public Administration
- Parliamentary and judicial proceedings and statutory inquiries
- Scope of exclusive right in artistic works
- Extent of exclusive rights in sound recording
- Exemption of certain performances and displays
- Exceptions relating to computer programs
- Reading or recitation in public
- Exceptions relating to architectural works
- Exceptions relating to artistic works visible from a public place
- Miscellaneous Exceptions relating to Sound Recordings
- Compulsory licence for making distributing phonorecords
- Exceptions respecting ephemeral recordings
- Recording transmissions for programme control
- Reception and re-transmission of broadcast in cable system
- Fixation for purposes of time shifting
- Power of Minister to prescribe exception to infringement
- PART VIII: THE COPYRIGHT ROYALTY TRIBUNAL
- PART IX: THE COPYRIGHT REGISTRY
- Organization and general responsibilities of the Copyright Registry
- Copyright Registry regulations
- Effective date of actions in Registry
- Retention and disposition of articles deposited in Registry
- Preparation,maintenance,public inspection and searching of Registry records
- Registry’s records
- Registry’s forms and publications
- Registry’s fees
- Reproduction for use of the blind and physically handicapped
- PART X: RIGHTS IN LIVE PERFORMANCES
- Conferment of rights in live performances
- Performer’s Rights
- Consent required for recording and/or live transmission of live performances
- Infringement of performer’s rights by use of copy or phonorecord fixed without consent
- Consent and royalty required for preparing a derivative work of the performance
- Infringement of performer’s rights by importing,possessing etc.illicit copy or phonorecord.
- Rights of Person Having Recording Rights
- Consent required for fixation of live performance subject to exclusive contract
- Infringement o frecording rights by use of copy or phonorecord fixed without consent
- Infringement of recording rights by importing and possessing illicit recording
- Exceptions to Infringement
- Permitted acts inrelation to performances
- Fair dealing forcriticism, etc.
- Incidentalinclusion of a performance or copy or phonorecord thereof
- Reproduction of transmission by educational establishment
- Acts done to performance or copy or phonorecord for Parliamentary proceedings
- Transfer of copy or phonorecord of performance
- Recordings for supervision and control of programmes
- Order excepting acts from infringing right under this Part
- Duration and Transmission of Rights in Live Performances:Consent
- Duration ofrights in liveperformances
- Transmission of rights in live performances
- Consent
- Remedies for Infringement of Rights in Live Performances
- Infringement actionable as breach of statutory duty
- Order for delivery up of illicit recordingsin civil proceedings
- Offences
- Criminal liability
- Order for delivery up of illicit copy or phonorecord in criminal proceedings
- False representation of authority to give consent
- PART XI: GENERAL
- Order for disposal of infringing copy or phonorecord or illicit recording
- Period after which remedy of delivery up not available
- Time limited for prosecution
- Powers of members of Police Force
- Restrictions on the entry and search of domestic premises
- Obstruction ofmembers ofPolice Force
- Obstruction of members of Police Force
- Offences by bodies corporate
- Denial of copyright or rights in performance
- Application to Bahamian ships and aircraft
- Act binds Crown
- Regulations
- Savings
- Transitional
- SCHEDULE (Section 86)
CHAPTER 323
COPYRIGHT
1 – 2 LRO 1/2006 3 – 6 Original 7 – 8 LRO 1/2006 9 – 91 Original
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Short title.
Publication. Protected Works
Copyright in general. Identification with Work Objection to Treatment of Work of Visual Art
Related Rights Ownership of Copyright
19. Ownership of copyright.
Transfer of Copyright General Provisions Infringement of Copyright Remedies for Copyright Owner Remedies of Exclusive Licensee Infringement of Moral Rights and Related Rights Remedies for Infringement of Moral Rights and Related Rights Supplementary Preliminary
57. Definition of “sufficient acknowledgement”.
General Exceptions Use of Work for Educational Purposes Exceptions affecting Libraries and Archives Exceptions relating to Public Administration Miscellaneous Exceptions relating to Sound Recordings 97. Conferment of rights in live performances.
Performer’s Rights Rights of Person Having Recording Rights Exceptions to Infringement Duration and Transmission of Rights in Live Performances: Consent SCHEDULE.
CHAPTER 323
COPYRIGHT “business” includes a trade or profession;
“cable system” means a facility located in The Bahamas that in whole or in part receivestelevision broadcast signals transmitted withinThe Bahamas or outside The Bahamas, and diffuses secondary transmissions of such signals or programs by wires, cables or other communication channels to subscribingmembers of the public who pay for such service;
“collective work” means a work, such as a periodical issue, anthology, or encyclopaedia, in which anumber of contributions, constituting separate and independent works in themselves areassembled into a collective whole;
“compilation” means a work formed by the collectionand assembling of pre-existing materials or of data that is selected, co-ordinated or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship andthe terms “compilation” includes collective works;
“computer-generated work” means a work generatedby a computer in circumstances such that the work has no human author;
“computer program” means a set of instructions, whether expressed in words or in schematic or other form, which is capable, when incorporated in a machine-readable medium, of causing a device or machine havinginformation-processing capabilities to indicate,perform or achieve a particular function, task or result;
“copies” means material objects other than phonorecords in which a work is fixed by anymethod now known or later developed, and from which the work can be perceived,reproduced or otherwise communicated either directly or with the aid of a machine or deviceand the term copies include the material object, other than a phonorecord, in which the work isfirst fixed;
“copyright” means copyright conferred by Part II of this Act;
“country” includes any territory;
a work is “created” when it is first fixed in a copy orphonorecord for the first time; where a work is prepared over a period of time, the portion fixed at any particular time constitutes the work as ofthat time, and where the work has been prepared in different versions, each version constitutes a separate work;
a “device”, “machine” or “process” means one now known or later developed and the term “process” includes a cable program service;
“derivative work” means a work based upon one or more pre-existing works such as translation;musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgement, condensation or any form in which a work may be recast; transformed or adapted and a work consisting of editorial revisions, annotation, elaborations, or other modifications, which as a whole, represent an original work of authorship;
to “display” a work means to show a copy of it, either directly or by means of a film, slide,television image, or any other device or process or, in the case of a motion picture or otheraudiovisual work, to show individual imagesnon-sequentially;
“distribution” means the distribution to the public, for commercial purposes, of copies or phonorecords of a work by way of rental, lease, hire, loan or similar arrangement and “distributing” has a corresponding meaning;
“dramatic work” includes material dramatic in character such as plays, dramatic scripts designed for radio or television broadcasts or a cable programme service, ballets, musical comedies and operas;
“educational establishment” means any school, college or other educational body designated bythe Minister by order either specifically or byreference to a class, for the purposes of this Act;
“exclusive licence” means a licence in writing signed by or on behalf of the owner of copyright by hisduly authorized agent in a work authorizing the licensee, to the exclusion of all other persons, including the person granting the licence, toexercise a right which would otherwise be exercisable exclusively by the owner of the copyright;
“exclusive recording contract” means a contract between a performer and another person under which that person is entitled, to the exclusion ofall other persons, including the performer, to create copies or phonorecords of one or more of his performances with a view to their beingdisplayed or performed publicly, sold, rented or otherwise commercially exploited;
a work is “fixed” in a tangible medium of expression when its embodiment in a copy or phonorecord; by or under the authority of the author, issufficiently permanent or stable to permit it tobe perceived, reproduced or otherwise communicated for a period of more thantransitory duration; and a work consisting ofsounds, images, or both, that are beingtransmitted, is “fixed” for the purposes of thisAct if the fixation of the work is being made simultaneously with its transmission;
“graphic work” includes — “illicit recording” in relation to a live performance means a copy or phonorecord wherever made, the fixing of which constitutes an infringement of the rights conferred on the performer or a person having recording rights in relation to theperformance pursuant to Part X; and which does not fall within any of the exceptions specified inor authorized pursuant to any provision of thatPart;
the terms “including” and “such as” are illustrative and not limiting;
“infringing copy or phonorecord” in relation to a protected work means — “literary work” means works other than audiovisual works expressed in words, numbers, or other verbal or numerical symbols or indicia, regardless of the nature of the material objects such as books, periodicals, manuscripts, phonorecords, films, tapes or cards in which they are embodied;
“Minister” means the Minister responsible for Copyrights;
“motion pictures” means audiovisual works consisting of a series of related images, which, when shown in succession, impart an impression of motion, together with accompanying sounds, if any;
“musical work” means a work consisting of music, inclusive of accompanying words intended tobe sung, spoken or performed with the music;
to “perform” a work means to recite, render, play,dance or act it, either directly or by means of any device or process or, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to show its images in any sequence or to make the sounds accompanying it audible;
“performance” in relation to the rights conferred under Part X means — similar presentation, that is, or to the extent that it is, a live performance, given by one or more individuals;
“performer” means any actor, singer, musician, dancer or other person who acts, sings, depicts, delivers, declaims, plays in or otherwise performs, a literary, dramatic or musical work; and references to the performer in the context ofthe person having performer’s rights, shall beconstrued to include references to the person who, pursuant to any provision of this Act, isfor the time being entitled to exercise thoserights;
“person having recording rights” in relation to a performance means a person who —
(a) is a party to, and has the benefit of, an exclusive recording contract to which the performance is subject or to whom the benefit of such a contract has been assigned; and
(b) is a qualified person, so, however, that, where a performance is subject to an exclusive recording contract butthe person mentioned in paragraph (a) is not a qualified person, the expression shall be deemed to extend to any qualified person who is a citizen of The Bahamas and is licensed bythe person mentioned in paragraph (a) to reproduce copies or phonorecords of the performance with a view to their beingdisplayed or performed publicly, sold or otherwise commercially exploited or to whomthe benefit of such a licence has been assigned; “phonorecord” means material objects in which sounds, other than those accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, arefixed by any method now known or later developed, and from which the sound can be perceived, reproduced or otherwise communicated either directly or with the aid ofa machine or device and the term phonorecord includes the material object in which the sounds are first fixed; “photograph” means the embodiment of light or other radiation in a copy from which an image is produced, perceived, or otherwise communicated either directly or with the aid of a machine or
device, and which is not part of a motion pictureor other audiovisual work;
“place of public entertainment” includes anypremises which are from time to time made available for hire to such persons as may desire to hire them for purposes of publicentertainment, including premises that are occupied mainly for other purposes;
“primary transmission” means a transmission madeby a transmission facility in The Bahamas oroutside The Bahamas whose signals are being received by a secondary transmission service;
a “pseudonymous” work means a work on the copies or phonorecord of which the author is identified under a fictitious name;
“publication” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3;
to perform or display a work “publicly” means — “qualified person” — “qualifying performance” means a live performance that — “Registrar” means the person referred to in subsection (1) of section 88; “registration” means a registration of a claim of copyright in a work; “Registry” means the Copyright Registry referred to in subsection (5) of section 88; “rental” means any arrangement under which a copy or phonorecord of a work is made available — on terms that it will or may be returned; “reprographic process” means a process — for reproducing multiple copies, and, in relation to a work held in electronic form, includes any reproduction by electronicmeans, but does not include the reproduction ofcopies or phonorecords of motion pictures andother audiovisual works or sound recordingsrespectively;
“secondary transmission” means the simultaneous transmission of a primary transmission unless delayed for technical reasons;
“sculpture” includes a cast or model made for purposes of sculpture;
“sound recording” means works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such are disks, tapes or other phonorecords in which they are embodied;
“supplementary work” for purposes of its definition in“work made for hire”, means a work prepared for publication as a secondary adjunct to a work by another author for the purpose of introducing, concluding, illustrating, explaining,revising, commenting upon or assisting in the use of the other work such as forewords, afterwords, pictorial illustrations, maps, charts, tables, editorial notes, musical arrangements, answer material for tests, bibliographies, appendixes and indexes;
“to transmit” a performance or display means to communicate it by any device or processwhereby images or sound are received beyond the place from which they are sent;
a “transmission programme” means a body of material that, as an aggregate, has been produced for the sole purpose of transmission to the public in sequence and as a unit;
“Tribunal” means the Copyright Royalty Tribunal established by section 86;
“unauthorized” when used to describe any act done inrelation to a work, means if copyright subsists in the work, done otherwise than by or with thelicence of the owner of copyright;
“Universal Copyright Convention” means the Universal Copyright Convention as revised atParis on July 24, 1971;
“useful article” means an article having an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not merely to portraythe appearance of the article or conveyinformation and an article that is not normally a part of a useful article is considered a “useful article”;
“work” means those categories of original works of authorship pursuant to section 6 and accordingly “protected work” means a work of any of such categories in which copyrightsubsists by virtue of this Act;
“work made for hire” means — instructional test, as a test, as answer material for a test, as a supplementary work, if the parties expressly agree inwritten instrument signed by them that thework shall be considered a work made for hire;
(c) copies and phonorecords created under anexclusive recording contract; however, such copies shall be limited to music videos which incorporates the sound recording in timed relation to visual images;
“work of joint authorship” means a work prepared bytwo or more authors in which the contribution of each author is not separate from the contribution of the other author or authors;
“work of The Bahamas Government” means a work prepared by an officer or employee of the Government of The Bahamas as a part of that person’s official duties;
“work of visual art” means — however, a work of visual art does not include — (iii) any portion or part of any item described in subparagraph (i) or (ii); “writing” includes any tangible medium of expression now known or later developed fromwhich original works of authorship can beperceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated either directly or with the aid ofa device or machine, and “written” shall be construed accordingly. 3. (1) Subject to the following provision of thissection, for purposes of this Act, publication in relation to a work means the distribution of copies or phonorecords of awork to the public (whether by way of sale or otherwise) including where the work is a literary, musical, dramatic, motion pictures or other audiovisual works, choreographic or artistic work, the making available of copies and phonorecords to the public by means of an electronic retrieval system; and all related expressions shall be construed accordingly.
(2) References in this Act to the distribution to the public of copies and phonorecords of a work are to the act of putting into circulation copies and phonorecords notpreviously put into circulation in The Bahamas orelsewhere, and not to —
(a) any subsequent distribution, sale, rental or loan of those copies or phonorecords; or
Publication.
Lawful reception of transmission.
(b) any subsequent importation of those copies or phonorecords into The Bahamas,
except that in relation to motion pictures and otheraudiovisual works, the act of distributing copies to the public include any subsequent rental of copies to the public. any unauthorised publication or the doing of anyunauthorized act shall be disregarded.
4. (1) In relation to the transmission of a work, anencrypted transmission shall be regarded as capable of being lawfully received members of the public only if decoding equipment has been made available to members of the public by or with the authority of the person making the transmission or the person providing the contents of transmission.
(2) References in this Act to the person making a transmission, transmitting a work or including a work in a transmission are references — references in this Act to a programme, in the context of transmitted are to any item included in a transmission.
Protected Works
5. (1) Unless otherwise specifically provided in this Act, copyright shall not subsist in any work unless itsatisfies the requirements specified in this Part as respects — (2) If the requirements of this Part are once satisfied in respect of a work, copyright does not cease to subsist by reason of any subsequent event.
6. (1) Copyright is a property right which, subject to the provisions of this section, may subsist in the following categories of work of authorship — and copyright may subsist in a work irrespective of its quality or the purpose for which it was created.
(2) Works of authorship shall not be eligible for copyright protection unless it is fixed in writing and any reference in this Act to the time which a work is created is a reference to the time at which it is so fixed.
Copyright in general.
Category of works of authorship.
Qualification for protection: national origin.
Bahamas Government works. (2) By virtue of and subject to the provisions of this Act the author of a literary, dramatic, musical, choreographic or artistic work that is a protected work shall have in respect of such work, whether or not he is theowner of copyright in the work, the moral rights specifiedin Part III.
10. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, copyright in any work expires at the end of the period of seventy years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies. Nature of copyright protection: economic and moral rights.
Duration of copyright in works of authorship.
copyright in the work endures for the term specified by subsection (1) or (5), based on the life of the author orauthors whose identity has been revealed. any person who obtains from the Registry a certified report that the records provided under subsection (8) disclosenothing to indicate that the author of the work is living, or died less that seventy years before, is entitled to the benefit of a presumption that the author has been dead for at least seventy years; reliance in good faith upon this presumption shall be a complete defence to any action for infringement under this Act.
Identification with Work
11. (1) Subject to subsection (7) and to such exceptions as may be specified in or pursuant to any other provision of this Act, the author of a literary,choreographic, musical, dramatic or artistic work that is a protected work has the right to be identified as the author of the work in the circumstances specified in this section. Right to be identified as author.
Right to object to derogatory treatment of work of visual art.
(c) in the case of a work of architecture in the form of a building or a model for a building, asculpture or a work of artistic craftsmanship, copies of the work are distributed to the public. Objection to Treatment of Work of Visual Art
12. (1) Subject to subsection (3) and to such exceptions as may be specified in or pursuant to any other provision of this Act, the author of a work of visual art that is a protected work, has the right — and any such right is infringed by any person who does anyof the acts specified in section 46 in the circumstances sospecified. “derogatory treatment” in relation to a work means any intentional distortion, mutilation or othermodification of that work which would be prejudicial to its author’s reputation.
Related Rights
13. (1) A person has the right — “attribution”, in relation to such work, means a statement, whether express or implied, as to the identity of the author or director.
(3) The right conferred by subsection (1) is infringed in the circumstances specified in section 49.
14. Subject to section 50, a person who for privateand domestic purposes commissions the taking of aphotograph or the making of audiovisual work has, wherethe resulting work is a protected in, the right not to have — False attribution of work.
Right to privacy of photographs.
Duration of moral rights and related rights.
Consent and waiver of rights.
Application of provision of joint work.
Application of provisions to parts of work.
(d) the work reproduced in copies other than for archival purposes or for complying with the deposit requirement under section 33 of this Act. 17. (1) The right conferred under section 11 is, in the case of a work of a joint authorship, a right of each joint author to be identified as joint author. 18. The rights conferred by — 19. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, theauthor of a protected work is the first owner of any copyright in that work. 20. (1) The ownership of a copyright may betransferred in whole by any means of conveyance or by operation of law, and may bequeathed by will or pass aspersonal property by the applicable intestate succession. Ownership of copyright.
Transfer of copyright ownership or rights.
Ownership of a copyright as distinct from ownership of material object.
Exclusive licence.
Copyright in unpublished copy or phonorecord passes under will.
Moral rights etc. not assignable.
Transmission of moral rights etc. on death.
or other official organization purporting to seize, expropriate, transfer, or exercise rights of ownership with respect to copyright, or any of the exclusive rights under a copyright, shall be given effect under this Act. (2) An exclusive licence whether recorded or not does not survive a transfer of copyright ownership.
23. Where under a bequest (whether specific orgeneral) a person is entitled, beneficially or otherwise, to — then, unless a contrary intention is indicated in thetestator’s will or a codicil to it, or such copy orphonorecord is subject to a contractual agreement, the bequest shall be construed as including the copyright in the work in so far as the testator was the owner of the copyright immediately before his death. and if, or to the extent that, the right does not pass under paragraph (a) or (b), it is exercisable by his personalrepresentatives. 26. (1) A transfer of copyright ownership, other than by operation of law, is not valid unless an instrument of conveyance, or a memorandum of the copyright transfer, is in writing and signed by the owner of the rights conveyedor by such owner’s duly authorized agent.
(2) A certificate of acknowledgement is not required for the validity of a transfer, but is prima facie evidence of the execution of the transfer if —
(a) in the case of a transfer executed in The Bahamas, the certificate is issued by a person authorized to administer oaths within The Bahamas; or
Execution of transfers of copyright ownership.
Recording of transfer and other documents.
(b) in the case of a transfer executed in a foreigncountry, the certificate is issued by a diplomatic or consular officer of The Bahamas, or by a person authorized to administer oaths whose authority is proved by a certificate of such anofficer.
27. (1) Any transfer of copyright ownership or other document pertaining to a copyright may be recorded in the Registry if the document filed for recording bears the actual signature of the person who executed it, or if it isaccompanied by a sworn or official certification that it is a true copy of the original, signed document. 28. (1) Whenever a work protected under this Act is published in The Bahamas or elsewhere by authority of the copyright owner, a notice of copyright as provided by thissection may be placed on publicly distributed copies from which the work can be visually perceived, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Notice copyright visually perceptible copies.
Notice copyright: phonorecords of sound recordings.
Publications incorporating Bahamas Government works.
Notice of copyright: contributions to collective works.
defendant’s defence based on innocent infringement to lessen actual or statutory damages, with the exception of actions provided for in Part VII.
29. (1) Whenever a sound recording protected under this Act is published in The Bahamas or elsewhere by authority of the copyright owner, a notice of copyright as provided by this section may be placed publicly distributed phonorecords of the sound recording. collective work as a whole is sufficient to invoke the provisions of subsection (4) of section 28 and subsection
(4) of section 29, as applicable with respect to the separate contributions it contains (not including advertisementsinserted on behalf of persons other than the owner of copyright in the collective work), regardless of theownership of copyright in contributions and whether or not they have been previously published.
32. (1) Except as provided by subsection (3), and subject to the provisions of subsection (5), the owner of copyright or of the exclusive right of publication in a work published in The Bahamas shall deposit, within three months after the date of such publication — but neither the deposit requirement of this subsection nor the acquisition provisions of subsection (4) are conditions of copyright protection. Deposit of copies or phonorecords for the Department of Archives. extensions of such periods and adjustments in the scope of the demand or the methods forfulfilling it; as reasonably warranted by the circumstances; and wilful failure or refusal to comply with the conditions prescribed by such regulations shall subject the owner of the right of transmission in The Bahamas to liability for an amount, not to exceed the cost of reproducing and supplying the copy or phonorecord inquestion, to be paid into the Consolidated Fund; 33. (1) At any time during the subsistence of any copyright which was secured before the appointed day and during the subsistence of any copyright secured on or after the appointed day, the owner of copyright or of anyexclusive right in the work may obtain registration of the copyright claim by delivering to the Registry the deposit specified by this section, together with the application andfee specified by 34 and 95; and such registration shall notbe a condition of copyright protection.
(2) Except as provided by subsection (3), thematerial deposited for registration shall include — Copyright registration in general.
and copies or phonorecords deposited for the Departmentof Archives under section 32 may be used to satisfy the deposit provisions of this section, if they are accompanied by the prescribed application and fee, and by anyadditional identifying material that the Minister may by regulation, require; the Minister may also prescribe regulations establishing requirements under which copiesor phonorecords acquired for Department of Archives under subsection (4) of section 32 otherwise than bydeposit, may be used to satisfy the deposit provisions of section. the fee prescribed by section 95 and shall clearly identify the registration to be corrected or amplified. The information contained in a supplementary registrationaugments but does not supersede that contained in the earlier registration.
(6) Registration for the first published edition of awork previously registered in unpublished form may bemade even though the work as published is substantially the same as the unpublished version.
34. The application for copyright registration shallbe made on a form prescribed by the Minister and shall include — Application for copyright registration.
Registration of claim and issuance of certificate.
Registration and infringement actions.
35. (1) When, after examination, the Registrardetermines that, in accordance with provisions of this Act, the material constitutes copyrightable subject matter and that the other legal and formal requirements of this Act have been met, the Registrar shall register the claim andissue to the applicant a certificate of registration under theseal of the Registry; and the certificate shall contain the information given in the application, together with the number and effective date of registration. 36. (1) Where the deposit application and fee required for registration have been delivered to theRegistrar in proper form and registration has been refused, the applicant in an action for infringement of the copyright work may serve notice thereof with a copy of thecomplaint on the Registrar, and the Registrar may become a party to the action with respect to the issue of registrability of the copyright claim by entering an appearance within sixty days after such notice, but the Registrar’s failure to become a party shall not deprive the court to determine that issue.
(2) In the case of a work consisting of sounds,images, or both, the first fixation of which is madesimultaneously with its transmission, the copyright owner may, either before or after such fixation takes place, institute an action for infringement under section 40, fully subject to the remedies provided by section 41 and 42, if, in accordance with the requirements that the Minister may prescribe by regulation, the copyright owner — 37. In an action brought for a violation of the rightsof an author under section 11 or an action instituted under subsection (2) of section 36, or in any other action for infringement, registration shall not be a prerequisite to suchaction.
General Provisions Infringement of Copyright
40. (1) The copyright in a work is infringed by any person who, without the licence of the copyright owner, does, or authorizes in relation to that work or anysubstantial part of that work, any of the acts which the copyright owner has the exclusive right to do pursuant to section 9.
(2) Copyright in a work is infringed by a personwho, without the licence of the copyright owner, importsinto The Bahamas for any purpose other than for his private and domestic use, a copy or phonorecord which he knows or has reason to believe is an infringing copy orphonorecord of the work.
Registration not a prerequisite to actions for infringement.
Meaning of action.
This Part subject to other provisions.
Acts infringing copyright.
(3) Copyright in a work is infringed by a personwho, without the licence of the copyright owner — a copy or phonorecord which is, and which he knows orhas reason to believe is, an infringing copy or phonorecordof the work.
(4) Copyright in a work is infringed by a personwho, without the licence of the copyright owner — a machine or device specifically designed or adapted for reproducing copies or phonorecords of that work, knowingor having reason to believe that it is to be used to make infringing copies or phonorecords. Remedies for Copyright Owner
41. (1) An infringement of copyright shall be actionable at the suit of the copyright owner; and subject to the provision of this section, any action for suchinfringement all such relief by way of damages, injunctions, accounts or otherwise, shall be available to the plaintiff as is available in respect of the infringement of other proprietary rights.
(2) Except as otherwise provided by this Act, aninfringer of copyright is liable for either — Action owner of copyright.
(3) The damages referred to in subsection (2) are asfollows — agent of a non-profit educational establishment, public library, or Department of Archives acting within the scope of his employment who, or such institution, library, or archives itself which, infringed by reproducing the work in copies orphonorecords. 42. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section and subsection (5) of section 44, where a person — the copyright owner may apply to the court for an order that the copy, phonorecord, machine or device be delivered up to or to such other person as the court may direct.
(2) An application under subsection (1) shall not bemade after the end of the period specified in subsection (1) of section 122; order shall be made unless the court also makes, or it appears to the court that there are grounds for making an order under section 121 for the disposal of the infringing copy, phonorecord, machine or device, as the case may be.
Order for delivery up in civil proceedings.
Infringement of rights of exclusive licensee.
Infringement where rights concurrent.
Infringement of right to be identified as the author.
Remedies of Exclusive Licensee Infringement of Moral Rights and Related Rights
45. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the right conferred by section 11 is infringed by any person who fails toidentify the author of a work whenever any action specifiedin that section occurs in relation to that work.
(2) The following acts shall not constitute aninfringement of the right conferred by section 11 in relation to a work to the extent that such acts are permitted under Part VII in relation to the work — 46. (1) The right conferred on an author of visual artby section 12 to object to derogatory treatment of his work is infringed where acts described in subsection (2) are done in relation to that work; and for the purposes of this Part, “derogatory treatment” has the same meaning as thatspecified in subsection (4) of section 12.
(2) In the case of a work of visual art, the right is infringed by a person who — 47. The right conferred by section 12 is alsoinfringed by a person who — Infringement of right to object to derogatory treatment of work.
Infringement by possession of infringing work of visual art.
Acts not infringing section
12.
False attribution of work: infringement of right.
a work of visual art which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe is an infringing copy.
48. (1) The right conferred by section 12 is notinfringed by any act done for the purpose of — so, however, that, where the author of a work of visual art is identified at the time of the relevant act or has previouslybeen identified in or on published copies, there shall be asufficient disclaimer.
(2) In subsection (1), “sufficient disclaimer” meansa clear and reasonably prominent indication — that the work has been subjected to treatment to which the author has not consented.
49. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, theright conferred on a person by section 13 not to have aliterary, dramatic, musical, choreographic or artistic workfalsely attributed to him as author or a motion picture or other audiovisual work falsely attributed to him as director, is infringed by a person who — knowing or having reason to believe that the attribution is false. knowing or having reason to believe that there is an attribution and that it is false.
(5) In the case of an artistic work, the right is alsoinfringed by a person who in the course of business — knowing or having reason to believe that such is not the case. Infringement of privacy right respecting photographs, etc.
Effect of consent and waiver of rights.
Remedies for infringing moral rights, etc.
Penalties in respect of dealings which infringe copyright.
Remedies for Infringement of Moral Rights and Related Rights
52. (1) The infringement of a right conferred under section 11 or 12 is actionable as a breach of statutory duty owned to the person entitled to the right. 53. (1) Any person who at a time when copyright in a work subsists by virtue of this Act — a copy or phonorecord which he knows or has reason to believe is an infringing copy or phonorecord of that work,commits an offence.
(2) Any person who, at the time when copyrightsubsists in a work by virtue of this Act, makes or has in his possession a machine or device designed or adapted for reproducing copies or phonorecords of that work, knowingthat it is to be used to reproduce infringing copies orphonorecords for sale or hire or for use in the course ofbusiness, commits an offence. knowing or having reason to believe that copyright subsistsin the work and that the performance constitutes an infringement of copyright, commits an offence. 54. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the court beforewhich proceedings are brought against a person for anoffence under section 53 may, if it is satisfied that at the time of his arrest or charge — order that the infringing copies or phonorecords ormachine or device be delivery up to the copyright owner or to such other person as the court may direct.
(2) An order may be made by the court of its own motion or on the application of the prosecution and may be made whether or not the person is convicted of the offence, so however, that the court shall not make an order —
Order to delivery up in criminal proceedings.
Application of provisions as to entry and search.
Provision for restricting importation of infringing phonorecords or copies.
Ch. 293.
Ch. 293. Supplementary (iii) the payment of fees in respect of the notice; and the regulations may make different provisions as respect different classes of cases.
Ch. 293.
Definition of “sufficient acknowledgement”.
Research and private study and teaching.
Criticism, review and reporting.
Determining fair dealing.
PART VIPART I PRELIMINARY
PART II COPYRIGHT
PART III MORAL RIGHTS AND RELATED RIGHTS
PART IV OWNERSHIP AND ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS
PART V COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT AND REGISTRATION
PART VI INFRINGEMENT OF RIGHTS
PART VII EXCEPTIONS TO INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT
PART VIII THE COPYRIGHT ROYALTY TRIBUNAL
PART IX THE COPYRIGHT REGISTRY
PART X RIGHTS IN LIVE PERFORMANCES
Remedies for Infringement of Rights in Live Performances 116. Infringement actionable as breach of statutory duty. 117. Order for delivery up of illicit recordings in civil proceedings. Offences 118. Criminal liability. 119. Order for delivery up of illicit copy or phonorecord in criminal proceedings. 120. False representation of authority to give consent. PART XI GENERAL 121. Order for disposal of infringing copy or phonorecord or illicit recording. 122. Period after which remedy of delivery up not available. 123. Time limited for prosecution. 124. Powers of members of Police Force. 125. Restrictions on the entry and search of domestic premises. 126. Obstruction of members of Police Force. 127. Offences by bodies corporate. 128. Denial of copyright or rights in performance. 129. Application to Bahamian ships and aircraft. 130. Act binds Crown. 131. Regulations. 132. Savings. 133. Transitional. An Act to make better provision in respect of copyright, to confer rights on performers and others in live performances and for matters connected therewith, and to repeal the Copyright Act, 1956 of the United Kingdom in so far as it applies to The Bahamas. 8 of 1998 [Assent 22nd May, 1998][Commencement 4th January, 2000] PART I PRELIMINARY 1. This Act may be cited as the Copyright Act. Short title. 2. (1) In this Act — Interpretation. “authorised work” means a work on copies or phonorecords of which no natural person isidentified as author; “appointed day” means the day appointed by the Minister pursuant to section 1; “artistic works” include two-dimensional and three- dimensional work of fine, graphic and applied art, photographs, prints and art reproductions, maps, globes, charts, diagrams, models, architectural plans and technical drawings; “audiovisual works” means works that consist of a series of related images which are intrinsicallyintended to be shown by the use of machines or devices such as projectors, viewers, or electronic equipment together with accompanying sounds, if any, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as films or tapes, in which the works are embodied; “Berne Convention” means the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works as revised at Paris on 24th July, 1971; “building” includes a fixed structure of any kind anda part of a building or fixed structure; PART II COPYRIGHT
PART III MORAL RIGHTS AND RELATED RIGHTS
) PART IV OWNERSHIP AND ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS
PART V COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT AND REGISTRATION
PART VI INFRINGEMENT OF RIGHTS