Laws Governing Copyright in Tanzania
Section 9 of the Act grants the following economic rights to owners of copyrighted works: Section 4 of the Act defines related rights as the secondary copyright right to which performers are entitled. Performers are defined by law as singers, musicians and dancers, producers of sound recordings (e.g. cassettes and compact discs) in their recordings, broadcasters in their radio and television programmes. The Berne Convention is an international copyright agreement. The Convention deals with the protection of works. It is also about authors` rights. The Berne Convention gives authors such as authors, musicians, etc. the ability to control how their works are used, by whom and under what conditions. Copyright, as it is, is valued even without registration, but if a person registers their work with the Tanzania Copyright Society (COSOTA), they will be in a good position to be easily recognized as the owner of the work and entitled to the benefits that come with registering the work, such as royalties. Some authors are unaware of their rights and the procedures necessary to enforce them under the law. On the other hand, the public does not seem to be aware of the consequences of piracy provided for by law. The Breakthrough Attorneys research team prepared this article to educate literary and artistic authors and the general public about copyright protection law and procedures in Tanzania.
ABSTRACT This paper is a comparative study of copyright conducted through doctrinal research and partly through key informant interviews to identify the protection regime for writers and artists in Uganda and Kenya in light of EAC policy. The literature covered included court decisions, legal texts, opinions and ideas from library research and electronic sources. Various critical research areas were covered depending on the research objectives. The results show the type of protected creative works for writers and artists in Uganda and Kenya on pages 5 and 22 respectively. Ideas are protected in their written or recorded form, with the claim of rights classified as economic or moral. The results also show different aspects in literary, artistic and scientific works in the 2 countries, which are influenced by orders and legitimate acquisition of knowledge, as well as by different obligations to comply with the expected international obligations when detecting violations. Implementation of the EAC policy was also defined as limited by: (a) inconsistent strategies to achieve high-level technological advances and innovation in detecting non-compliance; (b) the elimination of original Internet distributors; and (c) the availability and accessibility of low-cost educational materials via the Internet. Other results have shown the challenges of copyright management, which must be taken into account, among others; financial mismanagement due to the failure of collecting societies to pay accumulated loyalties to artists and writers; and the inability of right holders to protect their assets through membership, either persistently, ignorance or by signing third-party sponsorship contracts. In summary, the Ugandan and Kenyan copyright regimes share similar aspects of the law, but their administration and adoption are not well harmonized, but the level of illiteracy and ignorance of copyright has a corresponding negative impact on enforcement in both countries. The study`s recommendations included, but were not limited to, reviewing laws to make them enforceable; the integration of music into education; increase the value of music and promote copyright; Engage legal consulting firms and increase reach and awareness. The law defines copyright as the only legal right to print, publish, perform, film or record a literary, artistic or musical work. According to the law, an author is simply defined as a natural person who creates the work.
Authors of original literary and artistic works are protected by law only by virtue of being the authors of such works. Among the literary and artistic works mentioned are: Works that may be protected by copyright include books, pamphlets and other writings, including computer programs; lectures, speeches, sermons and other works of the same kind, dramatic and dramatic works and music; musical works (vocal and instrumental), whether or not accompanied by lyrics, photographic works, including works expressed by photographic processes, etc. Section 4 of the Act defines copyright as the only legal right to print, publish, perform or record a literary, artistic or musical work. This legal right is granted to the author/author or assignee of the work. Any publication, printing or performance of the work without the permission of the author or agent constitutes an infringement generally referred to as piracy. (1) Filing an application for copyright registration. The election of domicile in the prescribed form is always attached to the application for registration of copyright. In general, copyright protection in Tanzania is available for: The author of a copyrighted work is usually a person who created it. The author does not necessarily have to own the copyright.
However, the author who created the work is considered the first owner of the copyright. An exception applies to work performed by an employee in the course of his employment. Copyright confers exclusive property rights on authors of original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works. Examples of literary and artistic works are books, pamphlets, computer programs, music and drawings. Authors of literary and artistic works have the exclusive right to print, publish, perform or record the work. It is important to note that several copyrights can exist on a work. For example, a song may be divided into three (3) separate works protected by copyright, i.e. copyright in the music itself, lyrics and sound recordings.
In short, the registration process begins with the registration of the copyright owner, and then the work must be filed for collective copyright protection and registration. When a work is registered, the letter confirming this registration will be requested. The Copyright Clearance Certificate is requested by the copyright holder (and COSOTA member) upon request and payment of fees. Unlawful reproduction, translation, adaptation, and distribution of copyrighted works without the permission or permission of the author of the work is considered copyright infringement. In Tanzania, the Copyright Act is the Copyright Act [CAP 218 R.E 2002] (hereinafter the “Act”), which came into force on December 31, 1999. Copyright protects authors of literary and artistic works against unauthorized copying and piracy of their works. The problem of piracy was so acute in Tanzania, especially for musical and cinematographic works, which led to the enactment of the Film and Music Products Regulations 2013, which require tax stamps to be affixed to every CD or DVD. The problem of piracy of copyrighted works still exists because of modern technology that facilitates unauthorized copying. It is also important to note that copyright laws are territorial. This means that the protection of copyrighted works in Tanzania is guaranteed subject to the registration of the work in the country. Copyright owners must register their works in other jurisdictions for copyright protection in those jurisdictions.
According to Article 3 of the Law, literary and artistic works can only benefit from copyright protection if the author: ancillary copyright is the ancillary rights of copyright. It is the right of performers. These performers are singers, musicians and dancers. For example, producers of sound recordings, compact discs and radio and television broadcasters are performers eligible for neighbouring rights.