MALDIVES Law and Practice Contributed by: Hassan Maaz Shareef, Aminath Amathulla, Aishath Shifala, Mohamed Azmee, Nazahath Ahmed, Maaisha Mohamed Musthafa, Aifa Shareef and Noorul Hudha Ahmed, Premier Chambers LLP
Artists The Copyrights Act protects the following artists. • Artists who are citizens. • Non-citizen artists whose: (a) performance was made within the territory of the Maldives; (b) performance has been included in an audio re - cording protected under the Copyrights Act; or (c) performance was not a fixation in an audio recording, but is still a performance included in a broadcast protected under the Copyrights Act. Audio recordings The Copyrights Act protects audio recordings: • produced by citizens; • first produced at a fixed location in the Maldives: and • first published in the Maldives. Broadcasts The Copyrights Act protects: • broadcasts of organisations that have established regional offices in the Maldives; and • broadcasts from transmitters installed in the Mal - dives. In addition, the Copyrights Act will afford the same protection as that afforded to works, artists, produc - ers of audio recordings and broadcasting organisa - tions under international conventions and agreements to which the Maldives is a party. Protection The following types of works are protected under the Copyrights Act. • Original literary works original musical works and original artistic works, particularly: (a) books, pamphlets, articles and other writings; (b) academic, literary and artistic speeches and addresses; (c) drama, musicals, stage performances, cho - reography, steps and other presentations and other works for stage productions;
(d) poems, songs, tunes and other musical prod - ucts; (e) feature films, documentary films, drama, video songs and other video-visual presentations and works; (f) works of art and architecture; (i) illustrations, charts, plans, sketches and 3D works related to geography, topography, archi - tecture or science; and (j) computer programmes (without considering how the programme was written or the format of the programme). • Audio recordings. • Broadcasts made via satellite, the internet and cable. • Derivative works such as translations, adaptations, arrangements and other transformations or modi - fications of works, as well as collections of works, collections of data (databases) in whatever form and collections of expressions of folklore that are original by selection or arrangement. (g) photographic works; (h) works of applied arts; Under the Copyrights Act, works are protected by the sole fact of their creation, irrespective of their mode or form of expression or their content, quality and pur - pose. Protection under the Copyrights Act will only extend to originally created products or works. The following are not protected: • any idea, procedure, system, method of operation, concept, principle, discovery or mere data, even if expressed, described, explained, illustrated or embodied in a work; and • any official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, as well as any official translation of The economic and moral rights over works are gener - ally protected for the life of the author plus 70 years after the death of the author. In the case of co-authorship or joint authorship, the economic and moral rights are protected for the life of the last surviving author plus 70 years after the death of the last surviving author. those documents. Copyright Duration
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