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
For collective works (other than works of applied art) and audio-visual works, the economic and moral rights are protected for 70 years from the date on which the work was either made, first made available to the pub - lic or first published, whichever date is latest. For works published anonymously or under a pseudo - nym, the economic and moral rights are protected for 70 years from the date the work was made, first made available to the public or first published, whichever is the latest. For works of applied art, the economic and moral rights are protected for 35 years from the date of creation. Registration of Copyright Under the Copyright Act, it is not compulsory to reg - ister works with the relevant government authority to gain protection. However, parties may apply to the Ministry to register the works. Registration helps a copyright holder in legal proceedings prove that the work in question is their creation. Copyrights may be registered after an application is submitted via oneGov and the prescribed fee is paid. A non-refundable fee of MVR1,000 is currently pay - able. The registration process is usually completed within seven business days. Changes to the registration process are expected with the introduction of new laws. Please see 9.1 Upcom- ing Legal Reforms . Remedies Right to file an action in court to protect rights A copyright owner has the right to file for legal action in a relevant court of law if the owner’s rights protect - ed under the Copyrights Act have been infringed or if it is reasonably believed the rights will be infringed. In an action of this nature, the copyright owner may request the court make orders to stop the infringe - ment, compensate the copyright owner for losses suf - fered or to be suffered or protect the ownership rights of the copyright owner. In this regard, the court has the power to make:
• orders against the infringing party or any party with the power to do so, to either take or refrain from taking action(s) in order to stop the infringing activ - ity; • other lawful orders under applicable laws and regulations; • orders against the infringing party to compensate the copyright owner for costs incurred in seeking compensation, for the benefit gained by the infring - ing party from the infringement and for direct and indirect loss of income or reputation suffered by the copyright owner; • fines of between MVR10,000 and MVR100,000 as a penalty against the infringing party, depend - ing on the gravity of the action and wilful action or negligence of the infringing party and to award the amount of the fine to be paid to the copyright owner; • orders either to return to the copyright owner or destroy or remove from the business market, all infringing works and copies; or • orders against the alleged party to take or refrain from taking action(s) in order to stop the infringe - ment of a copyright owner’s rights in the future. In the event of infringement of moral rights granted under the Copyrights Act, the author granted with the moral rights or any person lawfully representing the author may claim damages for loss of reputation or income. In addition, unless an exclusive licence agreement states otherwise, exclusive licensees enjoy the same rights afforded to copyright owners under the Copy - rights Act against infringement of rights protected by the Copyrights Act. Criminal responsibility If any action infringing a right granted under the Cop - yrights Act has been considered a criminal offence under the Copyrights Act or the Maldives Penal Code (Law 9/2014), any party has the right to submit the infringing action to the competent investigating authorities for investigation. Upon receiving such a report or becoming aware of such activity, they must thoroughly investigate the matter and take action in line with the applicable law.
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