Celebrating 20 Years of IP Excellence

THE COPYRIGHT ACT, 1957

[As amended by the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021]

37. BROADCAST REPRODUCTION RIGHT.

(1) Every broadcasting organisation shall have a special right to be known as “broadcast reproduction right” in respect of its broadcasts.

(2) The broadcast reproduction right shall subsist until twenty-five years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the broadcast is made.

(3) During the continuance of a broadcast reproduction right in relation to any broadcast, any person who, without the licence of the owner of the right does any of the following acts of the broadcast or any substantial part thereof,—

(a) re-broadcast the broadcast; or

(b) causes the broadcast to be heard or seen by the public on payment of any charges; or

(c) makes any sound recording or visual recording of the broadcast; or

(d) makes any reproduction of such sound recording or visual recording where such initial recording was done without licence or, where it was licensed, for any purpose not envisaged by such licence; or

(e) sells or gives on commercial rental or offer for sale or for such rental, any such sound recording or visual recording referred to in clause (c) or clause (d). shall, subject to the provision of section 39, be deemed to have infringed the broadcast reproduction right.

 

38. PERFORMER’S RIGHT.

(1) Where any performer appears or engages in any performance, he shall have a special right to be known as the “performer’s right” in relation to such performance.

(2) The performer’s right shall subsist until fifty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the performance is made.

38A. EXCLUSIVE RIGHT OF PERFORMERS.

(1) Without prejudice to the rights conferred on authors, the performer’s right which is an exclusive right subject to the provisions of this Act to do or authorise for doing any of the following acts in respect of the performance or any substantial part thereof, namely:—

(a) to make a sound recording or a visual recording of the performance, including—

(i) reproduction of it in any material form including the storing of it in any medium by electronic or any other means;

(ii) issuance of copies of it to the public not being copies already in circulation;

(iii) communication of it to the public;

(iv) selling or giving it on commercial rental or offer for sale or for commercial rental any copy of the recording;

(b) to broadcast or communicate the performance to the public except where the performance is already broadcast.

(2) Once a performer has, by written agreement, consented to the incorporation of his performance in a cinematograph film he shall not, in the absence of any contract to the contrary, object to the enjoyment by the producer of the film of the performer’s right in the same film:

Provided that, notwithstanding anything contained in this sub-section, the performer shall be entitled for royalties in case of making of the performances for commercial use.

38B. MORAL RIGHTS OF THE PERFORMER.

The performer of a performance shall, independently of his right after assignment, either wholly or partially of his right, have the right,—

(a) to claim to be identified as the performer of his performance except where omission is dictated by the manner of the use of the performance; and

(b) to restrain or claim damage in respect of any distortion, mutilation or other modification of his performance that would be prejudicial to his reputation.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, it is hereby clarified that mere removal of any portion of a performance for the purpose of editing, or to fit the recording within a limited duration, or any other modification required for purely technical reasons shall not be deemed to be prejudicial to the performer’s reputation.

39. ACTS NOT INFRINGING BROADCAST REPRODUCTION RIGHT OR PERFORMER’S RIGHT.

No broadcast reproduction right or performer’s right shall be deemed to be infringed by—

(a) the making of any sound recording or visual recording for the private use of the person making such recording, or solely for purposes of bona fide teaching or research; or

(b) the use, consistent with fair dealing, of excerpts of a performance or of a broadcast in the reporting of current events or for bona fide review, teaching or research; or

(c) such other acts, with any necessary adaptations and modifications, which do not constitute infringement of copyright under section 52.

39A. CERTAIN PROVISIONS TO APPLY IN CASE OF BROADCAST REPRODUCTION RIGHT AND PERFORMER’S RIGHTS.

(1) Sections 18, 19, 30, 30A, 33, 33A, 34, 35, 36, 53, 55, 58, 63, 64, 65, 65A, 65B and 66 shall, with necessary adaptations and modifications, apply in relation to the broadcast reproduction right in any broadcast and the performer’s right in any performance as they apply in relation to copyright in a work:

Provided that where copyright or performer’s right subsists in respect of any work or performance that has been broadcast, no licence to reproduce such broadcast, shall be given without the consent of the owner of right or performer, as the case may be, or both of them:

Provided further that the broadcast reproduction right or performer’s right shall not subsist in any broadcast or performance if that broadcast or performance is an infringement of the copyright in any work.

(2) The broadcast reproduction right or the performer’s right shall not affect the separate copyright in any work in respect of which, the broadcast or the performance, as the case may be, is made.