Strengthening the rights of foreign copyright owners
According to Notification No. 218/2023 of October 18, 2023, Myanmar’s Copyright Law promulgated on May 24, 2019 (referred to as the “ New Law ”) will take effect from October 31, 2023, thus repealing the 1914 Myanmar Copyright Law (referred to as the ” Old Law “).
Similar to copyright laws in many other countries, copyright protection in Myanmar is now granted automatically upon creation of a work. Therefore, registering copyright in Myanmar is not a necessary step, but registration is recommended for law enforcement purposes.
The new law is in line with the international copyright protection system and covers multiple categories, including:
- Written works, including computer software
- drama production
- Art work
- musical work
- audiovisual works, such as film works
- architectural works
- Paintings, applied arts, fine arts
- Photography
- textile design
- Any other work of a literary, scientific or artistic nature
The old law only protected works first published in Myanmar or created by Myanmar citizens or residents. The protection period was the lifetime of the creator and 30 years after the death. In contrast, the new law introduces several key positive changes:
- Myanmar is not a member of the Berne Convention. Therefore, works created abroad must be published in Myanmar within 30 days of creation in order to obtain copyright protection in Myanmar, unless the work is created by a Myanmar citizen.
- The new law covers neighboring rights, including the exclusive rights of performers, producers of sound and video recordings and broadcasting organizations. These rights cover not only communication to the public, but also importation, uploading to the Internet and sale to the public for the purpose of distribution.
- If the existing copyright and neighboring rights under the old law have not expired when the new law comes into effect, the existing copyright and neighboring rights will continue to be protected during the period prescribed by the new law.
- The new law does not affect contracts concluded before its entry into force in respect of copyrighted works, performances, sound recordings and broadcasts.
- The new law introduces the new concept of collective management organizations (CMOs) and provides details on the formation and responsibilities of such organizations. Regulations relating to collective management organizations may be published at the same time as the new law or subsequent to it.
- The new law incorporates the concept of fair use, allowing the use of copyrighted works for personal study, non-commercial research, criticism, comment or reporting purposes.
According to Notice No. 70/2023, the Ministry of Commerce issued the Copyright Rules on October 23, 2023. Registration forms and fees will be announced shortly.
Contents not covered by the Copyright Law:
The scope of protection of copyright or related rights does not extend to ideas, procedures, methods of operation, mathematical concepts, principles, discoveries or data (although specific expressions of these concepts may be protected).
How to protect copyright in Myanmar:
Works are automatically protected, but there is an option to work with a collective management organization. Digital copyright management and registration with the Myanmar Intellectual Property Office is not a necessary step, but registration is recommended for law enforcement purposes. In addition, customs registration is also an effective means to prevent the import of counterfeit goods.
Protection period:
According to the new law, for literary or artistic works, the standard term of copyright protection is the life of the author and 50 years after his death. For other types of works, the protection period is 50 years from the date of creation or publication, except for photography and works of applied art, which is 25 years from the date of creation. The term of protection for neighboring rights is 50 years from the date of completion of the creation, but the term of protection for broadcasts is 20 years from the date of broadcast.
Copyright infringement:
The new law includes measures against infringements such as the unauthorized distribution, dissemination and reproduction of copyrighted works, commercial use of infringing goods and their import into Myanmar. Minimum penalties for such offenses include imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or a fine of at least 1 million kyats (equivalent to US$500), or both. Repeat infringements will be subject to more severe penalties, including a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 10 years in prison, and a fine of up to 10 million kyats (equivalent to US$5,000).
The new Copyright Law also introduces border control measures.
In addition, Myanmar is expected to enact more intellectual property-related laws in the near future. For more information, please contact us ( myanmar@rouse.com ).
For further information, please contact:
Fabrice Mattei,Rouse
fmattei@rouse.com
