The Copyright (Amendment) Act 2022, which impacted five areas, namely: Marrakesh Treaty, voluntary notification, streaming technology, collective management organisation, and enforcement power, came into force in Malaysia on 18 March 2022.
The above-said changes are summarized below:
Accession to the Marrakesh Treaty
New provisions covering the introduction of various copyright infringement exemptions which cater for the making and distribution of an accessible format copy of any work for the exclusive use of a person with print disability have been introduced. This is to prepare Malaysia to join the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled 2013 (‘Marrakesh Treaty’). The Marrakesh Treaty is a WIPO-administered treaty, which permits copyright exceptions and mechanisms to be implemented for the benefits of persons with print disabilities.
Voluntary Notification
Under the newly amended Act, only copyright owners and their assignees shall be allowed to apply for voluntary notification of copyright.
Previously, “authors of the work, the owner of the copyright in the work, an assignee of the copyright, or a person to whom an interest in the copyright has been granted by license” can register their interests in the Register of Copyright.
On the procedural front, the requirement for notarized statement by the Applicant (Statutory Declaration) has been eliminated and changes have been implemented in the official fee structure.
Streaming Technology
In response to the growth of online content streaming, regulations governing streaming technology have been enacted, making it an offence to manufacture, import, sell, distribute, offer to the public, or provide a streaming technology that commits or facilitates copyright infringement in any work.
Collective Management Organization
The term “Collective Management Organization” has been introduced to replace “Licensing Bodies”, although the function remains the same (i.e., to represent and administer the rights copyright owners, such as licensing of copyright work, collecting royalty on license issued and distributing the royalty to the copyright owners}. The key changes in the requirements are:
only companies limited by guarantee are eligible to be declared as a “Collective Management Organization”. A society registered under the Registrar of Societies can no longer be a collective management organization.
a limit of 2 years is set to each declaration of a body corporate as a collective management organization.
the functions of different collective management organizations are no longer permitted to overlap. To put it another way, there cannot be two or more collective management organisations representing the same set of copyright owners, authors, or performers at the same time.
the Controller of Copyright is now empowered to issue ‘guidelines on any matter relating to the declaration and operation of a collective management organization’ which are binding on the collective management organizations.
Enforcement Power
Finally, various changes and additions to the enforcement power under the Act have been introduced, including, the creation of new copyright offences. These offences include:
providing or sharing access to an online location of any works or copies of works to any other person without authority.
concealing the commission of a copyright offence.
failure to comply with the direction of the Assistant Controller.
In line with the above offences, the amendment Act gives power to the Assistant Controller of Copyright to compel disclosure of information. Additionally, the Assistant Controller may authorise the copyright owner or person on behalf of the owner to make test purchases to determine whether there is an infringement or offence committed.
This article is for your general information only. Its content is not a statement of the law and does not constitute advice. For further information, please contact IP SENSE Sdn. Bhd.
