Copyright

PART II – COPYRIGHT

Protected Works

5. Requirements for protection.

 (1) Unless otherwise specifically provided in this Act, no copyright shall subsist in any work unless it satisfies the requirements specified in this Part as respects

  (a) the category of work; and
  (b) either
   (i) the qualification of the author, or
   (ii) the country or place of first publication, or in the case of a broadcast or cable programme, the country or place where it is made or from which it is sent as the case may be.

  (2) If the requirements of this Part or of section 146 of this Act are satisfied in respect of a work, any copyright shall not cease to subsist by reason of any subsequent event.

6. Eligible works.

 (1) A copyright is a property right which, subject to the provision of this section, may subsist in any of the following categories of work, that is to say,
  (a) original
   (i) literary,
   (ii) dramatic,
   (iii) musical, or
   (iv) artistic works;
  (b) sound recordings, films’ broadcasts or cable programmes;
  (c) typographical arrangements of published editions; and the copyright may subsist in a work irrespective of its quality or the purpose for which it was created.

 (2) A compilation of data or other material, whether in a machine-readable or other form, is eligible for protection as a literary work, except that

  (a) the compilation shall only be regarded as original if, by reason of the selection or arrangement of its contents, the compilation constitutes the author’s own intellectual creation; and
  (b) the protection does not extend to any data or other material forming part of the compilation and is without prejudice to any copyright subsisting in any such data or other material.

 (3) A literary, dramatic or musical work shall not be eligible for copyright protection unless it is recorded in writing or otherwise, and any reference in this Act to the time at which a work is made is a reference to the time at which it is so recorded.

 (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), it is immaterial whether the work is recorded by or with the permission of the author, and where it is not recorded by the author, nothing in that subsection shall affect the question whether copyright subsists in the record of the work as distinct from the work recorded.

 (5) Copyright shall not subsist in a sound recording or film which is, or to the extent that it is, a copy taken from a previous sound recording or film.

 (6) Copyright shall not subsist in a broadcast which infringes, or to the extent that it infringes, the copyright in another broadcast or in a cable programme. 20 Cap 18.08 Copyright Act Laws of Saint Christopher and Nevis Revision Date: 31 Dec 2002


 (7) A copyright shall not subsist in a cable programme

  (a) if it is included in a cable programme service by reception and immediate re-transmission of a broadcast; or
  (b) if it infringes, or to the extent that it infringes, the copyright in another cable programme or in a broadcast.


 (8) A copyright shall not subsist in the typographical arrangement of a published edition if it, or to the extent that it, reproduces the typographical arrangement of a previous edition.

 (9) A copyright protection shall not extend to an idea, concept, process, principle, procedure, system or discovery or things of a similar nature.

For more information on how to protect your work click here: Copyright Act of St. Kitts and Nevis