The Government Of Mauritius Updates Its Laws On Copyright

On 31 July 2014, the Copyright Act 2014 (Copyright Act) came into force in Mauritius to provide better protection to copyright and related rights. The Copyright Act repeals the Copyright Act 1997 (the 1997 Act).

The Copyright Act has a number of objectives:

• Compliance with the WIPO Copyright Treaty This is a treaty that provides additional protection for copyright deemed necessary due to advances in information technology. First, computer programs are protected as literary works. Secondly, the arrangement and selection of material in databases is protected. Thirdly, it provides authors of works with control over their rental and distribution which they may not have under the Berne Convention alone. Fourth, it prohibits circumvention of technological measures for the protection of works as well as the unauthorised modification of rights management information contained in works;