[MT] The Maltese Copyright Act

Abstract

The Copyright Act, Chapter 415 of the Laws of Malta, was enacted on 14 August 2000 to make new provisions in respect of copyright, neighbouring rights and certain sui generis intellectual property rights. It also repealed the previously standing enactment on the same subject, the Copyright Act 1967. Chapter 415 of the Laws of Malta was not however the first Act in Malta to regulate copyright. Under British colonial rule, Malta applied the English law on the subject, the Copyright Act of 1911. Following independence in 1964, Malta enacted its first copyright Act, Act No. VI of 1967, in 1967. The 1967 enactment was at the time necessary because the 1911 Act did not cater for such matters as radio and television broadcasting.