Copyright Act of 2001

(1) Section 26 describes the nature of copyright in literary, audio-visual and musical or artistic works. It provides for the exclusive right of copyright holder to control reproduction and distribution of their works to the public;

(2) Section 35 defines and describes what constitutes copyright infringement and imposes criminal liability for distribution or making available to the public protected works without a license;

(3) Section 38 lists the offences and penalties for copyright infringement including the making and distribution of protected works without a license.

(4) Neither the Copyright Act nor other legislation imposes specific penalties on service providers for failing to block or remove infringing content. However, the continued existence of copyright material on a website, can be construed as a continuing violation and thus fall under the ‘distribution’ clause under s. 35 and 38 of the Copyright Act, thus giving rise to liability.