About Copyright Law
TV shows and films, whether broadcast on TV, played from DVDs or viewed from the internet, are intended for personal, private use only. If you wish to show the work in public, you must have a separate licence that specifically authorises the public exhibition of that work.
The rules related to public exhibition are detailed in the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 (“CRRA”).
- According to the CRRA, only the copyright owner holds the exclusive right, among others, “to make available to the public the work” §37(1)(b) which includes "performing, showing or playing" the work in public §40(1)(b) and broadcasting or including the work in a cable programme service. §40(1)(c-d), §40(2).
- Acts that infringe copyright "shall relate to the work as a whole or to any substantial part of the work and to whether the act is undertaken directly or indirectly." §37(3)
- Where a person who provides facilities is notified by the owner of the copyright in the work concerned that those facilities are being used to infringe the copyright in that work and that person fails to remove that infringing material as soon as practicable thereafter that person shall also be liable for the infringement. §40(4)(b)
- The rental or purchase of a work does not carry with it the right to make available for the purpose of “(a) performing, playing or showing in public, broadcasting or inclusion in a cable programme service, (b) exhibition in public, or (c) or on the spot reference use.” §42(3)
- Non-compliance with the CRRA is considered infringement and carries steep and significant penalties for both the exhibitor and anyone that contributes to the infringing conduct. §258(6)
