Section 41 — COPYRIGHT ACT 1987

(a)

makes for sale or hire any infringing copy;

(b)

sells, lets for hire or by way of trade, exposes or offers for sale or hire any infringing copy;

(c)

distributes infringing copies;

(d)

has in his possession, custody or control, otherwise than for his private and domestic use, any infringing copy;

(e)

by way of trade, exhibits in public any infringing copy;

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(f)

imports into Malaysia, otherwise than for his private and domestic use, an infringing copy;

(g)

makes or has in his possession any contrivance used or intended to be used for the purposes of making infringing copies;

(h)

circumvents or causes or authorizes the circumvention of any effective technological measures referred to in subsection 36A(1);

(ha) manufactures, imports, sells or lets for hire, offers or exposes for sale or hire, advertises for sale or hire, possesses or distributes any technology or device for the purpose of the circumvention of technological protection measure referred to in subsection 36A(3);

(i)

removes or alters any electronic rights management information referred to in section 36B without authority;

(j)

distributes, imports for distribution or communicates to the public, without authority, works or copies of works in respect of which electronic rights management information has been removed or altered without authority; or

(k)

provides or shares access to an online location of any works or copies of works to any other person without authority, shall, unless he is able to prove that he had acted in good faith and had no reasonable grounds for supposing that copyright or performers’

right would or might thereby be infringed, be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable—

(i)

in the case of an offence under paragraphs (a)

to (f), to *a fine of not less than two thousand ringgit and not more than twenty thousand ringgit for each infringing copy, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both and for



*NOTE—Previously “a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit”–see the Copyright (Amendment)

Act 2003 [Act A1195].

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any subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than four thousand ringgit and not more than forty thousand ringgit for each infringing copy or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or to both;

(ii)

in the case of an offence under paragraphs (g) and (ha), to a fine of not less than four thousand ringgit and not more than forty thousand ringgit for each contrivance in respect of which the offence was committed or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or to both and for any subsequent offence to a fine of not less than eight thousand ringgit and not more than eighty thousand ringgit for each contrivance in respect of which the offence was committed or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years or to both;

(iii)

in the case of an offence under paragraphs (h), (i), (j)

and (k), to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding †five years or to both and for any subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding

††ten years or to both.

(2)

For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(a) to (f), any person who has in his possession, custody or control three or more infringing copies of a work or recording in the same form shall, unless the contrary is proved, be presumed to be in possession of or to import such copies otherwise than for private or domestic use.

(3)

Any person who causes a literary or musical work, sound recording or film to be performed in public shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection unless he is able to prove that he had acted in good faith and had no reasonable grounds for supposing that copyright would or might thereby be infringed.



NOTE—Previously “a fine not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit”–see the Copyright (Amendment)

Act 2003 [Act A1195].

NOTE—Previously “a fine not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit”–see the Copyright (Amendment)

Act 2003 [Act A1195].

NOTE—Previously “a fine not exceeding forty thousand ringgit”–see the Copyright (Amendment)

Act 2003 [Act A1195].

†NOTE—Previously “three years”–see the Copyright (Amendment) Act 2003 [Act A1195].

††NOTE—Previously “five years”–see the Copyright (Amendment) Act 2003 [Act A1195].

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(4)

Where an offence under this section is committed by a body corporate or by a person who is a partner in a firm, every director, chief executive officer, chief operating officer, secretary, manager or other similar officer of the body corporate or every other partner in the firm or was purporting to act in any such capacity or was in any manner or to any extent responsible for the management of the affairs of the body corporate or firm or was assisting in such management, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and may be charged severally or jointly in the same proceedings with the body corporate or firm unless he proves that the offence was committed without his consent or connivance and that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

Compounding of offences