CHAPTER VII
Performing rights societies
33. (1) Every performing rights society shall, Within the prescribed Performing rights society to file statements of fees, charges and royalties.time and in the prescribed manner, prepare, publish and file with the Registrar of Copyrights, statements of all fees, charges or royalties which is proposes to collect for the grant of licences for performance in public of works in respect of which it has authority to grant such licences.
(2) If any such society fails to prepare,'publish or file with the Registrar of Copyrights the statements referred to in sub-Section (1) in relation to any work in accordance with the provisions of that sub-section, no action or other proceeding to enforce any remedy, civil or criminal, for infringement of the performing rights in that work shall be commenced except with the consent of the Registrar of Copyrights.
34. Any person having any objections to any fees, charges or Objections relating to published statements.royalties or other particulars included in any statement referred to in section 33 may at any time lodge such objections in writing at the Copyright Office.
35. (1) Every objection lodged at the Copyright Office under Determination of objections.section 34 shall, as soon as may be, be referred to the Copyright Board and the Copyright Board shall decide such objection in the manner hereinafter provided.
(2) The Copyright Board shall, in respect of every such objection, give notice thereof to the performing rights society concerned.
(3) The Copyright Board shall, after giving such society and the person who lodged the objection a reasonable opportunity of being heard and after making such further inquiry as may be prescribed, make such alterations in the statements as it may think fit, and shall transmit the alterations made by it to the Registrar of Copyrights, who shall thereupon, as soon as practicable after the receipt of such alterations, publish them in the Official Gazette and furnish the performing rights society concerned and the person who lodged the objection with a copy thereof.
(4) The fees, charges or royalties as altered by the Copyright Board shall be the fees, charges or royalties which the performing rights society concerned may respectively lawfully sue for or collect in respect of the grant by it of licences for the performance in public of works to which such fees, charges or royalties relate.
(5) No performing rights society shall have any right of action or any right to enforce any civil or other remedy for infringement of the performing rights in any work against any person who has tendered or paid to such society the fees, charges or royalties specified in respect of that work in a statement published by that, society under sub-section (1) of section 33 or where such statement has been altered by the Copyright Board under this section in the statement so altered.
(6) Where any person has lodged an objection at the Copyright Office regarding the fees, charges or royalties in respect of any work included in a statement published under section 33, that person or any other person, on depositing such fees, charges or royalties at the Copyright Office, may, pending the final decision of such objection by the Copyright Board or the High Court, as the case may be, perform that work without infringing the copyright therein.
(7) The fees, charges or royalties deposited at the Copyright Office under sub-section (6) shall be paid to the performing rights society concerned or to the person who made the deposit, or partly to such society and partly to such person, in accordance with the final decision on the objection as aforesaid.
36.Existing rights not affected. Nothing, in this Chapter shall be deemed to affect—
- (a) any rights or liabilities in relation to the performing rights in any work accrued or incurred before the commencement of this Act;
- (b) any legal proceedings in respect of such rights or liabilities pending at such commencement.