Copyright Act

This section says the Act may be cited as the Copyright Act.

This section defines key terms used in the Act, such as adaptation, author, broadcast, copy, reproduction, royalty, and work.

This section says which works and rights fall under the Act, mainly based on Malawian citizenship, residence, first publication, or where the work or broadcast is connected to Malawi.

This provision establishes the Copyright Society of Malawi and gives it corporate powers and capacities.

The Society must implement the Act and carry out listed copyright-related functions.

The Society has power to borrow money, accept and administer trusts or donations, set minimum royalty rates, propose registration fees and levies, and do other acts needed to achieve the Act’s objects.

This section creates the Society’s Board, sets who sits on it, and requires the Minister to publish board appointments in the Gazette.

A Board member’s office becomes vacant if certain disqualifying events occur; the Minister may suspend a member in some criminal proceedings, and a member may resign by written notice to the Minister.

When a Board seat becomes vacant, it is to be filled by an appointment under section 7; if the remaining term is under six months, the Minister may choose not to fill it. During a member’s leave, the Board may co-opt a replacement from the same profession or calling.

The Board may invite any person to attend and take part in Board meeting discussions, but that person may not vote at that meeting.

The Board must elect a Vice-Chairperson from among its members at its first meeting. The Vice-Chairperson’s office becomes vacant if the holder resigns, stops being a Board member, or the Board decides so. If the Chairperson is absent or unable to act, the Vice-Chairperson must perform the Chairperson’s functions.

The Board must meet regularly, with at least four ordinary meetings each year, and special meetings can be called by the Chairperson or within 21 days after a qualifying written request.

Members of the Board are to be paid allowances, and the Minister may तयermine the amount, to cover meeting-related expenses.

The Board must appoint a Copyright Administrator, subject to terms approved by the Minister.

The Copyright Administrator serves a five-year term and may be reappointed. Removal is allowed only on listed grounds, and only after the Administrator has been given a chance to be heard.

The Copyright Administrator has specified powers and functions, must attend Board and committee meetings (or a designated employee must in his absence), may address those meetings, and must not vote.

The Board may appoint other staff, and may delegate appointment power for staff below director level to the Copyright Administrator. The Copyright Administrator may appoint temporary employees, but must consult the Chairperson and report each appointment to the Society at its next meeting.

People with a conflict of interest must disclose it and may not participate in the related discussion or vote.

This section prohibits unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and makes certain misuse of that information an offence punishable by a fine and imprisonment.

Certain Board members and Society personnel must sign an oath of secrecy when appointed or engaged.

The Board may delegate some of its functions, and the Copyright Administrator may delegate assigned powers or functions with the Board’s approval.

The Society’s funds come from fees, penalties, grants, donations, appropriations, and other assets or money that vest in or accrue to it.

The Society must keep proper accounting records, appoint independent auditors every year, send the audited accounts to the Auditor General before final presentation to the Minister, and use the Government’s financial year.

The Society must submit an annual report to the Minister within six months after each financial year, and the Minister must lay it before Parliament within six months after the financial year ends.

An author of a work gets an exclusive property right in that work when it is created.

Some literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic works are not eligible for copyright unless they are original or derivative works.

Certain derivative works are protected by copyright as if they were original works.

Copyright protection does not cover written laws, court and administrative decisions, official translations, news, or certain government commission reports made public.

An author has exclusive copyright rights over eligible works, including reproduction, distribution, display, performance, communication, and transformation, subject to Part IV.

Authors and directors of audio-visual works have rights to be identified, named, and to object to prejudicial alterations of the work.

An author of a graphic work, three-dimensional work, or manuscript has a right to share in sale proceeds, even if the original work was assigned or sold.

Buildings and objects for practical use may be altered for technical or practical reasons without the author’s consent, subject to the Monuments and Relics Act.

Copyright ownership is vested in the author, or jointly in joint authors; for certain anonymous or pseudonymous works, the named publisher may act for the author until the author identifies themselves and proves authorship.

For works made by an employee in the course of employment or for commissioned works, the author's rights in the work vest in the employer or commissioning party, unless the evidence shows otherwise.

Copyright protection lasts for different periods depending on the type of work, and each period runs to the end of the calendar year in which it would otherwise expire.

Some uses of a work are allowed without the author’s consent and without paying remuneration.

Transient and incidental copies are permitted when they are integral to a technological process and only serve network transmission by an intermediary or another lawful use, with no independent economic significance.

A user may reproduce, translate, adapt, arrange, or otherwise transform a work for personal or private use if the work was lawfully made available to the public and the use is not for gain and is done in single copies.

Quotations from a work may be included in another work, including quotations from newspaper articles and periodicals in press summaries, if the source work has already been lawfully made available to the public and the use is compatible with fair practice and limited to what the purpose justifies.

Artistic works may be used for non-commercial critical or scientific presentations, but only as needed for the text, if the work was already lawfully made public and the use follows fair practice.

Using a work by way of illustration is permitted if it is justified for that purpose and the listed conditions are met.

Public performance of a work and public display of copies are permitted in limited educational, religious, or free public-event settings, if the work was already lawfully made available to the public and the stated conditions are met.

Simultaneous, unaltered cable retransmission of a broadcast work is permitted only if the beneficiaries live in the same building or connected group of buildings, the group has no public street or road between buildings, there are no more than 25 households or other closed entities, the retransmission starts in that building or group, and there is no direct or indirect gainful intent.

Reproduction, broadcast, or cable communication of certain current-topic articles and similar works is permitted if the source is clearly indicated and no express prohibition was attached when first made available or broadcast.

Use of a work in reporting on a current event is permitted when the use is justified for an informative purpose.

Certain depictions of artistic works are allowed, but commercial exploitation of pictures or recordings where the artwork is the main subject needs the author’s consent.

Artistic works in a collection, exhibition, or sale may be shown in inventories and exhibition or sale notices; if a public inventory is made available, it must be in printed form.

The Minister may designate certain libraries, archives, museums, scientific institutions, and educational establishments to make copies of works, and designated bodies must follow strict copying and use conditions.

Reproducing certain published works for disabled people is permitted if it is not done commercially and the copies are only provided to the intended disabled recipients.

Press reproduction or public communication of certain public speeches and similar works is permitted only for current information, and the author keeps the exclusive right to make a collection of those works.

A broadcasting organization may record its own broadcasts, but it must destroy all copies within six months unless the author agrees to a longer period; an exceptionally documentary recording may keep one copy in the organization’s official archives.

People with the right to use a computer programme may make necessary copies and related changes, make backup copies, and inspect the programme for its underlying ideas and principles. Some contractual limits on backup and inspection are void. Limited code-copying for interoperability may also be allowed if strict conditions are met.

A work may still be used in an investigation or as evidence in administrative or judicial proceedings.

Copyright rights are generally transferable, but assignments and licences have formal writing requirements, and joint-authorship transfers need joint-author authorization or Society decision-making.

This section requires written authorization for using a work, sets rules for rights transfers and exclusivity, and gives the copyright owner remedies for unfair remuneration or non-use.

An author can end a publishing agreement if the publisher fails to publish or distribute the work within a reasonable time, and the author gets a later right to include the work in collected or selected works after 15 years.

For commissioned work, the user must declare acceptance within 60 days after handover (or the period set by other law), may ask the author to amend or correct the work during that time, and may terminate the contract if the work still does not fit the purpose, but must pay an appropriate fee.

This section lets certain broadcasting and related users use works outside their representation agreements if the agreement and listed conditions are met.

An institution arranging public examinations may copy works already made public, but only under the section’s compulsory licensing conditions.

Section 60 limits when a compulsory translation licence may be applied for and granted, and sets notice and waiting-period requirements.

A compulsory translation licence must follow set limits: it is non-exclusive, only for teaching, scholarship or research, cannot be transferred, cannot be used to export copies, and only allows publication in Malawi. The licensee must also ensure correct translation and required notices, and the licence must provide just compensation to the work’s owner.

A broadcasting organization in Malawi may receive a translation licence for certain broadcast uses, but the translated material cannot be exchanged except within the organization’s departments or divisions and cannot be used commercially.

This section allows eligible Malawi citizens or habitual residents to apply to the Minister for a non-exclusive compulsory licence to reproduce and publish certain works, but only if the stated waiting periods and conditions are met.

A compulsory reproduction licence is limited, non-transferable, Malawi-only, and must include set notices and fair compensation.

The Minister may grant a compulsory reproduction licence for an audio-visual work if someone applies in writing and the section 63 terms are met, but not unless the work was prepared or published solely for systematic instructional activities.

A sound-recording manufacturer may make certain recordings of musical works if the section’s conditions are met, but must give notice, pay royalties, and use an adhesive label before selling copies.

Copyright in expressions of folklore vests in the Government in perpetuity, and the Part applies even if the folklore is not fixed in material form.

Using expressions of folklore for gain or outside their traditional and customary context requires the Minister’s prior written authorization.

Section 69 says section 68 does not apply to certain uses of expressions of folklore, including education, illustration in an original work, creation of an original work inspired by folklore, and some incidental uses.

A user of folklore expressions must acknowledge the source when using them in a printed publication or communication to the public, except for uses covered by section 69(c) and (d).

Authorization to use expressions of folklore may be general or specific, and an application must be made in writing to the Minister.

Protection for folklore must not be read in a way that hinders its normal use or development.

Protection under this Part adds to, and does not reduce, any protection for expressions of folklore given by other written law or treaties Malawi has joined.

Protection under this Part must not affect copyright in a work, or the rights of another category of rights holder.

Performers get exclusive rights over specified uses of their performances, plus rights to equitable remuneration and a 50-year protection period.

Performers have moral rights to be identified and to object to prejudicial changes to their fixed live performances.

A performer, or a duly appointed representative with written authority from the performer, may give a written authorization under section 75.

Producers of sound recordings or audio-visual fixations have exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, communicate, and make their works available, subject to section 83.

Producers of sound recordings or audio-visual fixations must put specified information on labels or containers, and commercial copies must carry a copyright notice.

Performers and sound recording producers are entitled to a single equitable remuneration for certain public uses of published sound recordings and audio-visual fixations.

A broadcasting organization has the exclusive right to authorize or forbid certain uses of its broadcasts, subject to section 83.

This section limits reproduction and public distribution of protected typographical arrangements, with an exception for certain copies sold or assigned with the publisher’s consent.

This section creates exceptions: sections 75, 78, 79, 80, 81 and 82 do not apply to certain uses of performances, sound recordings, audio-visual works, broadcasts, or typographical arrangements if Part IV allows the use and its conditions are met.

Certain works become public domain when protection expires, rights are renounced in writing and publicly, or the work is foreign and not protected in Malawi.

This section makes it unlawful to deal in devices or services that circumvent effective technological protection measures, and it also prohibits circumvention itself except for a narrow interoperability exception.

The copyright owner must let qualifying beneficiaries use protected works despite technological protection measures, and the Society can order or allow circumvention in some cases.

It is unlawful to remove or alter electronic rights management information on protected works, and to distribute, broadcast, communicate, or perform such works when you know or should know that the information was removed or altered without authority.

A person infringes copyright if they, without valid transfer, licence, or authorization, do or cause certain acts involving a protected work.

This section says a person infringes performers’ rights by using protected performances or fixations without valid transfer, licence, or authorization, including broadcasting, reproducing, distributing, importing, or altering them in prohibited ways.

A person must not infringe producers’ rights in protected sound recordings or audio-visual fixations without a valid transfer, licence, or authorization.

Importing certain audio-visual works or sound recordings into Malawi without the producer’s consent, for public gain, is an infringement, unless the same production is not being offered or promoted to the public in Malawi with the producer’s consent.

A person infringes a broadcasting organization’s rights if, without valid transfer, licence, or authorization, they make, copy, rebroadcast, retransmit, communicate, import, or distribute protected broadcasts or fixations.

A person infringes protected typographical arrangements in a published edition if, without valid transfer, licence, or authorization, they reproduce, distribute, offer, or import facsimile copies as described in the section.

The Society must appoint inspectors and issue them certificates of authority. Certain Society members, customs officers, and senior police officers must also perform inspector functions. Appointed inspectors hold office on conditions set by the Society with the Minister’s approval.

An inspector may enter premises, ships, aircraft, or vehicles at any reasonable time if they produce their certificate of authority and identification.

Inspectors may inspect, seize, and detain suspected infringing items and related documents; seized items are retained, and certain obstruction or non-cooperation is an offence.

Inspectors are not personally liable for acts done in good faith while carrying out their employment or functions under this Act.

This section establishes the Copyright Fund and says the Society must administer it.

The Fund must be used for copyright enforcement, creativity and artistic skills, preserving culturally Malawian works, paying proceeds from certain fines, and civic education.

The Fund vests in the Society, and the Minister must approve the Society’s provisions for operating and managing the Fund.

The Fund is financed by levies on specified acts, and the Minister must set an annual fee from the Government budget for certain public-library use.

Manufacturers or importers of digital storage devices must pay a levy, and the Minister of Finance sets the levy by Gazette order after consulting the culture minister.

The seller must pay the levy on qualifying resales of original works of art.

Copy shops and similar commercial copier services must register with the Society, and the registered owner must pay the levy.

Levies under this Part must be paid even if the works and related subject matter are not protected under the Act.

The Minister may make regulations about the rates of levies established under section 101.

The Fund must be used to support copyright activities and production in Malawi, including creative works, professional development, and grants. Eligible persons have an equal right to benefit from the measures and grants, whether or not they belong to the Society or an association.

The Society may inspect certain accounts on a written request, and the information must stay confidential and not be used for other purposes except as needed to enforce levy schemes.

The Minister must keep proper accounting records for the Fund, prepare an annual report within six months after the financial year ends, and lay that report before the National Assembly. The Auditor General must audit the Fund’s accounts.

The Fund must use the same financial year as the Government.

If a company or partnership-type body commits an offence under the Act, its directors, officers, and certain managers may also be treated as committing an offence unless they prove due diligence and lack of knowledge, consent, or connivance.

The Copyright Administrator may issue a written notice for a minor offence, and the person notified must pay any imposed penalty within 30 days.

This section creates copyright-related offences and sets fines and jail terms for infringement and related acts.

Copyright infringement can be sued on by the copyright owner, and the court can make evidence-preservation, asset-freezing, and delivery-or-destruction orders.

If someone is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may order forfeiture of items used in the offence to the Government.

An affidavit meeting the stated conditions can be admitted in proceedings under the Act without further proof.

The Minister may publish a notice in the Gazette to extend this Act to certain protected works, and to works first published by specified international organizations or unpublished works whose publishing rights they own.

This section says the Act applies to certain satellite broadcasts from a foreign country if the signals are received by a satellite from Malawi or the broadcast is commissioned by a Malawi-based broadcasting organization, unless the source country gives comparable protection.

The Minister may make regulations to carry out the Act, including on registration, deposit of works, forms, fees, prescribed matters, and affiliation or membership of associations and the Society.

The Copyright Act is repealed, but existing subsidiary legislation under it can continue if it does not conflict with this Act.

Existing licences and related approvals under the repealed Act stay in force until the Minister sets a Gazette notice date; after that date they lapse and holders must get licences under this Act.