Introduction

A Brief

Introduction

Maltese law on copyright is derived from the English Copyright Act 1911, as well as from a number of international conventions, including the Berne Convention 1886, the Universal Copyright Convention 1952 and the Rome Convention 1960.

After its independence, the Maltese Parliament enacted the Copyright Act 1970 (CAP 196), which however was recently substituted by the Copyright Act 2000 (CAP 415). Various EU proposals and legislation have been implemented in this Act.

The most fundamental principle in any discussion on copyright is the idea/expression dichotomy, in that, copyright does not protect ideas but only their expression. Copyright does not create property rights in ideas, as this would hinder intellectual progress. Only the original expression of these ideas may be copyrighted.

This principle, though straightforward in theory, causes difficulty when applied in practice, as it is not always easy to establish the boundary between idea and expression. Ultimately, it is a question of fact and each case must be determined on its own merits.

The Copyright Act 2000 (the Act) makes provision for copyright, neighbouring rights and other “sui generis” rights. This site, however, limits itself to examining the question of copyright. And even here, it only analyses the traditional areas of copyright, namely, literary, musical and artistic works.

Nevertheless, a wide array of works are covered, due to the special definitions contained in the Act itself. For instance, a literary work also includes a computer program and an artistic work includes a work of architecture. Thus, authors as diverse as engravers, novelists, and lecturers may find the information in this site of some use.

Click on Law for an exposition of the law on the subject.

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