(a)
Copyright can be defined as the exclusive right granted by
law to the author of a work to disclose it as his own creation,
to reproduce it and to distribute or disseminate it to the
public in any manner or by any means and also to authorize
others to use the work in specific ways.
(b) When we
say that a particular person is the owner of a thing, for
example, a wrist watch, we can also say that no one except
him can use it. This is legal position which is called an
exclusive right. However, quite naturally, the owner may authorize
others to use his wrist watch. Using the wrist watch without
authorization may be illegal.
(c) Similarly,
when a person sits down and creates a work, be it literary,
musical or dramatic, the work is also considered to be property
and subject to protection just like the wrist watch we have
referred to in the preceding paragraph, the author of the
work (copyright owner) has the right to use the work in any
reasonable manner he might deem fit and also to prohibit or
authorize others to use the work. This type of property is
sought to be protected by copyright Law.
(d) Under Sections
9 and 11 of the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act NO. 7
of 1999, the copyright owner’s rights are classed into two
categories: Economic rights and Moral rights. Under economic
rights, as the term implies, the copyright owner has a right
to claim a share of the money that is derived, directly or
indirectly, from the public use of his works, Moral rights,
on the other hand, entitle the copyright owner, among other
things, to claim authorship of the work, object to any distortion,
mutilation or other modification of the work.
WHAT IS THE COPYRIGHT SOCIETY OF TANZANIA?
This
is a statutory body set up by the government of Tanzania under
the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Established under S.46
of the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act, No. 7 of 1999,
the Copyright Society of Tanzania is vested with power to
administer the Copyright Act.This in itself is a great improvement
on the old Act which, among other things, did not provide
for an Institution to administer the Act.
FUNCTIONS
OF THE SOCIETY
Under
Section 47 of the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act, No.
7 of 1999 the functions of the society are:-(a) to promote
and protect the interest of authors, performers, transistors,
publishers and in particular to collect and distribute any
royalties or other remuneration accruing to them in respect
of their rights;
(b) to maintain registers of works, productions, and associations
of authors, performers, translators, producers of sound recordings,
broadcasters and publishers;
(c) to publicize the rights of owners and give evidence of
ownership of these where there is a dispute or an infringement;
(d) to print, publish, issue or circulate any information
reports, periodicals, books, pamphlets, leaflets, or any other
material relating to copyright, expressions of folklore and
neighboring rights;
(e) to advise the minister on all matters under the Act.
WHY
HAVE A SOCIETY
As
started earlier, the creator of any work has the right over
his/her work either to authorize or refuse others from using
it. Practically, it is impossible for these copyright or neighboring
rights owners to monitor and exercise their rights individually,
(Neighboring rights are the rights of performers, producers
of sound or video recordings and broadcasters).
As a result,
in most countries Societies have been established as a means
of administering there rights. The Copyright Society of Tanzania
has been set up therefore to help administer collectively
the rights of authors, performers, producers of sound recordings
and broadcasters. The society will act as a link between the
owners of the rights on the one hand and the users of their
works on the other, hence the rights of the society to collect
royalties on behalf of the right owners. To expand on the
functions of the society as indicated above, the Society will
aim a:-
(a) representing
and defending the interests of its members in Tanzania and
abroad;
(b) administering,
on an exclusive basis within Tanzania, such economic rights
of its members as the Society may determine;
(c) collecting
fees from users of the works on behalf of its members and
distributing those fees among those members;
(d) helping
in the preparation of standard forms of contract for the benefit
and use of its members;
(e) fostering
harmony and understanding between right owners and users of
their works as are necessary for the member’s economic rights;
(f) making
reciprocal agreements with foreign societies for the issue
of authorizations in works and for the collection and distribution
of copyright fees deriving from those works.
In all its
activities, the society will aim at making sure that the owners
of the rights receive adequate remuneration from their efforts.
WHY
LINCENCE PUBLIC PREMISES?
(a)
As already stated, the work that an author creates is treated
under Copyright Law as his property, hence, the author as
the copyright owner Is entitled to share of the earnings deriving
from the public use of his work, in this connection playing
of music in public places like bars, night clubs, bottle stores,
rest houses, motels, restaurants e. t. c. is gainful use of
somebody’s property.
(b) This use
of the copyright material i.e. music, which is perhaps one
of the biggest attractions to customers who frequently attend
particular public places, needs to be accompanied by an amount
of money, (royalty) filtering back to the owner of the copyright
in the music.
(c) Individually,
copyright owners are, however, practically unable to go round
collecting royalties in the places where their music is used.
It is for this reason that the society was set up to collect
royalties on their behalf. In this country as well as in other
countries, this is what is called collective administration
of copyright.
(d) Collective
Administration is a system whereby owners of rights authorize
societies to administer their rights. This means the societies
to monitor the use of the works concerned, negotiate with
prospective users, give those licenses against appropriate
fees and collect such fees and distribute them among the owners
of rights.
TARRIFS
AND LICENCES
Under
section 48 of the Act, the society is empowered, among other
things, to determine the fees payable in respect of the public
use of copyright and neighboring right material, in this connection,
the copyright society of Tanzania has set up tariffs applicable
to the various premises which use works protected by copyright.
Among others considerations that have been taken into account
in fixing the tariffs.
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