ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

SECTION

PART I
PRELIMINARY

PART II
COPYRIGHT

Protected Works

PART III
MORAL RIGHTS AND RELATED RIGHTS

Identification with Work

Objection to Treatment of Work of Visual Art.

Related Rights

PART IV
OWNERSHIP AND ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS

Ownership of Copyright

Transfer of Copyright

PART V
COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT AND REGISTRATION

PART VI
INFRINGEMENT OF RIGHTS

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

PART VII
EXCEPTIONS TO INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT

Preliminary

General Exceptions

Use of Work for Educational Purposes

Exceptions affecting Libraries and Archives

Exceptions Relating to Public Administration

Miscellaneous Exceptions relating to Sound Recordings

PART VIII
THE COPYRIGHT ROYALTY TRIBUNAL

PART IX
THE COPYRIGHT REGISTRY

PART X
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

Remedies for Infringement of Rights in Live Performances

Offences

PART XI
GENERAL

SCHEDULE.

CHAPTER 323

COPYRIGHT

[Assent 22 May, 1998]
[Commencement 4th January, 2000]

"authorised work" means a work on copies or phonorecords of which no natural person is identified 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 intrinsically intended 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 and a part of a building or fixed structure;

"business" includes a trade or profession;

"cable system" means a facility located in The Bahamas that in whole or in part receives television broadcast signals transmitted within The Bahamas or outside The Bahamas, and diffuses secondary transmissions of such signals or programs by wires, cables or other communication channels to subscribing members of the public who pay for such service;

"collective work" means a work, such as a periodical issue, anthology, or encyclopaedia, in which a number of contributions, constituting separate and independent works in themselves are assembled into a collective whole;

"compilation" means a work formed by the collection and 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 and the terms "compilation" includes collective works;

"computer-generated work" means a work generated by 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 having information-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 any method 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 device and the term copies include the material object, other than a phonorecord, in which the work is first 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 or phonorecord 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 of that 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 other audiovisual work, to show individual images non-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 by the Minister by order either specifically or by reference 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 his duly authorized agent in a work authorizing the licensee, to the exclusion of all other persons, including the person granting the licence, to exercise 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 of all other persons, including the performer, to create copies or phonorecords of one or more of his performances with a view to their being displayed 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, is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration; and a work consisting of sounds, images, or both, that are being transmitted, is "fixed" for the purposes of this Act 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 the performance pursuant to Part X; and which does not fall within any of the exceptions specified in or authorized pursuant to any provision of that Part;

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 to be 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-

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 of the person having performer's rights, shall be construed to include references to the person who, pursuant to any provision of this Act, is for the time being entitled to exercise those rights;

"person having recording rights" in relation to a performance means a person who-

so, however, that, where a performance is subject to an exclusive recording contract but the 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 by the person mentioned in paragraph (a) to reproduce copies or phonorecords of the performance with a view to their being displayed or performed publicly, sold or otherwise commercially exploited or to whom the 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, are fixed 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 of a 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 picture or other audiovisual work;

"place of public entertainment" includes any premises which are from time to time made available for hire to such persons as may desire to hire them for purposes of public entertainment, including premises that are occupied mainly for other purposes;

"primary transmission" means a transmission made by a transmission facility in The Bahamas or outside 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-

and, in relation to a work held in electronic form, includes any reproduction by electronic means, but does not include the reproduction of copies or phonorecords of motion pictures and other audiovisual works or sound recordings respectively;

"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 process whereby 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 in relation to a work, means if copyright subsists in the work, done otherwise than by or with the licence of the owner of copyright;

"Universal Copyright Convention" means the Universal Copyright Convention as revised at Paris on July 24, 1971;

"useful article" means an article having an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not merely to portray the appearance of the article or convey information 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 copyright subsists by virtue of this Act;

"work made for hire" means-

"work of joint authorship" means a work prepared by two 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-

"writing" includes any tangible medium of expression now known or later developed from which original works of authorship can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated either directly or with the aid of a device or machine, and "written" shall be construed accordingly.

(2) References in this Act to the time at which, or the period during which, a work was created are references to the time or period at or during which it was first fixed.

(3) The term "artistic works" as defined in subsection (1) shall include works of artistic craftsmanship insofar as their form but not their mechanical or utilitarian aspects are concerned; and the design of a useful article, as defined in this section, shall be considered an artistic work only if, and only to the extent that, such design incorporates artistic features that can be identified separately from and are capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of the article.

(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 not previously put into circulation in The Bahamas or elsewhere, and not to-

except that in relation to motion pictures and other audiovisual works, the act of distributing copies to the public include any subsequent rental of copies to the public.

(3) In the case of a work of architecture in the form of a building or an artistic work incorporated in a building, construction of the building shall be treated as equivalent to publication of the work.

(4) A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication.

(5) A publication that is merely colourable and is not intended to satisfy the reasonable requirements of the public shall be disregarded for the purposes of this Act except in so far as it may constitute an infringement of copyright or rights conferred on performers or persons having recording rights or may constitute an offence under this Act.

(6) For the purposes of this Act, a publication in The Bahamas or in any other country shall not be treated as being other than the first publication by reason only of an earlier publication elsewhere, if the two publications took place within a period of not more than thirty days.

(7) In determining, for purposes of any provision of this Act-

any unauthorised publication or the doing of any unauthorized act shall be disregarded.

(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.

(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.

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.

(3) The-

(4) In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to an idea, concept, process, principle, procedure, system or discovery of things of a similar nature regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated or embodied in such work.

(2) The works specified by subsections (1) and (3) of section 6 when published, are subject to protection under this Act if-

(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 the owner of copyright in the work, the moral rights specified in Part III.

(2) Where the author of a work referred to in subsection (1) is anonymous, pseudonymous or the work is made for hire, copyright in that work expires at the end of the period of seventy years from the year of its first publication or a term of one hundred years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first.

(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply if the identity of the author becomes known after the end of the period specified in that subsection and if before the end of such period, the identity of one or more of the authors of any anonymous or pseudonymous work is revealed in the records of the registration made for that work under subsection (1) or (4) of section 33 or in the records provided by this section, the copyright in the work endures for the term specified by subsection (1) or (5), based on the life of the author or authors whose identity has been revealed.

(4) Any person having an interest in the copyright in any anonymous work may at any time record, in records to be maintained by the Registry for that purpose, a statement identifying one or more of the work and the statement shall also identify the person filing it, the nature of the person's interest, the source of the information recorded, and the particular work affected, and shall comply in form and content with requirements that the Minister may prescribe by regulation.

(5) In the case of a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not work for hire, the copyright endures for a term consisting of the life of the last surviving author and seventy years after such last surviving author's death.

(6) The provisions of subsections (1) to (4) shall not apply to computer-generated work, the copyright in which expires at the end of the period of seventy years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was created.

(7) Where the country of origin of the work is not The Bahamas and the author of the work is not a citizen of The Bahamas, the duration of the copyright is that to which the work is entitled in the country of origin, provided that it does not exceed the period under subsection (1).

(8) Any person having an interest in a copyright may at any time record in the Registry a statement of the date of death of the author of the copyright work, or a statement that the author is still living on a particular date; the statement shall identify the person filing it, the nature of that person's interest, the source of the information recorded, and shall comply in form and content with requirements that the Minister may prescribe by regulation; the Registrar shall maintain current records of information relating to the death of authors of copyright works, based on such recorded statements and, to the extent that the registrar considers practicable, on data contained in any of the records of the Registry or in other reference sources.

(9) After a period of seventy-five years from the year of the first publication of a work, or a period of one hundred years from its creation, whichever expires first, any person who obtains from the Registry a certified report that the records provided under subsection (8) disclose nothing 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.

(2) The author of a literary work or a dramatic work has the right to be identified as such whenever-

(3) The author of a musical work has the right to be identified as such whenever-

(4) The author of an artistic work has the right to be identified as such whenever-

(5) The author of a choreographic work has the right to be justified as such whenever-

(6) For the purpose of this section, any reasonable form of identification may be used.

(7) Except as may otherwise be explicitly provided by contract, right conferred by this section shall not apply in relation to-

and any such right is infringed by any person who does any of the acts specified in section 46 in the circumstances so specified.

(2) The author of a work of visual art shall have the rights conferred by subsection (1) in that work whether or not the author is the copyright owner; and the authors of a joint work of visual art shall be co-owners of the rights conferred by this section.

(3) The rights conferred by subsection (1) shall not apply in relation to-

(4) In this section-

"derogatory treatment" in relation to a work means any intentional distortion, mutilation or other modification of that work which would be prejudicial to its author's reputation.

(2) In this section-

"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.

(2) A right to which subsection (1) refers must be waived by instrument in writing signed by the person giving up the right and the waiver-

(3) Where a waiver is made in favour of the owner of the copyright in the work or works to which relates, it shall be presumed to extend to his licensees and successors in title, unless a contrary intention is expressed.

(2) The right conferred by section 12 is, in the case of a work of a joint authorship, a right of each joint author and his right is satisfied if he consents in writing to the treatment in question.

(3) In the case of a joint work prepared by two or more authors, a waiver of rights under section 16 made by one such author does not affect the rights of the other joint authors.

(4) The right conferred by section 14 is, in the case of a work made in pursuance of a joint commission, a right of each person who commissioned the making of the work, so that the right of each is satisfied if he consents in writing to the act in question.

(2) In the case of a work made for hire, the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is considered the author for purposes of this Act and unless the parties have expressly agreed otherwise in written instrument signed by them, that employer or other person owns all of the rights comprised in the copyright.

(3) Where a protected work is a work of joint authorship the authors thereof shall be co-owners of the copyright in that work.

(4) Copyright in each contribution to a collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole, and vests initially in the author of the contribution; in the absence of an express transfer of the copyright or any rights under it, the owner of copyright in the collective work is presumed to have acquired only the privilege of reproducing and distributing the contribution as part of that particular collective work, any revision of that collective work and any later collective work in the same series.

(2) Any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright, any subdivision of any of the rights specified in section 9, transferred as provided by subsection (1) and owned separately.

(3) When an individual author's ownership of a copyright, or any exclusive rights under a copyright, has not previously been transferred voluntarily by that individual author, no action by any governmental body 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.

then, unless a contrary intention is indicated in the testator's will or a codicil to it, or such copy or phonorecord 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 personal representatives.

(2) Where copyright forming part of a person's estate passes in part to one person and in part to another, any right which passes with the copyright by virtue of subsection (1) is correspondingly divided.

(3) Where by virtue of paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) a right becomes exercisable by more than one person, then-

(4) A consent or waiver previously given binds any person to whom a right passes by virtue of subsection (1).

(5) Any infringement after a person's death of the right conferred by section 13 is actionable by his personal representatives.

(6) Any damages recovered by personal representatives by virtue of this section in respect of an infringement after a person's death shall devolve as part of that person's estate as if the right of had subsisted and been vested in him immediately before his death.

(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-

(2) The Registrar shall, upon receipt of a document as provided by subsection (1) and the fee prescribed by subsection (1) of section 95, record the document and return it with a certificate of recording.

(3) Recording of a document in the Registry gives all persons constructive notice of the facts stated in the recorded document, but only if-

(4) As between two conflicting transfers, the one executed first prevails if it is recorded, in the manner required to give constructive notice under subsection (5), within one month after its execution in The Bahamas or within two months after its execution outside The Bahamas, or at anytime before recording in such manner of the later transfer; otherwise the later transfer prevails if recorded first in such manner, and if taken in good faith, for valuable consideration or on the basis of a binding promise to pay royalties, and without notice of the earlier transfer.

(5) A non-exclusive licence, whether recorded or not, prevails over a conflicting transfer of copyright ownership if the licence is evidenced by a written instrument signed by the owner of the rights licensed or such owner's duly authorized agent; and if-

(2) If a notice appears on the copies, it shall consist of the following three elements-

(3) The notice shall be affixed to the copies in such a manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright and after consultation with the Registrar, may prescribe by regulation, as examples, specific methods of affixation and positions of notice on various types of works that will satisfy the requirement, specifications shall not be considered exhaustive.

(4) If a notice of copyright in the form and position specified subsection appears on the published copy or copies to which defendant in a copyright infringement action had access, then no weight shall be given to such a defendant's defence based on innocent infringement to lessen actual or statutory damages, with the exception of actions provided for in Part VII.

(2) If a notice appears on the phonorecords, it shall consist of following three elements-

(3) The notice shall be placed on the surface of the phonorecord, or on the phonorecord label or container, in such manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright.

(4) If a notice of copyright in the form and position specified by this section appears on the published phonorecord or phonorecords to which a defendant in a copyright infringement action had access, then no weight shall be given to such defendant's defence based on innocent infringement to lessen actual or statutory damages, except as provided for in Part VII.

but neither the deposit requirement of this subsection nor the acquisition provisions of subsection (4) are conditions of copyright protection.

(2) The required copies or phonorecords shall be deposited in the Registry for the use or disposition of the Department of Archives and the Registrar shall, when requested by the depositor and upon payment of the fee prescribed by section 95, issue a receipt for the deposit.

(3) The Minister may, by regulation, exempt any categories of material from the deposit requirement of this section, or require deposit of only one copy or phonorecord with respect to any categories; such regulations shall provide either for complete exemption from requirement of this section, or for alternative forms of aimed at providing a satisfactory archival record of a work imposing practical or financial hardships on the depositor, where the individual author is the owner of copyright in an artistic work and-

(4) At any time after publication of a work as provided by subsection (1), the Registrar may make written demand for the deposit on any person obligated to make the deposit under subsection (1) and unless the deposit is made within three months the demand is received, the person on whom the demand was is liable-

(5) With respect to transmission programmes that have been (fixed and transmitted to the public in The Bahamas but have not been published, the Minister may, after consulting with the Registrar and other interested organizations and officials, establish regulations governing the acquisition, through deposit or otherwise, of copies or phonorecords of such programmes for the collection of the Department of Archives, and-

(2) Except as provided by subsection (3), the material deposited for registration shall include-

and copies or phonorecords deposited for the Department of 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 any additional identifying material that the Minister may by regulation, require; the Minister may also prescribe regulations establishing requirements under which copies or phonorecords acquired for Department of Archives under subsection (4) of section 32 otherwise than by deposit, may be used to satisfy the deposit provisions of section.

(3) The Minister may specify by regulation the administrative classes into which works are to be placed for purposes of deposit registration, and the nature of the copies or phonorecords to be deposited in the various classes specified; the regulations may require permit, for particular classes, the deposit of identifying materials instead of copies or phonorecords, the deposit of only one copy or phonorecord where two would normally be required, or a single registration for a group of related works; and this administrative classification of works has no significance with respect to the category of eligible works or the exclusive rights provided by this Act.

(4) Without prejudice to the general authority provided under subsection (3), the Minister may establish regulations specifically permitting a single registration for a group of works by the same individual author, all first published as contributions to periodicals, including newspapers, within a twelve month period, on the basis of a single deposit, application, and registration fee, under the following conditions-

(5) The Minister may also establish, by regulation, formal procedures for the filing of an application for supplementary registration, to correct an error in a copyright registration or to amplify the information given in a registration; such application shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed by section 95 and shall clearly identify the registration to be corrected or amplified. The information contained in a supplementary registration augments but does not supersede that contained in the earlier registration.

(6) Registration for the first published edition of a work previously registered in unpublished form may be made even though the work as published is substantially the same as the unpublished version.

(2) In any case in which the Registrar determines that, in accordance the provisions of this Act, the material deposited does not constitute copyrightable subject matter or that the claim is invalid for any other reason, the Registrar shall refuse registration and shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for such refusal.

(3) In any judicial proceedings the certificate of a registration made before or within five years after first publication of the work shall constitute prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate and the evidentiary weight to be accorded the certificate of a registration made thereafter shall be within the discretion of the court.

(4) The effective date of a copyright registration is the day on which application, deposit, and fee, are delivered to the Registrar.

(2) In the case of a work consisting of sounds, images, or both, the first fixation of which is made simultaneously 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-

(2) Copyright in a work is infringed by a person who, without the licence of the copyright owner, imports into 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 or phonorecord of the work.

(3) Copyright in a work is infringed by a person who, without the licence of the copyright owner-

a copy or phonorecord which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe is, an infringing copy or phonorecord of the work.

(4) Copyright in a work is infringed by a person who, without the licence of the copyright owner-

a machine or device specifically designed or adapted for reproducing copies or phonorecords of that work, knowing or having reason to believe that it is to be used to make infringing copies or phonorecords.

(5) Copyright in a work is infringed by a person who, without the licence of the copyright owner, transmits the work, knowing or having reason to believe that infringing copies or phonorecords of the work will be made by means of the reception of the transmission in The Bahamas or elsewhere.

(6) Where the copyright in a literary, dramatic, choreographic or musical work is infringed by a performance at a place of public entertainment, any person who gave permission for that place to be used for the performance is so liable for the infringement unless when he gave permission he believed on reasonable grounds that the performance would not infringe copyright.

(7) Where copyright in a work is infringed by a public performance of the work or by the performance of the work in public by means of a machine or device for performing sound recording or motion pictures and other audiovisual works, or receiving visual images or sounds conveyed by electronic means, the persons specified in subsection (8) are also liable for the infringement.

(8) The persons referred to in subsection (7) are-

(2) Except as otherwise provided by this Act, an infringer of copyright is liable for either-

(3) The damages referred to in subsection (2) are as follows-

(4) Where in an action for infringement of copyright it is shown that at the time of the infringement the defendant did not know and had no reason to believe that copyright subsisted in the work to which the action relates, then, the plaintiff is not entitled to statutory damages against him, but without prejudice to any other remedy.

(5) In any civil action under this Act; the court in its discretion may allow the recovery of full costs by or against any party other than by or against the Government or any officer thereof.

(6) In any civil action under this Act, the court in its discretion may award reasonable counsel and attorney's fee to the prevailing party as part of the cost granted by the court under subsection (5).

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 be made 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.

(2) In an action brought by an exclusive licensee by virtue of this section, a defendant may avail himself of any defence which would have been available to him if the action had been brought by copyright owner.

(3) Where an action for infringement of copyright is brought by the copyright owner or by an exclusive licensee, and the action relates (wholly or partly) to an infringement in respect of which they have concurrent rights of action, the copyright owner or the exclusive licensee, as the case may be, shall not be entitled, except with the leave of the court, to proceed with the action, unless the other party is either joined as a plaintiff in the action or added as a defendant; but this section shall not affect the granting of an interlocutory injunction on the application of either of them.

(4) A copyright owner or exclusive licensee who is added as a defendant in pursuance of subsection (2) is not liable for any costs in the action unless he takes part in the proceedings.

(5) A copyright owner shall notify any licensee having concurrent rights before applying under section 42 for an order for the delivery up of infringing copies or phonorecords of a work, and the court may, on the application of the licensee, having regard to the terms of the licence, make such order under section 42 as he thinks fit.

(2) The following acts shall not constitute an infringement 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-

(e) acts permitted in relation to anonymous or pseudonymous works on the assumption that copyright in the work has expired or that the author is dead.

(2) In the case of a work of visual art, the right is infringed by a person who-

a work of visual art which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe is an infringing copy.

so, however, that, where the author of a work of visual art is identified at the time of the relevant act or has previously been identified in or on published copies, there shall be a sufficient disclaimer.

(2) In subsection (1), "sufficient disclaimer" means a clear and reasonably prominent indication-

that the work has been subjected to treatment to which the author has not consented.

(2) The right is also infringed by a person who-

knowing or having reason to believe that the attribution is false.

(3) The right is also infringed by any person who distributes to the public or displays publicly any material containing a false attribution in connection with any act referred to in subsection (1) or (2).

(4) The right is also infringed by a person who, in the course of business-

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 also infringed by a person who in the course of business-

knowing or having reason to believe that such is not the case.

(6) References in this section to dealing are references to selling or letting for hire, offering or exposing for sale or hire, displaying in public or distributing.

(7) This section applies where a work is falsely represented as being a derivative of the work of a person as it applies where the work is falsely attributed to a person as author.

(2) The infringement of a right conferred under section 13 or 14 is actionable as a breach of statutory duty owed to a person entitled to the right, if, thirty days after notification by such person by registered mail, the infringer has failed to cure the infringement.

(3) Where in any action an infringement of a right referred to in subsection (1) or (2) is proved or admitted, the occur may order the defendant to publish such correction in such terms and in such manner as the court may direct.

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 copyright subsists 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, knowing that it is to be used to reproduce infringing copies or phonorecords for sale or hire or for use in the course of business, commits an offence.

(3) Any person who causes-

knowing or having reason to believe that copyright subsists in the work and that the performance constitutes an infringement of copyright, commits an offence.

(4) Any person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable-

(5) Any person who is guilty of an offence under this section, other than an offence under subsection (1), shall be liable-

order that the infringing copies or phonorecords or machine 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-

(3) An appeal shall lie to the Court of Appeal from an order made under this section by a Magistrate's Court.

(4) A person to whom an infringing copy or phonorecord or machine or device is delivered up in pursuance of an order under this section shall retain it pending the making of an order or the decision not to make an order under section 122.

(2) The period specified in a notice given under subsection (1) shall not exceed five years and shall not extend beyond the end of the period for which the copyright may subsist.

(3) The owner of the copyright in a sound recording or motion picture or other audiovisual work may give notice in writing to the Comptroller of Customs-

(4) Subject to subsection (5), where a notice has been given in accordance with this section, the importation into The Bahamas of goods to which the notice relates is prohibited; but notwithstanding anything contained in the Customs Management Act, a person is not liable to any penalty under that Act other than forfeiture of the goods by reason that any goods are treated as prohibited goods by virtue of this section.

(5) The importation of any machine, device, copy or phonorecord by a person for his private and domestic use is not prohibited under subsection (4).

(6) A person giving notice under this section shall-

and the regulations may make different provisions as respect different classes of cases.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), teaching shall mean instruction at an educational establishment.

does not infringe copyright in the work so long as it is accompanied by sufficient acknowledgement.

(2) No acknowledgement is required in connection with the reporting of current events by means of a sound recording or audiovisual work.

and for purposes of this section, a musical work, or so much of a sound recording, broadcast or transmission programme as includes a musical work or such words, shall not be regarded as incidentally included if it is deliberately included.

(2) Copyright in sound recordings, motion pictures, and audiovisual works, is not infringed by its being reproduced in a single copy or phonorecord in the course of instruction or of preparation for instruction, in the making of motion pictures or motion picture soundtracks, provided the reproduction is done by a person giving the instruction and such copy reproduced is retained by the department of educational establishment in which the instruction is being given.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the educational establishment must be one with an accredited degree programme in motion pictures.

(4) Copyright in a work is not infringed by anything done for the purposes of an examination by way of setting the questions, communicating the questions to candidates or answering the questions.

(2) Subsection (1) does not authorize the inclusion of more than two excerpts from protected works by the same author in collective works published by the same publisher over any period of five years.

(3) In relation to any given passage, the reference in subsection (2) to excerpts from works by the same author-

(2) Not more than five per cent of any work may be reproduced by or on behalf of an educational establishment by virtue of this section in any quarter, that is to say, in any period 1st January to 31st March, 1st April to 30th June, 1st July to 30th September or 1st October to 31st December.

(2) In subsection (1), "dealt with" means sold, or let for hire or offered or exposed for sale or hire.

(2) Regulations made by the Minister may provide that a librarian or archivist who is, pursuant to sections 68, 69, 70 and 71, required to be satisfied as to a matter before making or supplying a copy or phonorecord of a work-

(3) Where a person requesting a copy or phonorecord makes a declaration that is false in a material particular and is supplied with a copy or phonorecord which would have been an infringing copy or phonorecord if made by him, that person shall be liable for infringement of copyright as if he had reproduced the copy or phonorecord himself, and the copy or phonorecord supplied shall be treated as an infringing copy or phonorecord.

(2) The conditions prescribed pursuant to subsection (1) shall include the following-

without infringing the copyright in any work.

(2) The prescribed conditions shall include provisions restricting the reproduction of copies or phonorecords to cases where it is not reasonably practicable to purchase the work in question for the purpose.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply where-

and at the time the reproduction of the copy or phonorecord, the librarian or archivist ought to have been aware of that fact.

(3) The prescribed conditions shall include the following-

(2) Copyright in a work is not infringed by anything done for the purposes of the proceedings of a statutory inquiry or, subject to subsection (3), for the purposes of reporting any such proceedings held in public.

(3) The provisions of subsections (1) and (2) relating to the reporting of proceedings shall not be construed as authorizing the reproduction of a work which is itself a published report of the proceedings.

(4) Copyright in a work is not infringed by the distribution to the public of copies of the report of a statutory inquiry containing the work or material from it.

(5) In this section, "statutory inquiry" means an inquiry held or investigation conducted in pursuance of a duty imposed or power conferred by or under any written law.

(2) In the case of a work lawfully reproduced in useful articles that have been offered for sale or other distribution to the public, copyright does not include the right to prevent the making, distribution or display of pictures or photographs of such articles in connection with advertisements or commentaries related to the distribution or display of such articles, or in connection with news reports.

(3) In a case in which-

then rights conferred by subsection (1)(a) and (b) of section 12 shall not apply.

(4) If the owner of a building wishes to remove a work of visual art which is a part of such building and which can be removed from the building without a derogatory treatment of the work as described in subsection (4) of section 12, the author's rights under subsection (1)(a) and (b) of section 12 shall apply unless-

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4)(a), the owner shall be presumed to have made a diligent, good faith attempt to send notice if the owner sent such notice by registered mail to the author at the most recent address of the author that was recorded with the Registrar pursuant to subsection (7).

(6) If the work is removed at the expense of the author, title to that copy shall be deemed to be in the author.

(7) The Registrar shall establish a system of records whereby any author of a work of visual art that has been incorporated in, or made part of a building, may record his identity and address with the Registry; and the Registrar shall also establish procedures under which any such author may update the information so recorded, and procedures under which owners of buildings may record with the Registry evidence of their efforts to comply with this subsection.

(2) The exclusive right of the owner of copyright in a sound recording under subsection (1)(a) of section 9 is limited to the right to duplicate the sound recording in the form of phonorecords, or of copies of motion pictures and other audiovisual works, that directly or indirectly recapture the actual sounds fixed in the recording.

(3) The exclusive right of the owner of copyright in a sound recording under subsection (1)(c) of section 9 is limited to the right to prepare a derivative work in which the actual sounds fixed in a sound recording are rearranged, remixed, or otherwise altered in sequence or quality.

(4) The exclusive rights of the owner of copyright in a sound recording under subsection (1)(a) and (c) of section 9 do not extend to the making or duplication of another sound recording that consists entirely of an independent fixation of other sounds, even though such sounds imitate or simulate those in a copyright sound recording.

(5) The exclusive rights of the owner of copyright in a sound recording under subsection (1)(a), (b) and (c) of section 9 do not apply to educational programmes on television or radio which are distributed or transmitted by or through public broadcasting entities provided that copies or phonorecords are not commercially distributed by or through public broadcasting entities to the general public.

(6) This section does not limit or impair the exclusive right to perform publicly, by means of a phonorecord, any of the works specified by subsection (1)(d) of section 9.

(2) Any exact copies prepared in accordance with the provisions of this section may be sold or otherwise transferred, along with the copy from which such copies were prepared, only as part of the sale, or other transfer of all rights in the program.

(3) Adaptations so prepared may be transferred only with the authorization of the copyright owner.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1)(c) of section 9, the owners of a building embodying an architectural work may, without the consent of the author or copyright owner of the architectural work, make or authorize the making of alterations to such building, and destroy or authorize the destruction of such building.

(2) This section applies to-

(2) Where phonorecords of a non-dramatic musical work has been distributed to the public in The Bahamas under the authority of the copyright owner, any other person may obtain a compulsory licence to make and distribute phonorecords of the work if such person's primary purpose in making phonorecords is to distribute them to the public for private use and that person-

(3) A person may not obtain a compulsory licence for use of the work in the making of phonorecords duplicating a sound recording fixed by another, unless-

(4) A compulsory licence includes the privilege of making a musical arrangement of the work to the extent necessary to conform it to the style or manner of interpretation of the performance involved, but the arrangement shall not change the basic melody or fundamental character of the work, and shall not be subject to protection as a derivative work under this Act, except with the express written consent of the copyright owner.

(5) The prescribed rate provided by subsection (2)(b) shall be payable for every phonorecord made and distributed in accordance with the licence; and a phonorecord is considered "distributed" if the person exercising the compulsory licence has voluntarily and permanently parted with its possession.

(6) A compulsory licence under this section includes the right of the maker of a phonorecord of a non-dramatic musical work under subsection (2) to distribute or authorize distribution of such phonorecords by sale, loan, rental or other transfer of ownership.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9, it is not an infringement of copyright for a governmental body or other non-profit organization entitled to transmit a performance or display of a work, under paragraph (b) of section 75 or under limitations on exclusive rights in sound recordings specified by subsection (1) of section 74, to make no more than five copies or phonorecords of a particular transmission programme embodying the performance or display, if-

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9, it is not an infringement of copyright for a governmental body or other non-profit organization to make for distribution no more than one copy or phonorecord, for each transmitting organization specified in paragraph (b) of a particular transmission programme embodying a performance of a non-dramatic musical work of a religious nature, or of a sound recording of such a musical work, if-

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9, it is not an infringement of copyright for a governmental body or any non-profit organization entitled to transmit a performance of a work under paragraph (g) of section 75, to make no more than five copies or phonorecords embodying the performance, or to permit the use of any copy or phonorecord by any other governmental body or non-profit organization entitled to transmit a performance of a work under paragraph (g) of section 75, if-

(5) The transmission programme embodied in a copy or phonorecord made under this section is not subject to protection as a derivative work under this Act except with the express written consent of the owners of copyright in the pre-existing works employed in the programme.

Provided that-

and for the purposes of this section, an alteration to a transmission or transmission programme includes the addition thereto of new material not contained in the primary transmission, or the omission from the transmission of any material contained in the primary transmission; and the term material includes a commercial advertisement.

(2) The Minister shall not make an order under subsection (1) unless he is satisfied that the acts specified in the order in relation to the work-

(3) An order made under subsection (1) shall make provision for the payment of equitable remuneration to the copyright owner to be agreed upon by the Minister and the copyright owner; and such order may contain such consequential, supplemental or ancillary provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of giving effect to the order.

(2) The provisions of the Schedule shall have effect as to the constitution of the Tribunal and otherwise in relation thereto.

(2) In relation to its functions under paragraph (a) of subsection (1), the Tribunal may from time to time on its own initiative and shall, on request made in writing by the Minister, enquire into the appropriateness of such rate and make such recommendations to the Minister with respect thereto as it thinks fit.

(2) The Registrar of Copyrights shall be a counsel and attorney of at least five years standing of the Bahamas Bar appointed by the Governor-General acting in accordance with the advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.

(3) The Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, may appoint a Deputy Registrar of Copyright who shall assist the Registrar in the discharge of his functions and who may, subject to the directions of the Registrar, perform any of the functions of the Registrar.

(4) The appointment of persons under subsections (2) and (3) shall be made on such terms as to emoluments, allowances and pensions rights as the Governor-General may determine and all such emoluments, allowances and pensions rights shall be made payable out of the Consolidated Fund by warrant in the usual manner.

(5) The Registry of the Registrar of Copyrights shall be known as the Copyright Registry.

(6) The Registrar shall act under the general direction and supervision of the Minister.

(7) The Registrar shall adopt a seal to be used to authenticate all certified documents issued by the Registry.

(8) The Registrar shall make an annual report to the Minister of the work and accomplishments of the Registry during the previous fiscal year.

(2) In the case of published works, all copies, phonorecords, and identifying materials are available to the Department of Archives for its collections; and, in the case of unpublished works, the Department of Archives is entitled, under regulations that the Minister, after consultation with the Registrar, may prescribe, to select any deposits for its collections.

(3) The Registrar is authorized, for specific or general categories of works, to make a facsimile reproduction of all or any part of the material deposited under section 33 and to make such reproduction a part of the Registry's records of the registration, before transferring such material to the Department of Archives as provided by subsection (2), or before destroying or otherwise disposing of such material as provided by subsection (4).

(4) Deposits not selected by the Department of Archives under subsection (2) or identifying portions or reproductions of them, shall be retained under the control of the Registry for the longest period considered practicable and desirable by the Registrar and after that period, it is within the discretion of the Registrar to order their destruction or other disposition; but, in the case of unpublished works, no deposit shall be knowingly or intentionally destroyed or otherwise disposed of during its term of copyright unless a facsimile reproduction of the entire deposit has been made a part of the Registry's records as provided by subsection (3).

(5) The depositor of copies, phonorecords or identifying material under section 33, or the copyright owner of record, may request retention, under the control of the Registry, of one or more of such articles for the full term of copyright; and the Minister, after consultation with the Registrar, may prescribe, by regulations, the conditions under which such requests are to be made and granted and shall fix the fee to be charged under subsection (1)(h) of section 95 if the request is granted.

(2) Such records and indexes, as well as the articles deposited in connection with completed copyright registrations and retained under the control of the Registry, shall be open to public inspection.

(3) Upon request and payment of the fee specified by section 95, the Registry shall make a search of its public records, indexes, and deposits, and shall furnish a report of the information they disclose with respect to any particular deposits, registrations or recorded documents.

(2) Copies or reproductions of deposited articles retained, under the control of the Registry shall be authorized or furnished only under the conditions prescribed by regulations.

(2) The Registrar shall furnish free of charge upon request, application forms for copyright registration and material of general information in connection with the functions of the Registry.

(3) The Registrar may publish compilations of information, bibliographies, and other material he considers to be of value to the public.

(4) All publications of the Registry shall be furnished to prescribed libraries and, aside from those furnished free of charge, shall be offered for sale to the public at prices based on the cost of reproduction and distribution.

and the Minister, after consultation with the Registrar, may prescribe fees for preparing copies of Registry's records, whether or not such copies are certified, on the basis of the cost of such preparation.

(2) The Minister may by order vary any fee prescribed under subsection (1).

(3) The fees prescribed by or under this section are applicable to any work of the Bahamas Government but the Registrar may waive the requirement of this subsection in respect of the Government.

(4) All fees received under this section shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

(5) The Registrar may, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Minister, refund any sum paid by mistake or in excess of the fee required under subsection (1).

(2) The rights conferred by this Part are independent of-

(2) In subsection (1), "preparing a derivative work" means a copy or phonorecord in which the performance is accompanied by lyrics or music or performances not contained in the copy or phonorecord in which the performance was first fixed.

a copy or phonorecord of a qualifying performance which is, and which that person knows or has reason to believe is an illicit copy or phonorecord.

(2) Where in an action for infringement of performer's rights brought by virtue of this section a defendant shows that the illicit copy or phonorecord was innocently acquired by him or a predecessor in title of his, the remedy in damages available against him in respect of the infringement is an amount not exceeding a reasonable payment in respect of the act complained of.

(3) In subsection (2), "innocently acquired" means that the person acquiring the copy or phonorecord did not know or had no reason to believe that it was an illicit copy or phonorecord.

(2) The reference in subsection (1) to the "appropriate consent" is to the consent of the person who at the time consent was given had recording rights in relation to the performance.

(2) Where in an action for infringement of performer's rights brought by virtue of this section a defendant shows that the illicit copy or phonorecord was innocently acquired by him or a predecessor in title of his, the remedy in damages available against him in respect of the infringement is an amount not exceeding a reasonable payment in respect of the act complained of.

(3) In subsection (2), "innocently acquired" means that the person acquiring the copy or phonorecord did not know and had no reason to believe that it was an illicit copy or phonorecord.

does not infringe any of the rights conferred by this Part, and the provisions of section 60 shall, with the necessary modifications, apply in determining whether or not an act constitutes fair dealing.

and for the purposes of this section, copies or phonorecords of a performance so far as it consists of music or words spoken or sung with music, shall not be regarded as incidentally included in a sound recording, motion picture or other audiovisual work if it is deliberately included.

(2) Where a recording which would otherwise be an illicit copy or phonorecord is reproduced in accordance with this section but is subsequently dealt with, it shall be treated as an illicit copy or phonorecord for the purposes of that dealing and if that dealing infringes any right conferred by this Part, for all subsequent purposes.

(3) In subsection (2), "dealt with" means sold or let for hire, or offered or exposed for sale or hire.

anything which the purchaser was allowed to do may also be done by a transferee without infringement of the rights conferred by this Part, but any copy reproduced by the purchaser which is not also transferred shall be treated as an illicit recording for all purposes after the transfer.

(2) Subsection (1) applies where the original purchased copy is no longer usable and what is transferred is a further copy used in its place.

(3) This section also applies on a subsequent transfer, with the substitution for references in subsection (1) to the purchaser of references to the subsequent transferor.

(4) This section does not apply in relation to a copy purchased before the commencement of this Act.

(2) The Minister shall not make an order under subsection (1) unless he is satisfied that the acts specified in the order-

(3) An order made under subsection (1) shall make provision for the payment of equitable remuneration to any person having rights conferred by this Part.

(2) On the death of a person entitled to performer's rights-

and references in this Part to the performer, in the context of the person having performer's rights, shall be construed as references to the person for the time being entitled to exercise those rights.

(3) Where by virtue of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) a right becomes exercisable by more than one person, it is exercisable by each of them independently of the others.

(4) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) are without prejudice to any rights conferred by this Act on a person to whom has been assigned the benefit of an exclusive recording contract or licence to fix copies or phonorecords of a performance.

(5) Any damages recovered by a personal representative by virtue of this section in respect of an infringement after a person's death shall devolve as a part of his estate as if the right of action had subsisted and been vested in him immediately before his death.

(2) A person having recording rights in a live performance is bound by any consent given by a person through whom he derives his rights under the exclusive recording contract or licence in question, in the same manner as if the consent had been given by him.

(3) Where a right conferred by this Part passes to another person, any consent binding on the person previously entitled binds the person to whom the right passes in the same way as if the consent had been given by him.

(2) An application shall not be made after the end of the period specified in section 122; and the court shall not make an order under this section unless it also makes an order under section 121 for the disposal of the copy or phonorecord, or it is of the opinion that there are grounds on which an order under this section could be made.

(3) A person to whom a copy or phonorecord is delivered up in pursuance of an order under this section shall, if an order under section 121 is not made, retain it pending the making of an order, or the decision not to make an order under that section.

(4) Nothing in this section affects any other power of the court.

a copy or phonorecord which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe is an illicit copy or phonorecord.

(2) A person commits an offence, who causes a copy or phonorecord of a live performance fixed without sufficient consent to be displayed or performed publicly thereby infringing the rights conferred by this Part, if he knows or has reason to believe that those rights are thereby infringed.

(3) In subsections (1) and (2), "sufficient consent" means-

(4) References in this section to persons having recording rights are to the person having those rights at the time the consent is given or, if there is more than one such person, to all of them.

(5) No offence is committed under subsection (1) or (2) by the doing of an act which, by virtue of any provision of this Part, may be done without infringing the rights conferred by this Part.

(6) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) shall be liable-

(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, but shall not be made-

(3) An appeal shall lie to the Court of Appeal from an order under this section.

(4) A person to whom an illicit copy or phonorecord is delivered up in pursuance of an order under this section shall retain it pending the making of an order, or the decision not to make an order, under section 121.

(2) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine of twenty-five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for one year or to both such fine and imprisonment.

or

(2) In considering what order (if any) should be made, the court shall have regard to all the circumstances of the case and, in particular-

(3) Provision shall be made by regulations as to the service of notice on persons having an interest in the infringing copy or phonorecord, or as the case may be, the illicit copy or phonorecord and any such person is entitled-

and an order shall not take effect until the end of the period within which notice of an appeal may be given or, if before the end of that period notice of appeal is duly given, until the final determination or abandonment of the proceedings on the appeal.

(4) Where there is more than one person interested in any infringing copy or phonorecord, or as the case may be, an illicit copy or phonorecord, the court shall make such order as it thinks just and may, in particular, direct that such copy or phonorecord or illicit copy or phonorecord be sold, or otherwise dealt with, and the proceeds divided.

(5) If the court decides that no order should be made under this section, the person in whose possession, custody or control the copy or phonorecord or, as the case may be, the recording was before being delivered up or seized, is entitled to its return.

(6) References in this section to a person having an interest in a copy or phonorecord or a recording include any person in whose favour an order could be made in respect of the copy, phonorecord or, as the case may be, recording under this section.

(2) If during the whole or any part of that period a person entitled to apply for an order-

an application may be made by him at any time before the end of the period of three years from the date on which he ceased to be under a disability or, as the case may be, could with reasonable diligence have discovered those facts.

(2) A police officer to whom directions have been given under subsection (1) may-

(3) It shall be the duty of any police officer in the execution of any directions given under subsection (1) to produce the instrument containing the directions to the owner or occupier of any premises, place, vessel or aircraft entered or vehicle stopped, pursuant to such directions if required by such owner or occupier to do so.

(2) A magistrate may, if he is satisfied by information on oath that there is reasonable ground for suspecting that there is in any domestic premises any article which may be seized, removed or detained under any provision of this Act, issue a warrant authorizing a member of the Police Force not below the rank of Sergeant to enter and search the premises and such member may call upon any police officer to assist him in entering and searching the premises.

(3) In this section "domestic premises" means any premises or any part thereof, used exclusively or mainly as a dwelling.

is liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for one year.

(2) A person who, when required to give information to a member of the Police Force in the exercise of his powers or the performance of his duties under this Act, knowingly gives false or misleading information to any such member is liable on summary conviction to a fine of five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for six months.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring any person to give any information which may incriminate him.

(2) An order made for the purposes of this section shall designate the country concerned and may provide either generally or in relation to such classes of cases as are specified in the order, that copyright shall not subsist in works first published, or, as the case may be, that rights in performances shall not subsist in performances first given, after a date specified in the order (which may be a date before the commencement of this Act) if; at the time of the first publication of those works or the giving of the first performance, as the case may be, the authors of the works or the performers were or are-

(3) The Minister shall in making an order under this section, have regard to the nature and extent of the lack of protection for Bahamian works or Bahamian performances in consequence of which the order is being made.

(4) This section applies to literary, dramatic, musical, choreographic, and artistic works, sound recording and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, and for the purposes of this section-

"Bahamian performances" means-

(b) performances that take place in The Bahamas;

"Bahamian works" means-

(2) in this section "Bahamian ship" and "Bahamian aircraft" means respectively, a ship or aircraft registered in The Bahamas.

(2) Where, on the appointed day copyright subsists in The Bahamas by virtue of subsection (1) of section 19 of the former Copyright Act [ii]* in any record, perforated roll or other contrivance by virtue of which sounds may be mechanically produced, such copyright shall continue-

(3) No act done before the appointed day is actionable by virtue of the conferment of the rights specified in Part III.

(4) The right conferred by section 11 to be identified as the author of a work, and the right conferred by section 12 to object to derogatory treatment of such work, shall not apply-

(5) The rights in relation to a literary, dramatic, musical, choreographic or artistic work existing before the appointed day do not apply-

(6) The right to privacy conferred by section 14 in respect of photographs and audiovisual works does not apply to photographs or audiovisual works created, before the appointed day.

(7) Where an act done before the appointed day was an infringement of copyright but is not an infringement of copyright under this Act, then, proceedings in respect of that act may be taken as if this Act had not been passed.

(8) An act done before the appointed day shall not be an infringement of copyright or right in performances conferred by this Act if that act would not, but for the passing of this Act, have constituted an infringement.

(9) Proceedings for infringement of copyright instituted but not disposed of before the appointed day shall be disposed of as if this Act had not been passed.

(10) Proceedings under this Act for infringement may be taken notwithstanding that the alleged infringement occurred before the appointed day.

1. The Tribunal shall consist of the following members-

2. (1) The members of the Tribunal shall be appointed by the Minister by instrument in writing, and, subject to the provisions of this Schedule, shall hold office for a period of three years, but shall be eligible for reappointment.

(2) The Minister shall elect a chairman from among the members appointed and such chairman shall serve for a term of one year.

(3) Any vacancy in the Tribunal shall not affect its powers and shall be filled, for the unexpired term of appointment, in the same manner as the original appointment was made.

3. A member of the Tribunal may at any time resign his office by instrument in writing and such resignation shall take effect as from the date of the receipt by the Minister of such instrument.

4. The Minister may by instrument in writing at any time revoke the appointment of any member of the Tribunal if-

5. The chairman and other members of the Tribunal shall be paid such remuneration (whether by way of honorarium, salary or fees) as the Minister may determine.

6. The name of all members of the Tribunal as first constituted and every change in the membership thereof shall be published in the Gazette.

7. The Minister may appoint a Secretary and such other staff (whether on a full-time or a part-time basis) as appears to the Minister to be necessary to assist the Tribunal on such terms and conditions (including salaries, allowances, other remuneration and disciplinary control) as the Minister may determine.