The Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003, which currently governs copyright in Sri Lanka
The basic legal instrument governing copyright law in Sri Lanka is Part II (ss. 5–27) of the Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003 (Sinhala: 2003 අංක 36 දරන බුද්ධිමය දේපල පනත; Tamil: 2003ஆம் ஆண்டின் 36ஆம் இலக்க புலமைச்சொத்து பாதுகாப்பு சட்டம்)[1] replacing Part II (ss. 6–24) of the Code of Intellectual Property Act, No. 52 of 1979.[2]
Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003
Objects of copyright
According to section 6 original intellectual creations in the literary, artistic and scientific domain are protected as works, in particular
books, pamphlets, articles, computer programs and other writings
speeches, lectures, addresses, sermons and other oral works
dramatic, dramatic musical works, pantomimes, choreographic works and other works created for stage productions
stage production of such works and expressions of folklore that are apt for such productions
Foreign works are covered by section 26 subsection (2).
Content and ownership of copyright: economic and moral rights
The owner of copyright has the exclusive right to carry out or to authorize the following acts in relation to the work (economic rights, s. 9):
reproduction of the work
translation of the work
adaptation, arrangement or other transformation of the work
the public distribution of the original and each copy of the work by sale, rental, export or otherwise
rental of the original or a copy of an audiovisual work, a work embodied in a sound recording, a computer program, a data base or a musical work in the form of notation
importation of copies of the work
public display of the original or a copy of the work
public performance of the work
broadcasting of the work and
other communication to the public of the work.
Protected is the entire work as well as a substantial part thereof.[5]
The original owner of these economic rights is the author (exception: works for hire),[6] in the case of an audiovisual work the producer (s. 14).
The owner of a copyright may
grant licence to carry out all or any of the acts relating to the economic rights
assign or transfer the economic rights in whole or in part (s. 16).
Furthermore, the author of a work enjoys the following moral rights (s. 10):
to have his name indicated prominently on the copies and in connection with any public use of this work as far as practicable
the right to use a pseudonym and not have his name indicated
to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of or other derogatory action in relation or his work which would be prejudicial to his honour or reputation.
private reproduction of a published work in a single copy
reproduction in the form of a short quotation
reproduction for teaching purposes
single copies by libraries and archives of published articles, other short works or short extracts of a work as well as single copies for the purpose of preservation
Duration of copyright
The economic and moral rights are protected during the lifetime of the author and for a further period of 70 years from the date of his death (p.m.a.); a work of applied art is protected for 25 years from the date of the making of the work (s. 13).
Related rights
Related rights include the rights of performers (ss. 17, 19), the rights of producers of sound recordings (ss. 18, 19) and the rights of broadcasting organisations (s. 20), each of them having a duration of 50 years (limitations: s. 21).
Copyright infringement
When copyright is infringed, the Court has power and jurisdiction to grant injunctions, to order the impounding and destruction of illegal copies and to award damages (ss. 22, 170).
