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2009
New Amendment for Copyright Law in Fiji
15 September 2009
The Copyright Act 1999 has recently been amended to make it easier for enforcement agencies to police copyright infringement in the Fiji Islands. The bulk of the Copyright Act came into force on 1st January 1999 under Legal Notice 143 of 1999. The only provision that came into force later was section 30(2)(c) which became effective on 1st July 2000.
Ever since 2000 however, enforcement agencies have had mixed success in dealing with copyright infringement in Fiji. Prosecution for offences under section 121 of the Act in relation to overseas copyrighted work have generally not succeeded due to the difficulty of proving that the accused had no licensing rights in the works.
The new amendment which came into force on 1st September 2009 provides for a new section 121A and section 121B to the Act which allow for certain presumptions to have effect in the prosecution of offences under section 121. The presumptions (which are modelled on presumptions introduced into the corresponding Australian legislation) will allow the prosecution to rely on (a) data contained on the label of the genuine copy of the work, and (b) information contained in a certificate issued in a foreign country, to prove that the licensee in Fiji (if any) is someone other than the accused.
These new ammendments have rattled Fiji's video and music piracy industry with mass closures of pirate outlets reported around the country. The police have stepped up their anti-piracy campaign and raided many suspected piracy outlets around the country. Last week, the local media reported that a bookshop in Labasa was raided for allegedly printing and selling pirated copies of children's text books.
The Fiji Audio Visual Commission had supported the new amendments to the Copyright Act and is confident that these changes will bring about a renewed sense of confidence in Fiji, particularly for producers of film and music who are now assured that their works will be protected in Fiji, by operation of law.
END
Ever since 2000 however, enforcement agencies have had mixed success in dealing with copyright infringement in Fiji. Prosecution for offences under section 121 of the Act in relation to overseas copyrighted work have generally not succeeded due to the difficulty of proving that the accused had no licensing rights in the works.
The new amendment which came into force on 1st September 2009 provides for a new section 121A and section 121B to the Act which allow for certain presumptions to have effect in the prosecution of offences under section 121. The presumptions (which are modelled on presumptions introduced into the corresponding Australian legislation) will allow the prosecution to rely on (a) data contained on the label of the genuine copy of the work, and (b) information contained in a certificate issued in a foreign country, to prove that the licensee in Fiji (if any) is someone other than the accused.
These new ammendments have rattled Fiji's video and music piracy industry with mass closures of pirate outlets reported around the country. The police have stepped up their anti-piracy campaign and raided many suspected piracy outlets around the country. Last week, the local media reported that a bookshop in Labasa was raided for allegedly printing and selling pirated copies of children's text books.
The Fiji Audio Visual Commission had supported the new amendments to the Copyright Act and is confident that these changes will bring about a renewed sense of confidence in Fiji, particularly for producers of film and music who are now assured that their works will be protected in Fiji, by operation of law.
END