By Steve Munyaradzi Chikengezha, Junior Associate.
In our second instalment we take a look at Copyright an area of Intellectual Property Law disregarded by many but a foundation and backbone for most artists, creatives, small-time entrepreneurs and start-ups. It is essential to appreciate the importance of copyright law so as to extract value out these crucial assets.
WHAT IS A COPYRIGHT?
By definition this is the protection afforded to a work of “authorship” that is in a “tangible” medium of expression. It is the protection of the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. Unlike the other forms of Intellectual Property, Copyrights do not necessarily require registration to be enforceable. From the moment the work is created it is automatically protected so long it is in a fixed, tangible form. Depending on the type of work, there is a different period of protection. In Zimbabwe this duration is stipulated in terms of Section 15 of the Copyright and Neighbouring Act [Chapter 26:05] (the Act).
WHAT IS PROTECTABLE UNDER ZIMBABWE COPYRIGHT LAW?
According to Section 10 of the Act the following qualify as works protected under Copyright law in Zimbabwe:
- Literary works;
- Musical works;
- Artistic works;
- Audio-visual works;
- Sound recordings;
- Broadcasts;
- Programme-carrying signals; and
- Published editions.
The following shall not be eligible for copyright:
a) Ideas, procedures, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, discoveries, facts or figures, even if they are explained, illustrated or embodied in a work;
b) News of the day that are mere items of press information;
c) Speeches of a political nature;
d) Speeches delivered in the course of legal proceedings:
Provided that the author of any speeches referred to in paragraph (c) or (d) shall have the exclusive right to make a collection of them. Over and above these certain public documents are not eligible for copyright protection.
THE BENEFITS
Copyright protection comes with certain benefits to the owner. These include but are not limited to: the exclusive right to distribute, modify, reproduce, publicly perform and display the work. All of these exclusive rights allow start-ups, entrepreneurs, etc. to milk some value out of their work and benefit financially from their work. Over and above that it also allows them to control the use of their work on different platforms and distribution in the different territories.
REGISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT
From the time the work is created and put in tangible form it is already protected. However, over the years different mechanisms have been developed for the registration and/or protection of copyrights. One of the ways is to have the work in tangible form authenticated and/or notarized by an Attorney securing recognized time and date marking the creation of the work. Over and above that like in the United States of America different offices across the globe now allow one to submit their work to be registered for Copyright. When your work is registered it is at times much easier to sue and take to task anyone who infringes your work.
CONCLUSION
Copyright Law though it is looks simple on the eye it means different things to different groups of people. For an author, an artist, an entrepreneur, an athlete and a start-up it carries different meanings and has diverse consequences. Therefore, in building your brand and developing the different forms of art these groups of people are all encouraged to engage IP Attorneys for advice and insight into the associated benefits and possible loopholes that come with what they do.
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