Copyright in Mauritius

The copyright law in Mauritius was voted on the 2nd June 2014. Its main objective was to adjust local laws to be compliant with the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WIPO) which is an international treaty under the Berne Convention which deals with the protection of works and the rights of their authors in a manner as effective and uniform as possible. Hence this law in Mauritius, goes in the right direction to modernising the intellectual property rights environment.

The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) has also the mission to address changes in digital technology and communications in particular in relation to the distribution of digitally protected works over the Internet and to respond to technology developments. Among the key elements of WIPO, one can find several items linked to providing legal remedies against anyone who enables or facilitates copyright infringement related to unauthorized electronic rights management, distribution or communication.
 
The Copyright Act 2014 in Mauritius defines a works as a production in the artistic, literary, or scientific domain and includes:
o A book, a pamphlet or other writing,
o An illustration, a map, plan or sketch,
o A lecture, sermon or any other address of a similar nature,
o A dramatic or dramatico-musical work,
o A musical work,
o A choreography work or pantomime,
o An audiovisual work,
o A sound recording,
o A work of fine art, drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving, lithography, applied art,
o A photographic work,
o A computer programme.

The definition of a copy as per the Mauritius Copyright Act 2014:
“Copy”includes a reproduction of a work in — (a) a written form; (b) the form of a recording; or (c) any other form;
The copyright law grants the owner several rights which apply exclusively to the owner. These rights include: the right to reproduce, display the work and distribute to the public.
 
“Display” means to show:
(a) a copy of a work directly, or by means of a film, slide, television image or otherwise on screen, or by means of any other device or process;
(b) in the case of audiovisual work, individual images non-sequentially;

“Distribution to the public” means putting, into public circulation, the original or a copy of a work, fixation of a performance or a phonogram, in tangible form, through sale or other transfer of ownership, including importing for the purpose of such putting into circulation and public offering for sale and other transfer of ownership;

Moral rights: the author shall have the right —
(a) to claim authorship of the work;
(b) to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or derogatory action in relation to, the said work, which would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation.
(c) The rights referred to above shall, after the death of the author, be maintained until the expiry of the economic rights.
(d) These rights shall be exercisable by the heirs of the deceased author or such institution as may be prescribed.
(e) A moral right shall be unassignable.

An offence is committed amongst others when any person:
o Publishes, distributes or reproduce a work he does not own without the authorisation of the author or the owner of the work,
o Performs a work he does not own for the public for gain or against remuneration,
o Communicates a work he does not own for the public for gain or against remuneration,
o broadcasts a work he does not own for the public for gain or against remuneration,
o makes a derivative work he does not own for gain or against remuneration,
o imports, otherwise than exclusively for his own private and personal use, sells, exposes or offers for sale or hire, or has in his possession in the course of trade, any copy of a work which constitutes an infringement of the copyright of its owner, or would constitute such an infringement if the copy of the work were made in Mauritius
o infringe the rights of the owner of a work without the authorization of the owner,
o intentionally or recklessly deprives the copyright owner or author of his rights, for gain or against remuneration.

3. What are the consequences of an offence:

1. On first conviction, be liable for a fine of not exceeding 300,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years
2. On a second or subsequent conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 500,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 8 years
3. The Court may in addition to other penalties, foreclose or seize any apparatus, article or thing related to committing the offence.

A copyright notice is an identifier placed on copies of the work to inform the world of copyright ownership. It usually consists of the symbol or word “copyright”, the name of the owner, the year of first publication e.g. Copyright © 2018 CAD TUITION MAURITIUS. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright is infringed when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.

5. Licensing

A license is a temporary or limited transfer of certain copyright rights. It can be made on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis, that is the copyright owner can license the work to one person who has the exclusive right to exploit the work or to more than one person at the same time on a non-exclusive basis. As a result, licenses are more economical ways for small businesses to use copyrighted content.
Autodesk sells licenses and subscriptions for its product like AutoCAD, Revit, Maya, etc.
Normally licensing or the granting of permissions to use work is realized under strict conditions recognized as patents, licenses, trademarks.
On the other hand, an Assignment means a permanent transfer of one or all of the copyrights to another party. The purchaser or new owner has total ownership and can choose to resell, lease or license the work.
Creative Commons licenses provide a standard way for owners to grant someone else permission to use their work subject to the terms of the license. https://creativecommons.org/