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Update on Copyright and Related Rights in Myanmar

IN BRIEF

Myanmar’s Copyright Law 2019 was enacted on May 24, 2019 and the Ministry of Commerce issued the Copyright Rules with the Notification No. 70/2023, dated October 23, 2023. The Copyright Law and its associated Rules came into effect on October 31, 2023 as per Notification No. 218/2023, dated October 18, 2023.

The Myanmar Copyright Law 1914 has been repealed and replaced by the new Myanmar Copyright Law 2019. Starting from February 9, 2024, the protection of copyright and related rights can be registered   with the Ministry of Commerce, Intellectual Property Department.

The Intellectual Property Agency issued a Notification No. 1/2024 on February 13, 2024, which outlines the official fees associated with applying for copyright and related rights registration in Myanmar.

NoCategories of ServicesFees

(MMK)

Approximately Fees

(USD)

(1USD is equal to 2100MMK)

1.Application for registration of literary or artistic work (CR-1)100,00047.62
Application for registration of movies (cinematography work)300,000143
2.Application for registration of related rights object (CR-2)100,00047.62
3.Application for amendment or correction of clerical errors and other errors that may be permitted to correct included in the application

(CR- 3)

50,00023.80
4.Application for issuing of certified copy of the registration certificate (CR- 5)50,00023.80
5.Application for amendment or correction of clerical errors and other errors recorded in the register (CR- 6)50,00023.80
6.Application for record of transferring of economic rights (CR- 7)100,00047.62
7.Application for amendment or cancellation on the record of transferring (CR-8)50,00023.80
8.Application for cancellation of registration (CR- 9)100,00047.62
9.Application for change of the representative (CR- 11)20,0009.52
10.Application for time extension (CR- 12)50,00023.80
11.Application for appeal (CR-13)300,000143

The official fee for applications of CR-1, CR-2, CR-7 and CR-8 is only for literary or artistic works or related rights.

The prescribed official fee for filing applications of CR-3, CR-5, CR-6, CR-9, CR-11, CR-12 and CR-13 is charged per application.

The Intellectual Property Agency has announced an official fee of 100,000 MMK for filing applications related to literary or artistic works only. The Intellectual Property Department has also announced that multiple types of literary or artistic works such as music, poetry, cartoons, short stories, articles, photographs and applied arts can be included in per application as follows;

No.Types of workThe number that can be included in per applicationOfficial fee (MMK)Official fee (USD)
AmusicUp to 12 music100,00047.62
BpoemUp to 10 music100,00047.62
Csingle panel cartoonsUp to 10 music100,00047.62
DShort cartoonUp to 5 music100,00047.62
EShort novelsUp to 5 music100,00047.62
FArticlesUp to 5 music100,00047.62
GPhotoUp to 5 music100,00047.62
HApplied artUp to 5 music100,00047.62

KEY TAKEAWAYS

A. Application of Copyrights and Related rights

Authors, copyright owners or related rights owners can file to the Registrar using Form CR-1 for the registration of copyright and Form CR-2 for the registration of related rights.

Applications may be prepared in either Myanmar or English language. Applications can be submitted through E-filing, in person at the Intellectual Property Department (IPD), or by Post.

Copyright may be applied by the author or the owner of copyright through inheritance, transfer by testament, gift or donation, or transfer of ownership under any existing law.

Related rights may be applied for by a performer, producer of phonogram, broadcasting organization, or the owner of related rights through inheritance, transfer by testament, gift or donation, or transfer of ownership under any existing law.

B. Protected Copyright Works

The following literary or artistic works which are original intellectual creations, shall be protected;

  • Books, pamphlets, poems, novels, articles, computer programmes and other writings;

  • Speeches, lectures, addresses, sermons and other oral works;

  • Dramatic works, dramatico-musical works, pantomimes, choreographic works and other literary or artistic works created for stage production;

  • Dongs and musical works, with or without words;

  • Audiovisual works including cinematographic works;

  • Works of architecture;

  • Works of drawing, sketching, painting, carving, sculpture, engraving, mosaic, wood work, pottery, metal ware, terracotta, jewellery, handicrafts, costumes, textiles and ornamentation of ethnic groups;

  • Lithographic works, weaving works, tapestries and other works of fine art;

  • Photographic works;

  • Works of applied art;

  • Textile designs;

  • Illustrations, maps, plans, sketches and three-dimensional works related to geography, topography, architecture or science;

  • Translations, adaptations, arrangements and other alterations or modification of literary or artistic works;

  • Collections of literary or artistic works, including collections of the traditional cultural expressions;

  • Compilations of data whether in machine readable or other form, provided that such collections must constitute intellectual creation by reason of the selection or arrangement of their content but contents of the collection shall not be concerned with the protection.

  • Literary or artistic works shall be protected by the sole fact of their creation irrespective of their mode or form of expression, their content, quality and purpose.

    • C. Unprotected Copyright Works

  • Idea, procedure, method of operation, mathematical concept, principle, discovery or data

  • News of the day or miscellaneous facts having the character of mere items of press information

  • Constitution and legislation

  • Rules, regulations and by-laws, and notifications, orders, directives and procedures issued by the Governmental departments and Governmental organizations

  • Judicial decisions and orders

  • Official translation and collection of those in sub-sections (3) to (5) by the Government.

    • D. Rights of Copyright Owners and Owners of Related Rights

  • Copyright Owner’s Rights

    • Copyright protects authors by granting them a set of exclusive rights over their works. There rights include economic rights and moral rights, in accordance with Berne Convention.

    1.1 Economic rights

    The right owners can derive financial reward from the use of their works by others. The author or copyright owner shall have the right to exercise economic rights directly or by to authorizing others to do so, as follows;

  • Reproduction;

  • Translation, adaptation, arrangement or other alteration or modification;

  • Distribution of the origin or a copy of the work to the public through sale or other transfer of ownership;

  • Rental of the original or a copy of computer programme, an audiovisual work, a cinematographic work, a literary or artistic work embodied in a phonogram, a database or a musical work in the form of notation to the public;

  • Public performance;

  • Broadcasting;

  • Communication to the public by any other means;

  • Collection of literary or artistic works of his creation;

    • 1.2 Moral rights

    The author shall retain the exclusive moral right, even if he is not the owner of economic rights.

  • Right to claim authorship and to have his name indicated as the author on the copies of any public use of his literary or artistic work;

  • Right to use a pseudonym if it was originally described on copies of a literary or artistic work lawfully made available to the public;

  • Right to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to his literary or artistic work which would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation;

  • Rights of Related Rights Owners

    • 2.1 Economic rights

    Related rights protect to performances, original recordings and broadcasts of works. Performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organization have granted the related rights.

    2.1.1 Economic Rights of the Performer

    I. Broadcasting or communication to the public of his unfixed performance, except where the broadcasting or communication to the public is undertaken by any of the following manners;

  • Fixation of the performance with authorization of the performer or carrying out the acts in section 41 without authorization of the performer

  • Broadcasting of the performance by the organization itself that initially broadcasts the performance or by its authorization

    • II. Fixation of his unfixed performance

    III. Direct or indirect reproduction of a fixation of his performance, in any manner or form;

    IV. Distribution to the public of a fixation of his performance, or of its copies except the sale or transfer of ownership of the copy of a fixation of his performance anywhere with authorization of the performer;

    V. Rental to the public of a fixation of his performance, or its copies;

    VI. Making available to the public of his fixed performance, by wire or wireless means or any other communication means in such a way that members of the public may access them from a place or at a time individually chosen by them;

    2.1.2 Economic rights of the Producer of Phonogram

  • Reproduction of a phonogram by any manner or form, directly or indirectly;

  • Importation of copies of a phonogram;

  • Distribution of original or copies of the phonogram to the public except the original or copy of the phonogram which has been sold or transferred in any country with the permission of the producer;

  • Renting the copies of phonogram to the public with the fee;

  • making available to the public of the phonogram, by wire or wireless means, in such a way that members of the public may access it from a place and at a time individually chosen by them;

    • 2.1.3 Economic rights of the Broadcasting Organization

  • Rebroadcasting of the broadcast;

  • Communication of the broadcast to the public;

  • Fixation of its broadcast

  • Reproduction of a fixation of its broadcast

    • 2.2 Moral Rights and The Performer’s Moral Rights

  • The rights to claim to be performer;

  • The right to object to any alteration, modification or destruction of his performances in any way that would be prejudicial to performer’s reputation;

    •  E. Protection term of the Copyright and Related Rights

  • Copyright

    • 1.1 Terms of economic rights

  • The life of the author and 50 years after the year of its death;

  • If literary or artistic work of joint authorship, the life of the last author and 50 years

  • after the year of its death;

  • 50 years after the year of the work has been made available to the public with the consent of the author, or, failing to do such an event, 50 years after the making of such a work in the case of a cinematographic work or an audiovisual work;

  • 50 years after the year of the work has been lawfully made available to the public in the case of a literary or artistic work published anonymously or under a pseudonym provided that where the author’s identity is revealed before the expiration of the said period, the term shall be the same as in clauses (i) and (ii) of this sub-section’

  • 50 years after the year of the work has been created, lawfully made available to the public or firstly published by Governmental department and Governmental organization for which it is the first owner of the copyright, whichever year is later in the case of a literary or artistic work of Governmental department or Governmental organization except the matters unprotected under section 16;

  • 25 years from the making of the work in the case of a work of applied art;

    • 1.2 Terms of moral rights

  • The term for moral rights is the life of the author and for unlimited period form his death;

  • Related rights

    • 2.1 Protection terms of economic rights of performer

  • 50 years following the year in which the performance was fixed in any medium, or in the absence of such fixation, 50 years from the date of the end of the year in which the performance took place;

    • 2.2 Protection terms of economic rights of producer of phonogram

  • 50 years following the year of publication of the phonogram or, if the phonogram has not been published, 50 years following the year of the first fixation;

    • 2.3 Protection terms of economic rights of broadcasting Organization

  • 20 years following the year in which the broadcast took place;

    • 2.4 Terms of moral rights

    Terms of moral rights of the performer

  • The term of protection for the moral rights of the performer shall be during the life of the performer and for an unlimited period after his death;

    • Author: Htar Su May, Senior Associate, ILAW Myanmar Co., Ltd.

     

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