Copyrights And Rights In Performances

Under the Copyright Act, actors, musicians, dancers, poets, etc also have performers’ rights. In St. Kitts and Nevis a performer has the exclusive right to prevent any person from commercializing his or her performance without consent. A person who makes an unauthorized recording of a substantial part or the whole of a performance (other than for private or domestic use) may be guilty of infringing the performer’s rights. Publicly showing or broadcasting a performance without the performer’s consent is also not allowed in the law.  Rights to record a performance may also be granted to another person or entity so their rights should also be observed.

  • Are software and computer applications protectable by copyright?
    Yes, the Act classifies computer programmes as literary works.
  • If I run a business and I want to do a radio ad, is it ok to use a song I took from the internet?
    When using other people’s work, you must get their permission or a license to use it unless it falls into one of the circumstances where the law allows use with permission. The owner of that song you used could end up taking action against you for copyright infringement. Material on the internet is subject to copyright protection.
  • I told a friend an idea I had for a book and she turned around and wrote the book and made lots of money, can I sue her for copyright infringement?
    Unfortunately, you are likely to fail if you sue her. Copyright does not protect ideas, concepts, principles or procedures so there was no infringement for taking your idea. Copyright protects expressions or the tangible products of your ideas so it may have amounted to copyright infringement if you wrote the book and she stole actual sections from your book.
  • If four persons paint a mural, which one is the owner?
    Where more than one person contributes to the creation of work, this is known as joint authorship. They are all co-owners with equal rights unless they agree otherwise.
  • Is work I created for my place of employment mine or theirs?Where a protected work is the made by an employee during the course of his/her employment, the employer is the owner of the work, unless it is otherwise agreed in writing.