Section 37 Copyright Act
Section 37 Copyright Act 2022 is about Action for infringement. It is under Part IV (Copyright Infringements) of the Act.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, infringement of copyright shall be actionable at the instance of the owner, assignee or an exclusive licensee of the copyright in the court exercising jurisdiction in the place where the infringement occurred.
(2) In any action for an infringement of copyright, the plaintiff shall be entitled to reliefs such as damages, injunction, accounts or as is available in any corresponding proceedings in respect of infringement of other proprietary rights.
(3) Where an action for infringement of copyright brought by the copyright owner or an exclusive licensee relates to an infringement in respect of which both have concurrent rights of action, the copyright owner or the exclusive licensee may not, without the leave of court, proceed with the action unless the other is joined as a plaintiff or added as a defendant.
(4) In an action for infringement of copyright, where it is proved or admitted that an infringement was committed, but that at the time of infringement, the defendant was not aware and had no reasonable grounds to suspect that copyright subsisted in the work to which the action relates, the plaintiff shall
not be entitled to any damages against the defendant in respect of the infringement, but shall be entitled to an account of profits in respect of the infringement, whether or not any other relief is granted.
(5) Where in an action under this section, an infringement of copyright is proved or admitted and the court in which the action is brought, is satisfied that effective relief would not otherwise be available to the plaintiff, the court, in assessing damages for the infringement, shall have power to award such
additional damages as the court may consider appropriate in the circumstances and having regard to —
(a) the flagrancy of the infringement ; and
(b) any benefit shown to have accrued to the defendant by reason of the infringement.
(6) In any proceeding for infringement of copyright, no order shall be made, which requires a completed or an uncompleted building to be demolished or prevents the completion of an uncompleted building.
(7) Any disputes arising from the exercise of a right under this Act, may be subject to arbitration and may be resolved by any means agreed to by the parties to the dispute.
(8) In this section, “action” includes a counterclaim and references to the plaintiff or the defendant, shall be construed accordingly.
