WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
8 June 2009 
 (09-2719) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English/ 
 anglais/  inglés 
 
  
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER 
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
TONGA 
  
 The present document reproduces the text
1 of the Copyright Act 2002 (Act 12 of 2002), as 
notified by the Kingdom of Tonga on 21 April 2 009 under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see 
document IP/N/1/TON/1). __________________________________________________________________________________ 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété 
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce  
 
  
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À 
LA PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
 
TONGA 
   Le présent document contient le texte
1 de la Loi de 2002 sur le droit d'auteur (Loi n° 12 
de 2002), notifié par le Royaume des Tonga le 21 avr il 2009 au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir 
le document IP/N/1/TON/1). __________________________________________________________________________________ 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio  
 
 
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA 
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD 
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
 
TONGA 
   En el presente documento se reproduce el texto
1 de la Ley de Derecho de Autor de 2002 
(Ley 12 de 2002), notificada por el Reino de Tonga  el 21 de abril de 2009 de conformidad con el 
párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuer do (véase el documento IP/N/1/TON/1). 
                                                      
1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente. IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
Page 2  
 
  COPYRIGHT ACT 2002 
 
Act 12 of 2002 
 
 
Arrangement of Sections 
Section  
 
1  Short title.......................................................................................................... 4 2  Interpretation.................................................................................................... 4  PART I—COPYRIGHT ............................................................................................ 7 
 
3  Works protected............................................................................................... 7 4  Derivative works.............................................................................................. 8 5  Subject matter not protected .......................................................................... 8 
6  Economic rights ............................................................................................. 8 
7  Moral rights.................................................................................................... 9 8  Private reproduction for pers onal purposes ........................ ...................... ..... 9 
9  Temporary reproduction ................................................................................ 10 10  Quotation ....................................................................................................... 10 11  Reproduction for teaching.......... ............................ ............................ ............ 10 
12  Reprographic reproduction by libraries and archives .................................... 11 
13  Reproduction, broadcasting and ot her communication to the public for 
information purposes. ...................... ............................ ........................ ..........  11 
14  Reproduction and adaptation of co mputer programs..................................... 12 
15  Importation for personal purpo ses ....................... ............................ .............. 12 
16  Display of works............................................................................................ 12 
17  Ephemeral Recording..................................................................................... 12 18  Duration of Copyright.................................................................................... 13 19  Original Ownership of economic rights......................................................... 13 20  Presumption of authorship and of representation the aut hor ............ ............. 14 
21  Assignment and licence of authors’ rights..................................................... 14 
 
 
PART II—PROTECTION OF PERFORMERS, PRODUCERS OF 
PHONOGRAMS AND BROADCASTING  ORGANISATIONS .........................  14 
 22  Acts requiring authorisation of performers .................................................... 14 
23  Acts requiring authorisation of  producers of phonograms ............................. 15 
24  Equitable remuneration for use of phonograms ............................................. 16 25  Acts requiring authorisation of br oadcasting organisations ........................... 16 
26  Limitations on protection ............................................................................... 16 
  IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
 Page 3 
 
 
  PART III—ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS ......................................................... 17 
 
27  Conservatory and provisional measures....................... ...................... ............ 17 
28  Civil remedies ................................................................................................ 17 29  Criminal sanction ........................................................................................... 18 30  Measures, remedies and sanctions against abuses in respect of technical  
means of protection and rights mana gement information.............................. 18 
 
PART IV—MISCELLANEOUS ............................................................................. 19 
 
31  Scope of application of protection of literary and artistic works ................... 19 
32  Scope of application of protec tion of performers, phonogram producers 
and broadcasting organisations ...................................................................... 19 
33  Application of international treaties ............................................................... 20 34  Regulations..................................................................................................... 20 35  Repeal and saving........................................................................................... 20 
 IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
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  COPYRIGHT ACT 2002 
 
Act 12 of 2002 
 
AN ACT TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE PROVISIONS WITH 
RESPECT TO COPYRIGHT 
 
I assent, 
TAUFA'AHAU TUPOU IV, 
4th March, 2004 
 
[30th of July 2002 ] 
  
BE IT ENACTED by the King and Legislative Assembly of Tonga in the Legislature of the 
Kingdom as follows:— 
 
1  Short title  
(1) This Act may be cited as the Copyright Act 2002. 
 
(2) This Act shall come into force on a da y proclaimed by His Majesty in Council. 
 
2  Interpretation  
In this Act unless the contrary intention appears— 
 
“audiovisual work ” means a work that consists of a series of related images which 
impart the impression of motion, with or without accompanying sounds, susceptible of being made visible and, where accomp anied by sounds, susceptible of being made 
audible;   “author ” means a natural person who has created the work; 
 
“broadcasting ” means the communication of a work, a performance or a phonogram 
to the public by wireless transmissi on, including transmission by satellite; 
 “collective work ” means a work created by two or more natural persons at the 
initiative and under the direction of a na tural person or legal entity, with the 
understanding that it will be disclosed by th e latter person or entity under his or its 
own name and that the identity of the contributing natural persons will not be 
indicated;  
“communication to the public ” means, the transmission by wire or without wire of 
the images or sounds, or both, of a work, a performance, a phonogram or a broadcast in such a way that the images or sounds can be perceived by persons outside the normal circle of a family and its closest social acquaintances at a place or places so distant from the place where the transm ission originates that, without the 
transmission, the images or sounds would not  be perceivable and, further irrespective 
of whether the persons can receive the images or sounds at the same place and time, 
or at different places and times individually chosen by them;  IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
 Page 5 
 
 
  “computer ” means an electronic or similar de vice having information processing 
capabilities;   “computer program ” means a set of instructions e xpressed in words, codes, schemes 
or in any other form, which is capable, wh en incorporated in a medium that the 
computer can read, of causing a computer to perform or achieve a particular task or 
result;  “Court ” means the Supreme Court of Tonga;  
 
“economic rights ” means the rights mentioned in section 6;  
 “expression of folklore ” means a group-oriented and tradition-based creation of 
groups or individuals reflecting the expectation of the community as an adequate expression of its cultural and social identit y, its standards and values as transmitted 
orally, by imitation or by other means, including; 
 
(a)  folktales, folk poetry and folk riddles;  
 
(b)  folk songs and instrumental folk music;  
 
(c)  folk dances and folk plays; 
 
(d)  productions of folk arts in pa rticular, drawings, paintings, carvings, 
sculptures, pottery, terra-cotta, mosai c, woodwork, meta l ware, jewellery, 
handicrafts, costumes, and indigenous textiles;  
 
“fixation ” means the embodiment of sounds, images or both or of the representations 
thereof, from which they can be perceive d, reproduced or communicated through a 
device; 
 
“moral rights ” means the rights mentioned in section 7;  
 
“owner of copyright ” means:  
 
(a)  where the economic rights are v ested in the author, the author; 
 
(b)  where the economic rights are originally  vested in a natural person other than 
the author or in a legal entity, that person or entity;  
 
(c)  where the ownership of the economic rights has been transferred to a natural 
person or legal entity, that person or entity;  
 
“performers ” means any person who performs literary and artistic works or 
expressions of folklore;  
“phonogram ” means the fixation of the sounds of  a performance or of other sounds, 
or of a representation of sounds, other than in  the form of a fixation incorporated in a 
cinematographic or other audiovisual work;  
 
“photographic work ” means a recording of light or other radiation on any medium 
on which an image is produced or fro m which an image may be produced, 
irrespective of the technique (chemical, el ectronic or other) by which such recording 
is made but does not include a still pict ure extracted from an audiovisual work; IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
Page 6  
 
  “producer ” of an audiovisual work or a phonogr am means the natural person or legal 
entity that undertakes the initiative and responsibility for the making of the audiovisual work or phonogram;   “public display ” means showing of the original or a copy of the work: 
 
(a)  directly; 
 
(b)  by means of a film, slide, television image or otherwise on screen; 
 
(c)  by means of any other device or process; or 
 
(d)  in the case of an audiovisual work, the showing of individual images non-
sequentially at a place or places where persons outside the normal circle of a family and its closest social acquaintances are or can be present, irrespective 
of whether they are or can be present at the same place and time or at 
different places and times, and where the work can be displayed without communication to the public; 
 
“public lending ” means the transfer of the possession of the original or a copy of a 
work or a phonogram for a limited period of time for non-profitmaking purposes, by 
an institution, the services of which are available to the public, such as a public 
library or archive;  “public performance ” means:  
 
(a) in the case of a work other than an audiovisual work, performing of the work, 
either directly or by means of any device or process; 
 
(b)  in the case of an audiovisual work , the showing of images in sequence and 
the making of accompanying  sounds audible; and 
 
(c)  in the case of a phonogram, making the recording sounds audible, in each 
case at a place or at places where persons outside the normal circle of the family and its closest acquaintances are or can be present, irrespective of whether they are or can be present at the same place and time, or at different places and times, and where the performance can be perceived without the 
need for communication to the public; 
 
“published ” refers to a work or a phonogram, tangible copies of which have been 
made available to the public in a reasonabl e quantity for sale, rental, public lending or 
for other transfer of the ownership or th e possession of the copies, provided that, in 
the case of a work, the making available to the public took place with the consent of 
the author or other owner of copyright and, in the case of a phonogram, with the 
consent of the producer of the phonogram or his successor in title; 
 
“rental ” means the transfer of the possession of th e original or a copy of a work or 
phonogram for a limited period of time for profit-making purposes; 
 
“reproduction ” means the making of one or more copies of a work or phonogram in 
any manner or form, including any permanent or temporary storage of the work or phonogram in electronic form; 
  IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
 Page 7 
 
 
  “reprography ” means the making of a facsimile copy of the original or a copy of the 
work, including photocopying;  “rights management information ” means any information which identifies the 
author, the work, the performer, the performa nce of the performer, the producer of the 
phonogram, the phonogram, the broadcaster, th e broadcast, the owner of any right 
under this Act, or information about the te rms and conditions of use of the work, the 
performance, the phonogram or the broad cast, and any numbers or codes that 
represent such information, when any of th ese items of information is attached to a 
copy of a work, a fixed performance, a phonogram or fixed broadcast, or appears in 
connection with the broadcasting, communica tion to the public or making available to 
the public of a work, a fixed performance, a phonogram or a broadcast;  “work ” means any literary or artistic work under sections 3(1) and 4(1); 
 
“work of applied art ” means artistic creation with utilitarian functions or 
incorporated in a useful article, whether ma de by hand or produced on an industrial 
scale; 
 
“work of joint authorship ” means a work to the creation of which two or more 
authors have contributed, provided the wo rk does not qualify as a “collective work”. 
 
 
PART I—COPYRIGHT 
 
3  Works protected 
 
(1)  Literary and artistic works are orig inal intellectual creations including— 
 
(a)  books, pamphlets, articles, computer programs and other writings; 
 
(b)  speeches, lectures, addresses, sermons and other oral works;  
 
(c)  dramatic, dramatico-musical works,  pantomimes, choreographic works and 
other works created for stage productions;  
 
(d)  musical works, with or without accompanying words; 
 
(e)  audiovisual works; 
 
(f)  works of architecture; 
 
(g)  works of drawing, painting, sculpture, engraving, lithography, tapestry and 
other works of fine art; 
 
(h)  photographic works; 
 
(i)  works of applied art;  (j)  illustrations, maps, plans, sketches and three-dimensional works relative to 
geography, topography, architecture or science. 
 IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
Page 8  
 
  (2)  Works shall be protected by the sole f act of their creation and irrespective of their 
mode or form of expression, or of their content, quality and purpose. 
 
4  Derivative works 
 
(1)  The following shall also  be protected as works— 
 
(a) translations, adaptations, arrangeme nts, and other transformations or 
modifications of works; and 
 
(b)  collections of works, collections  of mere data (databases), whether in 
machine readable or other form, and collections of expressions of folklore, provided that such collections are orig inal by reason of the selection or 
arrangement of their contents. 
 
(2)  The protection of any work referred to in subsection (1) shall be without prejudice to 
any protection of a pre-existing work or e xpression of folklore incorporated in or 
utilised for the making of such a work.  
 
5  Subject matter not protected  
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 3 an d 4, no protection under this Act shall extend 
to—  
(a)  any idea, procedure, system, method of operation, concept, principle, 
discovery or mere data, even if expresse d, described, explained, illustrated or 
embodied in a work; 
 
(b)  any official text of a legislative, ad ministrative or legal nature, or any official 
translation thereof. 
 
6  Economic rights 
 
(1) Subject to the provisions of sections 9 to 17, the author or other owner of copyright 
shall have the exclusive right to carry out or to authorise the following acts in relation 
to the work— 
 
(a) reproduction of the work; 
 
(b)  translation of the work; 
 
(c)  adaptation, arrangement or other transformation of the work; 
 
(d)  the distribution to the public by sale, rental, public lending or otherwise of the 
original or a copy of the work that ha s not already been subject to a sale or 
other transfer of ownership authorised by the owner of copyright;  
 
(e)  rental or public lending of the original or a copy of an audiovisual work, a 
work embodied in a phonogram, a com puter program, a database or a musical 
work in the form of notation, irrespective of the ownership of the original or copy concerned; 
 
(f) importation of copies of the work;  IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
 Page 9 
 
 
  (g)  public display of the original or a copy of the work; 
 (h)  public performance of the work;  (i)  broadcasting of the work; 
 
(j) other communication to the public of the work.  
(2)  The rights of rental and lending under s ubsection (1)(e) do not apply to rental or 
lending of computer programs where the program itself is not the essential object of 
the rental or lending. 
 
7  Moral rights  
(1) Independently of his economic rights, and even where he is no longer the owner of 
the said rights, the author of a work shall have the right—  
 
(a)  to have his name indicated prominen tly on the copies and in connection with 
any public use of his work, as far as practicable;  
 
(b)  not to have his name indicated on the copies and in connection with any 
public use of his work, and the right to use a pseudonym;  
 
(c)  to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other 
derogatory action in relation to, his work which would be prejudicial to his honour or reputation. 
 
(2) None of the rights mentioned in subsecti on (1) shall be transmissible during the life 
of the author, but the right to exercise an y of those rights shall be transmissible by 
testamentary disposition or by operation of law following the death of the author. 
 (3)  The author may waive any of the moral rights mentioned in subsection (1), provided 
that such a waiver is in writing and clearly specifies the right or rights waived and the 
circumstances in which the waiver applies and provided further, that any waiver of 
the right under subsection (1)(c) specifies the nature and extent of the modification or 
other action in respect of which the right is waived. Following the death of the author, the natural person or legal entity upon whom or which the moral rights have devolved 
shall have the right to waive the said rights. 
 
8  Private reproduction for personal purposes 
 
(1)  Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6(1)(a), and subject to the provisions of 
subsection (2), the private reproduction of a published work in a single copy shall be 
permitted without the authorisation of the author or owner of copyright, where the 
reproduction is made by a person excl usively for his own personal purposes. 
 (2)  The permission under subsection (1 ) shall not extend to reproduction— 
 
(a)  of a work of architecture in the form of building or other construction; 
 
(b)  in the form of reprography of the whole or a substantial part of a book or of a 
musical work in the form of notation; 
 IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
Page 10  
 
  (c)  of the whole or a substantial part of a database in digital form;  
 
(d)  of a computer program, except as provided in section 14; or  
 
(e)  of any work in cases where reproduction would conflict with a normal 
exploitation of the work or woul d otherwise unreasonably prejudice the 
legitimate interests of the author or other owner of the copyright. 
 
9  Temporary reproduction 
 
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6(1)(a ), the temporary reproduction of a work shall 
be permitted if all the following conditions are met—   (a)  the reproduction is made in the process of a digital transmission of the work or an act 
of making a digitally stored work perceptible; 
 
(b) it is caused by a person or entity that, by way of authorisation by the owner of 
copyright or by operation of law, is entitled to make that digital transmission or making a digitally stored work perceptible; and 
 (c) it is ancillary to that digital transmission or the making perceptible of digitally stored 
work, that occurs during the normal operati on of the equipment used and entails the 
automatic deletion of the copy without en abling the retrieval of the work for any 
other purpose than those, referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b). 
 
10  Quotation 
 
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6(1)(a),  the reproduction, in the form of quotation, 
of a short part of a published work shall be pe rmitted without authorisation of the author or 
other owner of copyright, provided that the repr oduction is compatible with fair practice and 
does not exceed the extent justified by the pur pose. The quotation shall be accompanied by an 
indication of source and the name of the author , if his name appears in the work from which 
the quotation is taken. 
 
11  Reproduction for teaching  
(1)  Notwithstanding the provisions of se ction 6(1)(a), the following acts shall be 
permitted without authorisation of the author, or other owner of copyright— 
 
(a) the reproduction of a short part of  a published work for teaching purposes by 
way of illustration, in writings or soun d or visual recordings, provided that 
such reproduction is compatible with  fair practice and does not exceed the 
extent justified by the purpose; 
 
(b)  the reprographic reproduction, fo r face-to-face teaching in educational 
institutions the activities of which do not serve direct or indirect commercial 
gain, of published articles, other short wo rks or short extracts of works, to the 
extent justified by the purpose, provided that— 
 
(i)  the act of reproduction is an isolated one occurring, if repeated, on 
separate and unrelated occasions; and  
  IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
 Page 11 
 
 
  (ii)  there is no collective licence ava ilable (that is, offered by a collective 
administration organisation of which the educational institution is or 
should be aware) under which su ch reproduction can be made. 
 
(2) The source of the work reproduced and the name of the author shall be indicated as 
far as practicable on all copies made under paragraph (1). 
 
12  Reprographic reproduction by libraries and archives 
 
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6(1)(a ), any library or archive whose activities do 
not serve direct or indirect commercial gain ma y, without the authorisation of the author or 
other owner of copyright, make a single copy  of the work by reprographic reproduction— 
 
(a)  where the work reproduced is a pub lished article, other short work or short 
extract of a work, and where the purpose of the reproduction is to satisfy the request of a natural person, provided that— 
 
(i)  the library or archive is satisfied that the copy will be used solely for 
the purposes of study, scholarship or private research; 
 
(ii)  the act of reproduction is an isolated case occurring, if repeated, on 
separate and unrelated occasions; and  
 
(iii) there is no collection licence available (that is, offered by a collective 
administration organisation of which the library or archive is or 
should be aware) under which such copies can be made; or 
 
(b)  where the copy is made in order to  preserve and, if necessary, replace a copy 
or to replace a copy which has been lo st, destroyed or rendered unusable in 
the permanent collection of another simila r library or archive provided that it 
is impossible to obtain such a copy under reasonable conditions and provided further that the act or reprographic repr oduction is an isolated case occurring, 
if repeated, on separate and unrelated occasions. 
 
13  Reproduction, broadcasting and other communication to the public for information 
purposes 
 
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6(1)(a), (i) and (j), the following acts shall be 
permitted in respect of a work without the authorisation of the author or other owner of copyright, subject to the obliga tion to indicate the source and the name of the author as far as 
practicable— 
 
(a) the reproduction in a newspaper or pe riodical or the broadcasting or other 
communication to the public, of an article published in a newspaper or periodical on current economic, political or religious topics or a broadcast work of the same character, provided that this permission shall not apply 
where the right to authorise re production, broadcasting or other 
communication to the public is expressly reserved on the copies by the author 
or other owner of copyright, or is  acknowledged in connection with 
broadcasting or other communication to the public of the work; 
 
(b) for the purpose of reporting current events, the reproduction and the 
broadcasting or other communication to the public of short excerpts of a work seen or heard in the course of such events, to the extent justified by the 
purpose; IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
Page 12  
 
   
(c)  the reproduction in a newspaper or  periodical, the broadcasting or other 
communication to the public of a political  speech, a lecture, address, sermon 
or other work of a similar nature de livered in public, or a speech delivered 
during legal proceedings, to the extent justified by the purpose of providing 
current information. 
 
14  Reproduction and adaptation of computer programs 
 
(1) Notwithstanding section 6(1)(a) and (c), the reproduction, in a single copy, or the 
adaptation of a computer program by the lawful owner of a copy of that computer 
program shall be permitted without the author isation of the author or other owner of 
copyright, provided that the copy or adaptation is necessary— 
 
(a) for use of the computer program for the purpose and extent for which the 
computer program has been obtained; 
 (b) for archival purposes and for the repl acement of the lawfully owned copy of 
the computer program where the said copy is lost, destroyed or rendered unusable. 
 
(2)  No copy or adaptation of a computer program shall be used for any purpose other 
than those specified in s ubsection (1) and any such copy or adaptation shall be 
destroyed when continued possession of the copy of the computer program ceases to be lawful. 
 
15  Importation for personal purposes  
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6(1)(f),  the importation of a copy of a work by a 
person for his own purposes shall be permitted without the authori sation of the author or other 
owner of copyright.  
 
16  Display of works 
 
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6(1)(g), the public display of originals or copies of 
works shall be permitted without the authorisati on of the author, provided that the display is 
made other than by means of a film, slide, television image or otherwise on screen or by 
means of any other electronic device or process, and provided further that the work has been 
published or the original or the copy displaye d has been sold, given away or otherwise 
transferred to another person by the author or his successor in title. 
 
17  Ephemeral Recording 
 
Notwithstanding the provisions of section (6)(1 )(a), any broadcasting organisation may make, 
for the purpose of its own broadcasts and by means of its own facilities, an ephemeral recording of any work which it is authorised to  broadcast. All copies of it shall be destroyed 
within six months of the making or within any longer term agreed to by the author; however, 
where such recording has an exceptional docum entary character, one copy of it may be 
preserved in official archives. 
  IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
 Page 13 
 
 
  18  Duration of Copyright 
 
(1)  Subject to the provisions of subsections  (2) to (5), the economic and moral rights 
shall be protected during the life of the author and for fifty years after his death. 
 
(2)  In the case of a work of joint author ship, the economic and moral rights shall be 
protected during the life of the last surviving author and for fifty years after his death. 
 
(3)  In the case of a collective wo rk, other than a work of applied art, and in the case of an 
audiovisual work, the economic and moral ri ghts shall be protected for fifty years 
from the date on which the work was either made, first made available to the public, 
or first published, whichever date is the latest. 
 
(4)  In the case of a work published anonymously or under a pseudonym, the economic 
and moral rights shall be protected for fifty years from the date on which the work 
was either made, first made available to the public or first published, whichever date 
is the latest, provided that where the author’s identity is revealed or is no longer in 
doubt before the expiration of the said peri od, the provisions of subsection (1) or 
subsection (2) shall apply, as the case may be. 
 
(5)  In the case of a work of  applied art, the economic and moral rights shall be protected 
for twenty five years the making of the work. 
 
(6)  Every period provided for under the precedi ng subsections shall run to the end of the 
calendar year in which it would otherwise expire. 
 19  Original Ownership of economic rights 
 
(1)  Subject to the provisions of subsections (2) to (5), the original owner of economic 
rights is the author who has created the work.  
 
(2)  In respect of a work of joint authorship, the co-authors shall be the original owners of 
the economic rights. If, however, a work of joint authorship consists of parts that can 
be used separately and the author of each part can be identified, the author of each 
part shall be the original owner of the econom ic rights in the part that he has created. 
 
(3)  In respect of a collective work, the natu ral person or legal entity at the initiative and 
under the direction of whom or which the work  has been created sh all be the original 
owner of the economic rights. 
 
(4)  In respect of a work created by an author, employed by a natural person or legal 
entity, in the course of his employment, the original owner of the economic rights shall be the employer unless provided otherwise in a contract. 
 
(5)  In respect of an audiovisual work, the original owner of the economic rights shall be 
the producer, unless provided otherwise in a contract. The co-authors of the 
audiovisual work and the author of the pr e-existing works included in or adapted for 
the making of the audiovisual work shall maintain their economic rights in their 
contributions or pre-existing works can be subject to acts covered by their economic 
rights separately from the audiovisual work. 
 IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
Page 14  
 
  20  Presumption of authorship and of representation of the author 
 
(1) The person whose name is indicated as the author on a work in the usual manner 
shall, in the absence of proof to the contra ry, be presumed to be the author of the 
work. This provision shall be applicable ev en if the name is a pseudonym, where the 
pseudonym leaves no doubt as to the identity of the author. 
 
(2) In the case of an anonymous or pseudon ymous work, subject to the provision of 
subsection (1), the publisher whose name app ears on the work shall, in the absence of 
proof to the contrary, be presumed to represent the author and, in this capacity, shall 
be entitled to exercise and enforce the mora l and economic rights of the author. This 
presumption shall cease to apply when the author reveals his identity.  
 
21  Assignment and licence of authors’ rights 
 
(1) Economic rights shall be assignable in whole or in part. 
 
(2) Any assignment of an economic right, and any licence to do an act subject to 
authorisation by the author or other owner of copyright, shall be in writing signed by 
the assignor and the assignee, or by the licensor and the licensee. 
 
(3)  An assignment in whole or in part of any economic right, or a licence to do an act 
subject to authorisation by the author or other owner of copyright, shall not include or be deemed to include the assignment or licence of any other rights not explicitly 
referred to therein. 
 
 
PART II—PROTECTION OF PERFORMERS, PRODUCERS 
OF PHONOGRAMS AN D BROADCASTING 
ORGANISATIONS 
 
22  Acts requiring authorisation of performers 
 
(1)  Subject to the provisions of section 26 a performer shall have the exclusive right to 
carry out or to authorise any of the following acts— 
 
(a) the broadcasting or other communication to the public of his performance, 
except where the broadcasting or the other communication— 
 
(i)  is made from a fixation of the performance, other than a fixation 
made under the terms of section 26 or otherwise made without the 
authorisation of the performer; or 
 
(ii)  is a re-broadcasting made or au thorised by the organisation initially 
broadcasting the performance; 
 
(b)  the fixation of his unfixed performance; 
 
(c)  the direct or indirect reproduction of a fixation of his performance in any 
manner or form;  
  IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
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  (d)  the distribution to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership of a 
fixation of his performance, or copies thereof, that has not already been 
subject to a distribution authorised by the performer; 
 
(e)  rental to the public or public lending of a fixation of his performance, or 
copies thereof, irrespective of the owne rship of the copy rented or lent; 
 
(f)  the making available to the public of his fixed performance, by wire or 
wireless, in such a way that members of the public may access them from a place or at a time individually chosen by them. 
 
(2)  Once the performer has authorised the incorporation of his performance in an 
audiovisual fixation, the provisions of subsection (1) shall have no further application. 
 
(3)  Independently of the performer’s economic  rights, also after the transfer of those 
rights, the performer shall, as regards hi s live aural performances and performances 
fixed in phonograms, have the right to clai m to be identified as the performer of his 
performances, except where omission is dict ated by the manner of the use of the 
performance, and to object to any distorti on, mutilation or other modification of his 
performances that he considers prejudicial to his reputation. The provisions of 
subsections (2) and (3) of section 7 apply mutatis mutandis to the rights granted under 
this subsection. 
 
(4)  Nothing in this section shall be construe d to deprive performers of the right to agree 
by contracts on terms and conditions more favourable for them in respect of their 
performances. 
 
(5)  The right under this section shall be prot ected until the end of the fiftieth calendar 
year following the year in which the performance was fixed in a phonogram, or in the absence of such a fixation, from the end of  the year in which the performance took 
place. 
 
23  Acts requiring authorisation of producers of phonograms 
 
(1)  Subject to the provisions of section 26 a producer of a phonogram shall have the 
exclusive right to carry out or to authorise any of the following acts— 
 
(a)  direct or indirect reproduction of the phonogram, in any manner or form; 
 
(b)  importation of copies of the phonogram; 
 
(c)  the distribution to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, of the 
original or copies of the phonogram that have not already been subject to a 
distribution authorised by the producer; 
 
(d)  rental to the public or public lending of the original or copies of the 
phonogram, irrespective of the ownership of the copy rented or lent; 
 
(e)  the making available to the public of  the phonogram, by wire or wireless, in 
such a way that members of the public may access it from a place or at a time individually chosen by them.  
 IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
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  (2)  The rights under subsection (1) shall be protected from the publication of the 
phonogram until the end of the fiftieth calendar year following the year of publication or, if the phonogram has not been published from the fixation of the phonogram until the end of the fiftieth calendar year, following the year of fixation. 
 
24  Equitable remuneration for use of phonograms 
 
(1)  If a phonogram published for commercial purposes, or a reproduction of such 
phonogram, is used directly for broadcasting or other communication to the public, or is publicly performed, a single equitabl e remuneration for the performer or 
performers and the producer of the phonogram shall be paid by the user to the 
producer. 
 
(2)  Unless otherwise agreed between the performers and the producer, half of the amount 
received by the producer under subsection (1) shall be paid by the producer to the 
performer or performers. 
 
(3)  The right to an equitable remuneration under this section shall subsist from the date 
of publication of the phonogram until the end of the fiftieth calendar year following 
the year of publication or, if the phonogram has not been published, from the date of fixation of the phonogram until the end of the fiftieth calendar year following the year 
of fixation. 
 
(4)  For the purposes of this section, phonogr ams that have been made available to the 
public by wire or wireless, in such a wa y that members of the public may access them 
from a place and at a time individually chosen by then shall be deemed to have been 
published for commercial purposes. 
 
25  Acts requiring authorisation of broadcasting organisations 
 
(1)  Subject to the provisions of section 26  a broadcasting organisation shall have the 
exclusive right to carry out or to authorise any of the following acts— 
 
(a)  the re-broadcasting of its broadcast; 
 
(b)  the communication to the public of its broadcast; 
 
(c)  the fixation of its broadcast; 
 
(d)  the reproduction of a fixation of its broadcast. 
 
(2)  The rights under this section shall be protected from the moment when the 
broadcasting takes place until the end of the fiftieth calendar year following the year 
in which the broadcast takes place. 
 
26  Limitations on protection 
 
Sections 22, 23, 24 and 25 shall not apply wher e the acts referred to in those sections are 
related to— 
 (a)  using short excerpts for reporting current ev ents to the extent justified by the purpose 
of providing current information;  
  IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
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  (b)  reproduction solely for scientific research; 
 
(c)  reproduction solely for the purpose of face-to-face teaching activities, except for 
performances and phonogr ams which have been published as teaching or 
instructional materials;  
 
(d)  cases where, under Part I, a work can be used without the authorisation of the author 
or other owner of copyright. 
  
PART III—ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS 
 
27  Conservatory and provisional measures 
 
(1) The Court having jurisdiction of a civil ac tion arising under this Act, shall have the 
authority— 
 
(a)  to grant injunctions to prohib it the committing, or continuation of 
committing, of infringement of any right protected under this Act; 
 
(b)  to order the impounding of copies of works or phonograms suspected of 
being made or imported without the aut horisation of the owner of any right 
protected under this Act where the maki ng or importation of copies is subject 
to such authorisation, as well as the impounding of the packaging of, the 
implements that could be used fo r the making of, and the documents, 
accounts or business papers referring to, such copies. 
 
(2)  The provisions of the Police Act and the Magistrates’ Courts Act relating to search 
and seize shall apply as if all references to an offence in those provisions include 
infringements of rights under this Act. 
 
(3)  The provisions of the Customs and Excise Act dealing with suspension of the release 
of suspected illegal goods shall apply to ar ticles and implements protected under this 
Act. 
 
28  Civil remedies 
 
(1)  The owner of any right protected under th is Act whose right has been infringed shall 
be entitled to payment, by the infringer, of damages for the prejudice suffered as a 
consequence of the act of infringement and the payment of expenses caused by the 
infringement, including legal costs. In fixing the amount of damages the Court shall 
take into account the importance of the material and moral prejudice suffered by the owner of the right and the infringer’s profits  attributable to the infringement. Where 
the infringer did not know or had no reasonabl e cause to know that he was engaged in 
infringing activity, the Court may limit damages to the profits of the infringer 
attributable to the infringement. 
 
(2)  Where infringing copies exist, the Cour t shall have the authority to order the 
destruction or other reasonable disposition of those copies and their packaging in 
such a manner as to avoid harm to the owner of the right unless he requests otherwise. This provision shall not be applicable to copies and their packaging which were 
acquired by a third party in good faith. IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
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   (3)  Where there is a danger that implements may be used to commit or continue to 
commit acts of infringement, the Court shall order their destruction or other reasonable disposition in such a manner as to minimise the risks of further infringements or surrender to the owner of the right. 
 
(4)  Where there is a danger that acts of infringement may continue, the Court shall order 
that no such further acts be committed and fix a fine not exceeding $20,000 which shall be due if the order is not respected. 
 
29  Criminal sanction 
 
(1)  Any person who wilfully infringes any right protected under this Act commits an 
offence and is liable on conviction to a fi ne not exceeding $20,000 or imprisonment 
for a period not exceeding 3 years or both. 
 
(2)  Where the defendant has been convicted of a new act of infringement within 5 years 
of a previous conviction for an infringemen t the penalty in subsection (1) shall be 
double. 
 
(3)  In any criminal proceedings the Court may apply the measures and remedies referred 
to in sections 27 and 28, provided that no decision has yet been taken on such 
remedies in a civil proceeding. 
 
30  Measures, remedies and sanctions against abuses in respect of technical means of 
protection and rights management information 
 
(1)  The following acts shall be considered unlaw ful and, in the application of sections 27 
to 29, shall be deemed to be an infringement of the rights protected under this Act— 
 
(a)  the manufacture or importation for sale or rental of any device or means 
specifically designed or adapted to circumvent any device or means intended 
to prevent or restrict reproduction of a work, a phonogram or a broadcast, or to impair the quality of copies made; 
 
(b)  the manufacture or importation for sale or rental of any device or means that 
is designed to adopt, enable or assist the reception of an encrypted program, 
which is broadcast or otherwise communicated to the public, including by satellite, by those who are not entitled to receive the program; 
 
(c)  the removal or alteration of any electronic rights management information 
without authority; 
 
(d)  the distributing, importing for distribution, broadcasting, communicating to 
the public or making available to the public, without authority, of works, 
performances, phonograms or broadcasts,  knowing or having reason to know 
that rights management information h as been removed or altered without 
authority. 
 
(2)  In the application of sections 27 to 29, any illicit device and means mentioned in 
subsection (1) and any copy from which rights management information has been 
removed, or in which such information h as been altered, shall be deemed to be 
infringing copies of works, and any illicit act  referred to in subsection (1) shall be 
treated as an infringement of copyright or related rights to which the civil remedies and criminal sanctions provided in  sections 27 to 29 are applicable.  IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
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  PART IV—MISCELLANEOUS 
 
31  Scope of application of protection of literary and artistic works 
 
(1)  The provisions of this Act concerning the protection of literary and artistic works 
shall apply to— 
 
(a)  works of authors who are nationals of , or have their habitual residence in, 
Tonga; 
 
(b)  works first published in Tonga and works first published in another country 
and also published in Tonga within thirty days, irrespective of the nationality of residence of their authors; 
 
(c)  audiovisual works, the producer of which has his headquarters or habitual 
residence, in Tonga; and 
 
(d)  works of architecture erected in T onga and other artistic works incorporated 
in a building or other structure located in Tonga. 
 
(2)  The provisions of this Act shall also appl y to works that are eligible for protection in 
Tonga by virtue of and in accordance w ith any international convention or other 
international agreement to which Tonga is a party. 
 
32  Scope of application of protection of performers, phonogram producers and 
broadcasting organisations 
 
(1)  The provisions of this Act on the protection of performers shall apply to— 
 
(a)  performers who are nationals of Tonga; 
 
(b)  performers who are not nationals of Tonga but whose performances— 
 
(i)  take place in Tonga; 
 
(ii)  are incorporated in phonograms that are protected under this Act; or 
 
(iii)  have not been fixed in a phonogram but are included in broadcasts 
qualifying for protection under this Act. 
 
(2)  The provisions of this Act on the protection of phonograms shall apply to— 
 
(a)  phonograms the producers of which are nationals of Tonga; 
 
(b)  phonograms first fixed in Tonga; or 
 
(c)  phonograms first published in Tonga.  
(3)  The provisions of this Act on the protection of broadcasts shall apply to— 
 
(a)  broadcasts of broadcasting organi sations the headquarters of which are 
situated in Tonga; and IP/N/1/TON/C/1 
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  (b) broadcasts transmitted from transmitters situated in Tonga. 
 
(4)  The provisions in this Act shall also apply to performers, producers of phonograms 
and broadcasting organisations that are elig ible for protection by virtue of and in 
accordance with any international conventi on or other international agreement to 
which Tonga is a party. 
 
33  Application of international treaties 
 
The provisions of any international treaty in respect of copyright and related rights to which Tonga is a party shall apply subject to this Act. 
 
34  Regulations 
 
The Minister responsible for copyright may, w ith the consent of Cabinet, make Regulations 
for the implementation of the purposes and provisions of this Act. 
 
35  Repeal and saving 
 
(1)  The Copyright Act (Cap. 121) is repealed. 
 
(2)  The provisions of this Act shall apply also to works, performances, phonograms and 
broadcasts dating back to before the coming into force of this Act, provided that the term of protection has not expired under the fo rmer legislation or under the legislation 
of the country of origin of such works, performances, phonograms or broadcast that are to be protected under an international convention or other international agreement 
to which Tonga is a party. 
 
(3)  Contracts on works, performances, phonogr ams and broadcasts concluded before the 
coming into force of this Act shall not be affected by this Act. 
  
Passed by the Legislative Assembly this 30th day of July, 2002.
 
 
 
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