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 a