Reproduction of a phonogram can infringe the rights of an owner of copyright where a person does any restricted act in relation to these rights without the licence of the copyright owner. A restricted act can relate to the whole or a substantial part of the work and be either direct or indirect (Section 28 of the Act).
The acts restricted by copyright include the copying of a work, issuing of copies of a work to the public, broadcasting the work or including the work in a cable programme service, and authorizing another person to do any of these acts.
In terms of the right concerning broadcasting or including the work in a cable programme service the following matters should be noted:
-broadcasting is defined in a manner which can include digital transmission (Section 2(1) of the Acts refers); and
-cable programme service includes the sending of visual images, sounds or other information by means of a telecommunication system (which is defined as a system for conveying such images, sounds or other information by electronic means) - Section 2(1) and Section 4(1) of the Act refer.
An unauthorized reproduction of a phonogram made by digital transmission in the context of interactive services will, therefore, constitute infringement.
