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CHAPTER 323
COPYRIGHT

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

SECTION

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 rights.
Duration of copyright in works of authorship.

PART III
MORAL RIGHTS AND RELATED RIGHTS

Identification with Work

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

Ownership of copyright.

Transfer of Copyright

Transfer of copyright ownership or rights.
Ownership of 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Copyright in unpublished copy or phonorecord passes under will.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 and other documents.

PART V
COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT AND REGISTRATION

Notice of copyright visually perceptible copies.
Notice of copyright: phonorecords of sound 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 of right to be identified as the author.
Infringement of right to object to derogatory treatments of work.
Infringement by possession of infringing work of visual art.
Acts not infringing section 12.
False attribution of work: infringement of right.
Infringement of privacy right respecting photographs, etc.
Effect of consent and waiver of rights.

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

Definition of "sufficient acknowledgement".

General Exceptions

Research and private study 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

Establishment of copyright Royalty Tribunal.
Jurisdiction of 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 of recording 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 in relation to performances.
Fair dealing for criticism, etc.
Incidental inclusion 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 of rights in live performances.
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 recordings in 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 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.

CHAPTER 323

COPYRIGHT

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

PART I
PRELIMINARY

1. This Act may be cited as the Copyright Act, 1998.

Short title.

2. (1) In this Act-

Interpretation.

"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-

(a)
any painting, drawing, map, chart or plan; and
(b)
any engraving, etching, lithograph, woodcut or similar work;

"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-

(a)
a copy or phonorecord of the work, the making of which is not authorized under or by virtue of any provision of this Act;
(b)
any copy or phonorecord of the work that is or is proposed to be imported into The Bahamas and its making in The Bahamas would constitute an infringement of copyright in the work in question or a breach of an exclusive licence agreement relating to that work;

"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-

(a)
a dramatic performance,
(b)
a musical performance,
(c)
a reading or recitation of a literary work;
(d)
a choreographic performance,
(e)
a performance of a variety act or any 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 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-

(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 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-

(a)
to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; or
(b)
to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of the work to a place specified by paragraph (a) or to the public by means of any device or process, whether the section of the public capable of receiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times;

"qualified person"-

(a)
in the case of an individual, means a person who is a citizen of, or whose habitual residence or domicile is in The Bahamas, or whose habitual residence or domicile is in a foreign nation that is party to a copyright treaty to which The Bahamas is also a party; and
(b)
in the case of a body corporate, means a body incorporated or established under any written law of The Bahamas or of a foreign nation that is a party to a copyright treaty to which The Bahamas is also a party;

"qualifying performance" means a live performance that-

(a)
is given by an individual who is a qualified person; or
(b)
takes place in The Bahamas or in a foreign nation that is a party to a copyright treaty to which The Bahamas is also a party;

"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-

(a)
for payment in money or money's worth; or
(b)
in the course of a business, as a part of services or amenities for which payment is made,

on terms that it will or may be returned;

"reprographic process" means a process-

(a)
for making facsimile reproductions; or
(b)
involving the use of a machine or device for reproducing multiple copies,

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-

(a)
a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his employment;
(b)
a work specially commissioned for use as a contribution to collective work, as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as a compilation, as an instructional test, as a test, as answer material for a test, as a supplementary work, if the parties expressly agree in written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire;
(c)
copies and phonorecords created under an exclusive 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 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-

(a)
a painting, drawing, print or sculpture existing in a single copy, in a limited edition of one hundred copies or fewer that are signed and consecutively numbered by the author, or, in the case of a sculpture, in multiple cast, carved, or fabricated sculptures of one hundred or fewer that are consecutively numbered by the author and bear the signature or other identifying mark of the author;
(b)
a still photographic image produced for exhibition purposes only, existing in a single copy that is signed by the author, or in a limited edition of one hundred copies or fewer that are signed and consecutively numbered by the author;

however, a work of visual art does not include-

(i)
any poster, map, globe, chart, technical drawing, diagram, model, applied art, motion picture or other audiovisual work, book, magazine, newspaper, periodical, database, electronic information service, electronic publication or similar publication,
(ii)
any merchandising item or advertising, promotional, descriptive, covering or packaging material or container,
(iii)
any portion or part of any item described in subparagraph (i) or (ii),
(iv)
any work made for hire, or
(v)
any work not subject to copyright protection under this Act;

"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.

3. (1) Subject to the following provision of this section, for purposes of this Act, publication in relation to a work means the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work 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.

Publication.

(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-

(a)
any subsequent distribution, sale, rental or loan of those copies or phonorecords; or
(b)
any subsequent importation of those copies or phonorecords into The Bahamas,

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-

(a)
whether a work has been published;
(b)
whether a publication of a work was a first publication of the work; or
(c)
whether a work was published or otherwise dealt with in the lifetime of a person,

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

4. (1) In relation to the transmission of a work, an encrypted 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.

Lawful reception 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-

(a)
to the person transmitting the programme, to the extent that he has responsibility for its contents; and
(b)
to any person providing the programme who makes with the person transmitting it, the arrangements necessary for its transmission,

references in this Act to a programme, in the context of transmitted are to any item included in a transmission.

PART II
COPYRIGHT

Protected Works

5. (1) Unless otherwise specifically provided in this Act, copyright shall not subsist in any work unless it satisfies the requirements specified in this Part as respects-

Copyright in general.

(a)
the category of works of authorship; and
(b)
the qualification of the author.

(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-

Category of works of authorship.

(a)
literary works;
(b)
musical works inclusive of any accompanying words;
(c)
dramatic works inclusive of any accompanying music;
(d)
artistic works;
(e)
motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
(f)
choreographic works;
(g)
sound recordings;

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-

(a)
categories of copyright works specified by this section include compilations and derivative works, but protection for a work employing pre-existing material in which copyright subsists does not extend to any part of the work in which such material has been used unlawfully;
(b)
copyright in a compilation or derivative work extends only to the material contributed by the author of such work, as distinguished from the pre-existing material employed in the work and does not imply any exclusive right in the pre-existing material;
(c)
copyright in a compilation or derivative work is independent of, and does not affect or enlarge the scope, duration, ownership or subsistence of any copyright protection in the pre-existing material.

(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.

7. (1) The works specified by subsections (1) and (3) of section 6 while unpublished, are subject to protection under this Act if the author is a qualified person.

Qualification for protection: national origin.

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

(a)
on the date of first publication, one or more of the authors is a qualified person; or
(b)
the work is first published in The Bahamas or in a foreign nation that, on the date of first publication, is a party to the Universal Copyright Convention; or
(c)
the work is protected under the Berne Convention.

8. Copyright protection under this Act shall subsist in every work which is eligible for copyright and which is made by or under the direction or control of the Government.

Bahamas Government works.

9. (1) By virtue of and subject to the provisions of this Act, the owner of copyright shall have the exclusive right to do or to authorize any of the following-

Nature of copyright protection: economic and moral rights.

(a)
to reproduce the copyright work in copies or phonorecords;
(b)
to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyright work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental or loan;
(c)
to prepare derivative works based upon the copyright work;
(d)
in the case of a literary, musical, dramatic and choreographic, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyright work publicly; and
(e)
in the case of a literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, artistic works, including the individual sequence images of a motion picture audiovisual work, to display the copyright work publicly.

(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.

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.

Duration of copyright in works of authorship.

(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.

PART III
MORAL RIGHTS AND RELATED RIGHTS

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.

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

(a)
the work or a derivative work thereof, is published or performed publicly; or
(b)
copies or phonorecords including the work are distributed to the public.

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

(a)
the work is published;
(b)
phonorecords containing a sound recording of the work are distributed to the public; or
(c)
a motion picture, the sound track of which includes the work, is performed publicly or copies of such motion picture are distributed to the public.

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

(a)
the work is published or displayed publicly;
(b)
a motion picture including a visual image of the work is performed in public or copies of such a motion picture are distributed to the public; or
(c)
in the case of a work of architecture in the form of a building or a model for a building, a sculpture or a work of artistic craftsmanship, copies of the work are distributed to the public.

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

(a)
the work is published or performed publicly;
(b)
copies or phonorecords containing the work is distributed to the public.

(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-

(a)
a computer program, the design of a typeface or a computer-generated work;
(b)
any work created as a work made for hire.

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-

Right to object to derogatory treatment of work of visual art.

(a)
to prevent the use of his name as the author of the work of visual art in the event of derogatory treatment;
(b)
to prevent any destruction of his work which is of recognised stature;
(c)
not to have the work or any part thereof subjected to derogatory treatment,

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-

(a)
a computer program or to a computer-generated work;
(b)
fair dealing with any work made for the purposes specified in section 60;
(c)
any work created as a work made for hire;
(d)
the modification of a work of visual art which is the result of the passage of time or the inherent nature of the material in which it is fixed;
(e)
the modification of a work of visual art which is the result of conservation of the public presentation including lighting and placement of the work;
(f)
any derogatory treatment of a work incorporated in or made part of a building to which the author consented to the installation of the work.

(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.

Related Rights

13. (1) A person has the right-

False attribution of work.

(a)
not to have a literary, dramatic, musical, choreographic or artistic work falsely attributed to him as author; and
(b)
not to have a motion picture falsely attributed to him as director.

(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.

14. Subject to section 50, a person who for private and domestic purposes commissions the taking of a photograph or the making of audiovisual work has, where the resulting work is a protected in, the right not to have-

Right to privacy of photographs.

(a)
copies of the work distributed to the public;
(b)
the work displayed publicly;
(c)
the work performed publicly;
(d)
the work reproduced in copies other than for archival purposes or for complying with the deposit requirement under section 33 of this Act.

15. The rights conferred by sections 11, 12, 13 and 14 subsists so long as copyright subsists in the work.

Duration of moral rights and related rights.

16. (1) A person having a right conferred under this Part may consent to the doing of any act affecting such right or may waive the rights under sections 11 and 12.

Consent and waiver of rights.

(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-

(a)
must identify the specific work, and the uses of the work, to which the waiver applies, and waiver shall apply only to the work and uses identified; and
(b)
may be expressed to be subject to revocation.

(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.

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.

Application of provision of joint work.

(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.

18. The rights conferred by-

Application of provisions to parts of work.

(a)
sections 11 and 14 apply in relation to the whole or any substantial part of a work; and
(b)
sections 12 and 13 apply in relation to the whole or any part of a work.

PART IV
OWNERSHIP AND ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS

Ownership of Copyright

19. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the author of a protected work is the first owner of any copyright in that work.

Ownership of copyright.

(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.

20. (1) The ownership of a copyright may be transferred in whole by any means of conveyance or by operation of law, and may bequeathed by will or pass as personal property by the applicable intestate succession.

Transfer of copyright ownership or rights.

(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.

21. Ownership of a copyright, or of any of the exclusive rights under a copyright, is distinct from ownership of any material object in the work is embodied; transfer of ownership of any material including the copy or phonorecord in which the work is first fixed, does not of itself convey any rights in the copyright work embodied in the object; nor in the absence of an agreement, does transfer of ownership of a copyright or any exclusive rights under a copyright convey property rights in any material object.

Ownership of a copyright as distinct from ownership of material object.

22. (1) The owner of any particular exclusive right is entitled, to the extent of that right, to all of the protection and remedies accorded to the copyright owner by this Act.

Exclusive licence.

(2) An exclusive licence whether recorded or not does not survive a transfer of copyright ownership.

23. Where under a bequest (whether specific or general) a person is entitled, beneficially or otherwise, to-

Copyright in unpublished copy or phonorecord passes under will.

(a)
an original copy that embodies a literary, dramatic, musical, choreographic or artistic work which was not published before the death of the testator; or
(b)
an original phonorecord containing a sound recording or copy of a motion picture or other audiovisual work which was not published before the death of the testator,

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.

24. The rights conferred under Part III are not assignable.

Moral rights etc. not assignable.

25. (1) On the death of a person entitled to a right conferred by section 11, 12, 13 or 14-

Transmission of moral rights etc. on death.

(a)
the right passes to such person as he may by testamentary disposition specifically direct; or
(b)
if there is no such direction but the copyright in the work in question forms part of his estate, the right passes to the person to whom copyright passes,

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-

(a)
where the right is conferred by section 12 or 14, it is a right exercisable by each of them and is satisfied in relation to any of them if he consents to the treatment or act in question; and
(b)
any waiver of the right in accordance with section 16 by one of them shall not affect the rights of the others.

(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.

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 conveyed or by such owner's duly authorized agent.

Execution of transfers of copyright ownership.

(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
(b)
in the case of a transfer executed in a foreign country, 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 an officer.

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 is accompanied by a sworn or official certification that it is a true copy of the original, signed document.

Recording of transfer and other documents.

(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-

(a)
the document, or material attached to it, specifically identifies the work to which it pertains so that, after the document is indexed by the Registrar, it would be revealed by a reasonable search under the title or registration number of the work; and
(b)
registration has been made for the work.

(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-

(a)
the licence was taken before execution of the transfer; or
(b)
the licence was taken in good faith before recording of the transfer and without notice of it.

PART V
COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT AND REGISTRATION

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 this section 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.

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

(a)
the symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word "Copyright", or the abbreviation "Copr.";
(b)
the year of first publication of the work; in the case of compilations or derivative works incorporating previously published material, the year of first publication of the compilation or derivative work is sufficient; the year may be omitted where an artistic work, with accompanying text matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewellery, dolls; toys or any useful articles; and
(c)
the name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognised, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.

(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.

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.

Notice copyright: phonorecords of sound recordings.

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

(a)
the symbol image(the letter P in a circle);
(b)
the year of first publication of the sound recording; and
(c)
the name of the owner of copyright in the sound recording, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognised, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner; and if the producer of the sound recording is named on the phonorecord labels or containers, and no other name appears in conjunction with the notice, the producer's name shall be considered a part of the notice.

(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.

30. Subsection (4) of section 28 and subsection (4) of section 29 shall apply to works published in copies or phonorecords consisting predominantly of one or more works of The Bahamas Government as well as those portions of the copies or phonorecords embodying any other works protected under this Act.

Publications incorporating Bahamas Government works.

31. A separate contribution to a collective work may bear its own notice of copyright, as provided by sections 28, 29 and 30; however, a single notice applicable to the 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 advertisements inserted on behalf of persons other than the owner of copyright in the collective work), regardless of the ownership of copyright in contributions and whether or not they have been previously published.

Notice of copyright: contributions to collective works.

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-

Deposit of copies or phonorecords for the Department of Archives.

(a)
two complete copies of the best edition; or
(b)
if the work is a sound recording, two complete phonorecords of the best edition, together with any printed or other visually perceptible material published with such phonorecords,

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-

(a)
less than five copies of the work have been published; or
(b)
the work has been published in a limited edition consisting of numbered copies, the monetary value of which would make the mandatory deposit of two copies of the best edition of the work burdensome, unfair, or unreasonable.

(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-

(a)
to a fine of not more than two hundred and fifty dollars for each work;
(b)
to pay into a specifically designed fund in the Treasury the total retail price of the copies or phonorecords demanded, or, if no retail price has been fixed, the reasonable cost of the Registry acquiring them; and
(c)
to pay a fine of not more than two thousand dollars, in addition to any fine or liability imposed under paragraphs (a) and (b), if such person wilfully or repeatedly fails or refuses to comply with such a demand.

(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-

(a)
the Registrar shall be permitted, under the standards and conditions set forth in such regulations, to make a fixation of a transmission programme directly from a transmission to the public and to reproduce one copy or phonorecord for such fixation for archival purposes;
(b)
such regulation shall also provide standards and procedures by which the Registrar may make written demand upon the owner of the right of transmission in The Bahamas for the deposit of a copy or phonorecord of a specific transmission programme; such deposit may, at the option of the owner of the right of transmission in The Bahamas, be accomplished by gift or loan for purposes of reproduction; the regulations established under this subsection shall provide reasonable periods of not less than three months for compliance with a demand, and shall allow for extensions of such periods and adjustments in the scope of the demand or the methods for fulfilling 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 in question, to be paid into the Consolidated Fund;
(c)
nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require the making or retention, for purposes of deposit, of any copy or phonorecord of an unpublished transmission programme, the transmission of which occurs before the receipt of a specific written demand as provided by paragraph (b);
(d)
no activity undertaken in compliance with regulations prescribed under paragraph (a) or (b) shall result in liability if intended solely to assist in the acquisition of copies or phonorecords under this subsection.

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 any exclusive 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 and fee specified by 34 and 95; and such registration shall not be a condition of copyright protection.

Copyright registration in general.

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

(a)
in the case of an unpublished work, one complete copy or phonorecord;
(b)
in the case of a published work, two copies or phonorecords of the best edition;
(c)
in the case of a work first published outside The Bahamas, one complete copy or phonorecord as so published;
(d)
in the case of a contribution to a collective work, one complete copy or phonorecord of the best edition of the collective work,

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-

(a)
if the deposit consists of one copy of the entire issue of the periodical, or the entire section in the case of the entire issue of the periodical or of the entire section in the case of a newspaper, in which each contribution was published; and
(b)
if the application identifies each work separately, including the periodical containing it and its date of first publication.

(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 a