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Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000

Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000

 AN ORDINANCE  further to amend the Copyright Ordinance, 1962

 

            WHEREAS it is expedient further to amend the Copyright Ordinance, 1962 (XXXIV of 1962), for the purposes hereinafter appearing;

AND WHEREAS the National Assembly and the Senate stand suspended in pursuance of the Proclamation of the fourteenth day of October, 1999, and the Provisional Constitution Order No.1 of 1999;

AND WHEREAS  the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action;

NOW, THEREFORE, in pursuance of the Proclamation of Emergency of the fourteenth day of October, 1999, and the Provisional Constitution Order No.1 of 1999,  as well as Order No.9 of 1999, and in exercise of all powers enabling him in that behalf, the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is pleased to make and promulgate the following Ordinance:-

 

1.         Short title and commencement.- (1) This Ordinance may be called the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000.

(2)        It shall come into force at once.

 

2.         Amendment of section 2, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.- In the Copyright Ordinance, 1962 (XXXIV of 1962), hereinafter referred to as the said Ordinance, in section 2,-

(a)         For clause (p) the following shall be substituted, namely:-

“(p)     “literary work” includes works on humanity, religion, social and physical sciences, tables, compilations of data or other material in any form and computer programmes, that is to say, programmes recorded on any disc, tape, perforated media or other information storage device, which, if fed into or located in a computer or computer based equipment is capable of reproducing any information;”; and

(b)        After clause (zc), the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:-

“(zcc)   “rental” means  the authorization to use the original or a copy of a computer program or a cinematographic work for a limited period of time for consideration;”.

 

3.         Amendment of section 3, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.-In the said Ordinance, in section 3,-

(a)          In sub-section (1),-

(i)                  In clause (a), after sub-clause (viii), the following new sub-clause shall be added, namely:-

“(ix)    to authorize the rental of computer programmes;”; and

(ii)                In clause (c), after sub-clause (iv), the following new sub-clause shall be inserted, namely:-

“(v)     to authorize the rental of cinematographic works;”; and

(b)        After sub-section (2), the following new sub-section shall be inserted, namely:-

“(3)        Entitlement to copyright in compilation of data or other material shall not extend to data or other material itself and shall be without prejudice to any copyright subsisting in the data or other material, that is to say, the copyright shall subsist  to the extent of compilation only.”.

 

4.         Amendment of section 10, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.- In the said Ordinance, in section 10, sub-section (2 A) shall be omitted.

 

5.         Substitution of title to Chapter IV, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.-In the said Ordinance, in Chapter IV, for the title the following shall be substituted, namely:-

“RIGHTS OF BROADCASTING ORGANIZATIONS, PERFORMERS

            AND PRODUCERS OF PHONOGRAMS (SOUND RECORDING)”.

 

6.         Insertion of new section 24 A, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.- In the said Ordinance, after section 24, the following new section shall be inserted,  namely:-

 

“24A. Rights of performers and producers of phonograms (sound recording).- (1) The performers shall have the right to do or to prevent fixation of their unfixed performance and reproduction of such fixation and broadcasting by wireless means and communication to the public of their live performance.

(2)        The producers of phonograms shall have the right to do or to prohibit the direct or the indirect reproduction of their fixation and any rental thereof.

(3)        The rights specified in sub-sections (1) and (2) shall subsist for a period of fifty years computed from the end of the calendar year in which fixation was made or performance took place.”.

 

7.         Substitution of section 25, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.- In the said Ordinance, for section 25 the following shall be substituted, namely:-

“25.      Application of other provisions of this Ordinance to broadcasting, performers and producers of phonograms.- Any person who, without authorization of the broadcasting organization, performers and producers of phonograms (sound recording) does or causes the doing of any of the acts referred to in section 24 and 24 A shall be deemed to infringe the rights of the broadcasting organization, performers and producers of phonograms (sound recording) and the provisions contained in Chapters XII to XVI shall, within the limits permitted by the nature of the matter, apply to broadcasting organization, performers and producers of phonograms (sound recording) as if they were authors and works, respectively.”.

 

8.         Substitution of section 26, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.- In the said Ordinance, for section 26 the following shall be substituted, namely:-

            “26.Definitions.- (a) “broadcasting” means communication to the public of sound or images or both by means of radio diffusion, including communication by telecast, or wire, or by both, or any other means of communication.

(b)        “Fixation” means the incorporation of sounds or images or both in a device by means of which they can later be made aurally or visually perceivable.

(c)        “Phonogram” means any exclusively aural fixation of sounds of a performance or of other sounds.

(d)        “Producer of phonogram” means a person who, or the legal entity which, fixes the sounds of a performance or other sounds.

(e)        “Rebroadcasting” means the simultaneous broadcasting by

one broadcasting organization of the broadcast of another broadcasting organization.”.

 

9.         Amendment of section 36, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.- In the said Ordinance, in section 36, after sub-section (2), the following new sub-section shall be added, namely:-

“(3)      The Federal Government or the Board may, upon an application by any governmental or statutory institution, in the public interest, grant a license to reprint, translate, adapt or publish any text book on non-profit basis.”.

 

10.       Amendment of section 39, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.- In the said Ordinance, in section 39, in sub-section (2), for the full stop, at the end, a colon shall be substituted and thereafter the following proviso shall be added, namely:-

 

“Provided that in the case of artistic works the Registrar shall not enter the particulars of the work in the Register of Copyrights and shall not issue a certificate of registration to the applicant unless within one month of the filing of the application, or within such extended time as the Registrar may determine, the applicant has advertised the work itself in a  newspaper as may be prescribed, and send two copies thereof to the Registrar and unless within one month thereafter, or within such extended time as the Registrar may determine, not exceeding two months, the Registrar has not received any objections to the registration of particulars of the work in the Register of Copyrights.”.

 

11.       Substitution of section 58, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.- In the said Ordinance, for section 58 the following shall be substituted, namely:-

“58.      Importation and exportation of infringing copies.- (1) The Registrar, on application of owner of copyright or his duly authorized agent and on payment of prescribed fee, may, after making such inquiry as he may deem fit, order that no infringing copies of the work shall be imported into or exported out of Pakistan.

(2)        Subject to such provisions as may be prescribed, the Registrar or any person authorized by him in this behalf may enter any ship, vehicle, dock or premises where any such copies as are referred to in         sub-section (1) may be found and may examine such copies.

(3)        All copies to which any order made under sub-section (1) applies, shall be deemed to be goods of which the bringing into or exporting out of Pakistan is prohibited or restricted under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), and all the provisions of that Act shall have effect accordingly.”.

 

12.       Insertion of new section 60A, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.-In the said Ordinance, after section 60, the following new section 60A shall be inserted, namely:-

“60A. Special remedies for infringement of copyright.- (1) Where  copyright in any work has been infringed and the owner of the copyright is unable to institute immediate regular legal proceedings for sufficient cause, the owner or any other person having any interest in the copyright in the work, may apply to the court for immediate provisional orders to prevent infringement of  the copyright in such work and for preservation of any evidence relating to such infringement notwithstanding that regular proceedings in the form of a suit or other civil proceedings have not yet been instituted by the owner.

(2)        The court may pass any interim orders envisaged in sub-section (1) without prior notice to the defendant, if the court is satisfied that the applicant has some interest in copyright in the work and the right of the applicant is likely to be infringed, affected or prejudiced and any delay in passing such orders is likely to cause irreparable harm to the applicant or where there is a reasonable risk of evidence, either being destroyed, hidden or removed from the jurisdiction of the court or otherwise there is a likelihood of frustration of the intended proceedings if immediate action could not be instituted or there is likelihood of multiplicity of proceedings in the absence of such orders.

(3)        Where the copyright owner or any other person having any interest in the copyright has sought interim orders as provided in sub-sections (1) and (2), such orders shall cease to have effect if a suit for infringement of copyright or other civil proceedings are not initiated within a maximum of thirty days, and where such regular proceedings have been filed by the owner of the copyright, the provisional proceedings in respect of such a work by whosoever filed shall merge into the regular proceedings.

(4)        While exercising powers under sub-sections (1) and (2), the court, in case of import or export of consignment containing infringing copies of works, may direct the customs authorities, in whose custody such consignment is lying for the time being to refuse release of such consignment pending decision of the matter by the court:

Provided that where interim orders are revoked or cease to have effect due to any act or omission of the applicant, the court may award appropriate costs to the defendant for any injury caused.”.

 

13.       Amendment of section 65, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.-  In the said Ordinance, in section 65, for sub-section (1)  the following shall be substituted, namely.-

“(1)      Every suit or other civil proceedings regarding infringement of copyright shall be instituted and tried in the Court of District Judge which shall ordinarily be decided within a period of twelve months.”.

           

14.       Insertion of new Chapter XIIIA and sections 65A, 65B and 65C, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.- In the said Ordinance, after Chapter XIII, the following new chapter and sections 65A, 65B and 65C, shall be inserted, namely:-

      “CHAPTER XIIIA

                        PROHIBITION OF IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION

 65A.   Prohibition.-  No infringing copies of any work, whether themselves or depicted or applied to any article or goods or in any other form, shall be allowed to be imported into or exported out of Pakistan either by sea, air, land or through any other means or channel of communication.

65B.     Jurisdiction of officers of customs.-(1) An officer of customs functioning under the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), may, upon an application by the owner of copyright in the work or any other person having an interest in the copyright in the work, detain any consignment intended to be imported into or exported out of Pakistan which is suspected to contain infringing copies of any work.

(2)        A consignment detained under sub-section (1), shall be examined by an officer of customs in the presence of the parties and upon determination that such consignment contains infringing copies of any work, the same shall be ordered to be confiscated and the importer or exporter thereof, as the case may be, shall be liable to such penalties as provided in this behalf in the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969) :

Provided that all the process of detention and examination of the consignment as provided in this section shall be completed ordinarily within a period of fifteen days of the filing of the application by the aforesaid person:

Provided further that an order passed by any officer of customs under this section shall be deemed to be an order passed under the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), and shall be appealable as such.

65C.    Release of detained consignment.- In case where the consignment intended to be imported into or exported out of Pakistan has been detained by an officer of customs under section 65B and the requirements of the first proviso to that section are not completed, the importer or exporter of such consignment, as the case may be, may apply to the concerned  customs authorities for release of such goods subject to furnishing such security as may be deemed appropriate by the officer of customs.”.

 

15.       Amendment of section 66, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.-In the said Ordinance, in section 66, in clause (a), the word “or”, at the end, shall be omitted and thereafter the following new clauses shall be inserted, namely:-

“(ab)    The rental rights in cinematographic works and computer programmes;

(ac)      The rights of performers or producers of sound recording; or”.

 

16.       Insertion of new section 66E, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.- In the said Ordinance, after section 66D, the following new section shall be inserted, namely:-

 “66E.  Penalty for unauthorized rental of cinematographic works and computer programmes.- Any person who, without authorization of the copyright owner or his licensee rents out the original or copies of the cinematographic works or computer programmes, shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with  fine which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees or with both.”.

 

17.       Amendment  of section 70B, Ordinance XXXIV of 1962.- In the said Ordinance, in  section 70B, after the figure, letter and comma “66D,” the figure and letter “66E” shall be inserted. 

 

 

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