B 1976
L.N. 261 of 2021
COPYRIGHT ACT
(CAP. 415) 
Copyright and related rights i n the Digital Single Market 
Regulations, 2021
I N  E X E R C I S E  o f  t h e  p o w e r s  c o nferred by article 59 of the
Copyright Act, the Minister for the Economy and Industry has ma de
the following regulations:-
Citation. 1. The title of these regulations  is the Copyright and related
rights in the Digital Single Market Regulations, 2021.
Scope. 2. The main scope of these regulations is the transposition of
Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the  Digital
Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC.
Interpretation, 3. In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:
Cap. 415. "Act" means the Copyright Act;
"Board" shall have the same meaning as assigned to  it in the Ac t;
"cultural heritage institution" means a publicly accessibly lib rary
or museum, an archive or a film or audio heritage institution;"
"educational establishment" mean s a college, school or universi ty
as recognised by the Minister responsible for education;
Cap. 426"information society service" mean s a service within the meanin g
of article 2 of the El ectronic Commerce Act;
"Minister" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the
Act;
"online content-sharing service provider" means a provider of a n
information society service of which the main or one of the mai n
purposes is to store and give the public access to a large amou nt of
content of copyright-protected works or other protected subject  matter
uploaded by its users, which it organises and promotes with the
purpose of making a profit therefrom either directly or indirec tly.
Providers of services, such as not-for-profit online encyclopae dias,
not-for-profit educational and sc ientific repositories, open so urce
software-developing and-sharing pl atforms, providers of electro nic
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communications services as defined in Directive (EU) 2018/1972,
online marketplaces, business-to-business cloud services and cloud
services that allow users to upload content for their own use, are not
"online content-sharing service providers" within the meaning o f these
regulations;
"press publication" means a co llection composed mainly of
literary works of a journalistic  nature, but which can also inc lude other
works or other subject  matter, and which:
(a) constitutes an individual item within a periodical or
regularly updated publication under a single title, such as anewspaper or a general or special interest magazine;
(b) has the purpose of providing the general public with
information related to news or other topics; and
(c) is published in any media under the initiative,
editorial responsibility and control of a service provider.
Periodicals that are published for scientific or academic
purposes, such as scientific jour nals and websites, such as blo gs, that
provide information as part of an activity that is not carried out under
the initiative, editorial responsibility and control of a servi ce provider,
such as a news publisher, are not press pub lications for the pu rposes of
these regulations.
"research organisation" means a university, including its
libraries, a research institute or any other entity, the primar y goal of
which is to conduct scientific research or to carry out educati onal
activities involving also the conduc t of scientific research: 
(a) on a not-for-profit basis or by reinvesting all the
profits in its scientific research; or 
(b) pursuant to a public interest mission recognised by a
Member State; 
in such a way that the access to the results generated by
such scientific research ca nnot be enjoyed on a preferential ba sis
by an undertaking that exercises  a decisive influence upon such
organisation;
"text and data mining" means any automated analytical technique
aimed at analysing text and data in digital form in order to ge nerate
information which includes but is not limited to patterns, trends and
correlations.
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Text and data 
mining for the 
purposes of scientific 
research.4. Copyright in an audiovisual w ork, a database, a literary
work other than in the case of a computer programme, a musical or
artistic work and the sui generis  right accorded to the maker of a
database as well as the press publishers’ right a s provided in regulation
15(1), shall not include the right  to authorise or prohibit rep roductions
and extractions made by research  organisations or cultural heri tage
institutions to carry out, for the purposes of scientific research, text
and data mining of works or other subject matter to which they have
lawful access:
Provided that:
(a) copies of work or other subject-matter made in
compliance with the pre ceding paragraph shall be stored with an
appropriate level of security and may be retained for the
purposes of scientiﬁc research, including for the veriﬁcation o f
research results; 
(b) rightholders shall be allowed to apply measures to
ensure the security and integrity of the networks and databaseswhere the works or other subject-matter are hosted. Such
measures shall not go beyond what is necessary to achieve that
objective.
Text and data 
mining 
exception.5. (1) Copyright in an audiovisual work, a database, a
literary work, a musical o r artistic work and the sui generis  right
accorded to the maker of a database as well as the press publis hers
right as provided in regulation 15(1), shall not include the ri ght to
authorise or prohibit reproductions and extractions of lawfully
accessible works or other subject-matter for the purposes of te xt and
data mining: 
Provided that reproducti ons and extractions made
pursuant to the preced ing paragraph may be retained for as long
as is necessary for the purposes of text and data mining;
(2) The exception provided for in sub-regulation (1), shall
apply on condition that the use o f works and other subject-matt er
referred to above may  be expressly reserv ed by their rightholders in an
appropriate manner, such as machine-readable means in the case of
content made publicly available online. 
(3) This regulation shall not affect the application of regulation
4.
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Use of works 
and other 
subject matter in digital and 
cross-border 
teaching activities.6. (1) Copyright in an audiovisual work, a database, a
literary work, a musical or artistic work and the sui generis  right
accorded to the maker of a database as well as the press publis hers’
right provided in regulation 15( 1), shall not include the right  t o
authorise or prohibit the digita l use of works and other subjec t matter
for the sole purpose of illustr ation for teaching, to the extent justiﬁed
by the non-commercial purpose to be achieved, on condition that  such
use: 
(a) takes place under the respon sibility of an educational
establishment, on its premises or at other venues, or through a  secure
electronic environment accessible only by the educational
establishment’s pupils or students and teaching staﬀ; and 
(b) is accompanied by the indication of the source, including
the author’s name, unless this  turns out to be impossible: 
Provided that the rightholders shall be entitled to fair
compensation for the use of their works or other subject-matter  i n
compliance with sub-regulation (1).
Provided further that with regards to works or other
subject-matter which are intended primarily for the educational
market, the educational establishment shall obtain the appropri ate
licences, if these are available.
(2) The digital use referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall be
understood to cover the specific accessibility needs of persons  with a
disability in the context of  illustration for teaching. 
(3) The use of works and othe r subject matter for the sole
purpose of illustration for teaching through secure electronicenvironments undertaken in compl iance with regulation 6(1) unde r the
responsibility of an education establishment established in Mal ta shall
be deemed to occur solely in Malta.
Preservation of 
cultural 
heritage.7. Copyright in an audiovisual work, a database, a literary
work a musical or artistic work and the sui generis  right accorded to
the maker of a database as well as the press publishers’ right provided
in regulation 15(1), shall not include the right to authorise or prohibit
cultural heritage institutions t o reproduce such works that are
permanently in their collections , in any format or medium, for the
purposes of preservation and to the extent necessary for suchpreservation.
Conditions 
regarding exceptions in regulations 4, 5, 
6 and 7.8. (1) Any contractual provision  contrary to the exceptions
provided for in regulations 4, 6 and 7 shall be unenforceable.
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(2) The exceptions and limitations provided for in regulations
4, 5, 6 and 7 shall only be applied in those particular cases w hich do
not conflict with a normal exploi tation of the work or other su bject-
matter and do not unreasonably prej udice the legitimate interes ts of the
rightholder.
(3) Where the application of  any effective technological
measure to a work prevents any be neficiary of an exception prov ided
for in regulations 4, 5, 6 and 7 from benefiting from that exception, the
rightholder shall make available to the beneficiary the means o f
benefiting from that exception, to the extent necessary to bene fit from
that exception or limitation:
Provided that the beneficiary s hall have legal access to the
protected work or subject-matter concerned:
Provided further that there is no voluntary measure taken
by the rightholder or exclusive licensee or agreement between the
rightholder and the other party concerned, the purpose of which  is to
enable the beneficiary to benefit from the exceptions specified  in the
above paragraph.
(4) It shall be illegal to knowingly circumvent the
technological measures applied vol untarily by rightholders, inc luding
those applied in the implementation of voluntary agreements. 
Use of out-of-
commerce 
works and other subject matter 
by cultural 
heritage institutions.9. (1) A collective management organisation, which is
established in Malta, in terms of the control of the establishm ent and
operation of societies for the c ollective administration of cop yright
regulations, may in accordance with its mandates from righthold ers,
conclude a non-exclusive licence for non-commercial purposes wi th a
cultural heritage institution, established in Malta, for the re production,
distribution, communication to t he public or making available t o the
public of out-of-commerce works or other subject matter that ar e
permanently in the collection of the instituti on, irrespective of whether
all rightholders covered by the licence have mandated the colle ctive
management organisation, on condition that:
(a) the collective management organisation is, on the
basis of its mandates, sufficien tly representative of righthold ers
in the relevant type of works or other subject matter and of th e
rights that are the subject of the licence; and 
(b) all rightholders are guaranteed equal treatment in
relation to the terms of the licence:
Provided that the Board shall determine whether a
collective management organisation is able to meet the conditions
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above in the context of a non-ex clusive licence negotiated in terms of
sub-regulation (1). In reaching its conclusion as to whether a collective
management organisation is suffi ciently representative accordin g to
the condition in paragraph (a) above  the Board shall take into
consideration:
(a) the categories of rights it manages;
(b)  its ability to manage rights effectively;
(c)  the specificities of the relevant creative sector; and
(d) coverage of a significant number of rightholders in
the relevant type of work or right:
Provided further that for a collective management
organisation to act in respect o f all right holders who have no t
mandated it to do so in the context of a non-exclusive licence
negotiated in terms of sub-regulation (1), it must first apply for and
secure authorisation to do so from the Board and in doing so show to
the satisfaction of the Board t hat it meets the conditions list ed in
paragraphs (a) and (b) above.
(2) Copyright in an audiovisual work, a database, a literary
work, a musical or artistic work and the  sui generis  right accorded to
the maker of a database as well as the press publishers’ right provided
in regulation 15(1), shall not include the right to authorise or prohibit
cultural heritage institutions t o make available, for non-commercial
purposes, out-of-commerce works or other subject matter that ar e
permanently in their collections, on condition that:
(a) the name of the author or any other identifiable
rightholder is indicated, unless this turns out to be impossibl e;
and
(b) such works or other subject matter are made available
on non-commercial websites. 
(3) The exception or limitation provided for in sub-regulation
(2) only applies to types of works or other subject matter for which no
collective management organisation that fulfils the condition s et out in
sub-regulation (1)(a) exists. 
(4) All rightholders may, at any time, easily and effectively,
exclude their works or other subject matter from the licensing
mechanism set out in sub-regulation (1) or from the application  of the
exception or limitation provided for in sub-regulation (2), eit her in
general or in specific cases, including after the conclusion of  a licence
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or after the beginning of the use concerned. 
(5) A work or other subject matter  shall be deemed  to be out of
commerce when it can be presumed in good faith that the whole w ork
or other subject matter is not  available to the public through customary
channels, after a reasonable effort has been made to determine whether
it is available to the public:
Provided that, in any case, a work or other subject-matter
shall not be presumed to be out-o f-commerce before at least ten  years
have elapsed from the date on which that work or other subject- matter
has last been made available commercially.
(6) A licence as referred to in sub-regulation (1) may be sought
only from a collective management  organisation that is represen tative
for Malta.
(7) (a) This regulation shall not apply to sets of out-of-
commerce works or other subject  matter if, on the basis of the
reasonable effort referred to in sub-regulation (5), there is e vidence
that such sets predominantly consist of: 
( i )  w o r k s  o r  o t h e r  s u b j e c t  m a t t e r ,  o t h e r  t h a n
cinematographic or audiovisual works, first published or, in th e
absence of publication, first broadcast in a third country;
(ii) cinematographic or audi ovisual works, of which the
producers have their headquarters or habitual residence in a th ird
country; or
(iii) works or other subject matter of third country
nationals, where after a reasonable effort no Member State or
third country could be determined  pursuant to sub-paragraphs (i )
and (ii). 
(b) By way of derogation from sub-regulation (1), this
regulation shall apply where the collective management organisa tion is
sufficiently representative, wit hin the meaning of sub-paragrap h (i) of
sub-regulation (1), of rightholders of the relevant third count ry.
Cross border 
uses.10. (1) Licenses granted in Malta in accordance with
regulation 9 may allow the use of out-of-commerce works or othe r
subject matter by cultural heri tage institutions in any Member State. 
(2) The uses of works and ot her subject matter under the
exception or limitation provided for in regulation 9(2) by cult ural
heritage institution established in Malta shall be deemed to oc cur
solely in Malta. 
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Publicity 
measures.11. (1) The information for the purposes of the identification
of the out-of-commerce works or other subject matter, covered b y a
licence granted in accordance wi th regulation 9(1), or used und er the
exception or limitation provided for in regulation 9(2), as wel l as
information about the options a vailable to rightholders as refe rred to in
regulation 9(4), and, as soon as it is available and where rele vant,
information on the parties to the licence, the territories cove red and the
uses, is to be made permanently,  easily and effectively accessi ble on a
public single online portal established and managed by the Euro pean
Union Intellectual Property Office  from at least six(6) months before
the works or other subject matte r are distributed, communicated  to the
public or made available to the public in accordance with the l icence
or under the excepti on or limitation: 
Provided that:
(a) the information for the pur poses of the identification
of the out-of-commerce works or  other subject matter , covered
by licences granted in accordance with regulation 9(1) shall be
made accessible by the collective management organisation or
the culture heritage institution concluding the relevant licenc e
under said sub-regulation.
(b) the information for the pur poses of the identification
of the out-of-commerce works or  other subject matter , covered
by or used under the exception or limitation provided for in
regulation 9(2) shall be made a ccessible by the culture heritag e
institution utilising the excep tion under said sub-regulation. 
(2) If necessary for the general awareness of rightholders,
additional appropriate publicity measures are to be taken in Malta
regarding the ability of collect ive management organisations to  licence
works or other subject matter in accordance with regulation 9(1 ), the
licences granted, the uses under the exception or limitation providedfor in regulation 9(2) and the options available to rightholder s as
referred to in regulation 9(4):
Provided that if there is evide nce, such as the origin of the
works or other subject matter, to suggest that the awareness of
rightholders could be more effici ently raised in other Member S tates or
third countries, such publicity measures shall also cover those  Member
States and third countries.
Collective 
licensing with an extended 
effect.12. (1) The Minister may by notice in the Gazette provide
that where a collective management organisation established in Malta
enters into a licensi ng agreement for the exploitation of works  or other
subject matter, in accordance wit h its mandates from rightholde rs,
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such an agreement can be extended to apply to the rights of
rightholders who have not authoris ed that collective management
organisation to represent them by way of assignment, licence or any
other contractual arrangement, by first obtaining the approval of the
Board with regards to such extension. 
In such cases, collective management organisations may submit
an application to the Board, for the approval of the extension,  which
application must indicate the:
(a) type of licence;
(b)  purpose of the licence;
(c)  type of work or subject-matter or rights covered by
the licence;
(d)  identity of the licensees; and(e)  electronic mail addres s where rightholders may
submit requests relative to the licence.
In reaching a decision as to whether or not to approve the
collective licence with extended eﬀect, the Board must ensure t hat:
(a) the collective management organisation is, on the
basis of its mandates, suﬃcientl y representative of rightholder s
in the relevant type of works or other subject-matter and of th e
rights which are the subject of the licence;
(b) all rightholders are guaranteed equal treatment,
including in relation to the terms of the licence;
(c) the licence relates to an area of use, where obtaining
authorisations from rightholders on an individual basis is
typically onerous and impractical to a degree that makes therequired licensing tran saction unlikely, due to the nature of t he
use or of the types of works or other subject-matter concerned;
(d) appropriate publicity meas ures have been taken by
the collective management organisation as provided in sub-
regulation (2); and
(e) the territorial scope o f the licensing agreement in
question is limited to the territory of Malta;
(2) At least six (6) months pri or to the commencement of the
use of works or other subject-matter under a licence with exten ded
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eﬀect pursuant to sub-regulation (1), the collective management
organisation intending to grant such a licence must take approp riate
publicity measures related to that  licence, which must at least  include a
notice in the Gazette and in two d aily newspapers, in order to inform
rightholders about:
(a) its ability to licence works or other subject-matter
with extended eﬀect;
(b) the licensing with extended eﬀect which is intended
to take place;
(c) the option to exclude t heir work or other subject-
matter from the licence with extended eﬀect; and
(d) the electronic mail addr ess where rightholders may
submit requests relative to the licence.
(3) Rightholders who have not authorised the collective
management organisation granting a licence with extended eﬀect
pursuant to sub-regulation (1), may at any time, whether before  o r
after the commencement of the us e of their work or other subjec t-
matter under that licence, exclude  their works from that licenc e by
communicating a request to this eﬀect by electronic means to th e
collective management organisat ion’s electronic mail address pr ovided
pursuant to sub-regulation (1)(v).
Upon receiving such a request and ascertaining the identity of the
rightholder in question, the relevant collective management
organisation shall act expeditiously to exclude the work or oth er
subject-matter indicated in the request, from the licence in qu estion
within a period not exceeding three (3) months from the date of  the
request.
(4) Collective management orga nisations which have granted a
licence with extended eﬀect pursuant to sub-regulation (1)  sha ll
ensure that all rightholders are  guaranteed equal treatment, in cluding
in relation to:
(a) the terms of that licence;
(b) the distribution of am ounts due under that licence;
and
S.L. 415. 01.(c) transparency and reporting obligations applicable
under regulations 26 to 30 of the Control of the Establishmentand Operation of Societies for t he Collective Administration of
Copyright Regulations.
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(5) In reaching its conclusion as to whether a collective
management organisation is suﬃci ently representative for a part icular
type of work or right, for the purposes of paragraph (a) of  sub-
regulation (1), the Board shall take into consideration:
(a) the categories of rights it manages;
(b) its ability to manage rights eﬀectively;(c) the specificities of the relevant creative sector; and
(d) coverage of a significant number of rightholders in
the relevant type of work or right.
S.L. 415. 01.(6) The provisions of regulation 7 of the Control of the
Establishment and Operation of Societies for the Collective
Administration of Copyright Regulations, sh all apply to collect ive
management organisations that provide a licence with extended e ffect
pursuant to sub-regulation (1). 
(7) Should any dispute arise in relation to a licence with
extended eﬀect pursuant to sub-regulation (1), a rightholder ma y refer
the dispute to the Boar d for its determination:
Provided that this shall be without prejudice to a
rightholder’s right of recourse before the Civil Court, First H all.
(8) This regulation shall not aﬀe ct the application of collectiv e
licensing mechanisms with an extended eﬀect in accordance with other
provisions of the law, including provisions that allow exceptio ns or
limitations, such as under regulation 9.
Negotiation 
mechanism.13. (1) Where parties are facing difficulties related to the
licensing of rights when seeking to conclude an agreement for t he
purpose of making available audiovisual works on video-on-demand
services, including regarding a ny rightholder authorisation whi ch may
be required, any party thereto may call upon the assistance of one or
more mediators appointed by the Malta Mediation Centre. Themediators shall be so selected t hat their independence and impa rtiality
are beyond reasonable doubt. The tasks of the mediators shall b e to
provide assistance with negotia tions and to help the parties to reach an
agreement, including, where appropriate, by submitting proposal s to
them. 
(2) Both participation in the  procedure outlined in sub-
regulation (1) as well as the c onclusion of any agreement pursu ant to
the procedure, shall be entirely voluntary and shall not aﬀect the
contractual freedom of any party thereto. 
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(3) Where the negotiation invo lves parties from Malta and
another Member State and where those parties decide to rely on the
negotiation mechanism, the parties are to agree beforehand on the
competent Member State.
Works of visual 
art in the public 
domain.14. When the term of protection of a work of visual art has
expired, any material resulting from an act of reproduction of that
work is not subject to copyright or related rights unless the m aterial
resulting from that act of reproduction is original in the sens e that it is
the author’s own intellectual creation.
Protection of press 
publications concerning 
online uses.15. (1) Publishers of press publications shall have the
exclusive right to authorise or prohibit in respect of any onli ne use by
information societ y service providers: 
(a) the direct or indirect, temporary or permanent,
reproduction of their pr ess publications; 
(b) the making available to the public of their press
publications, by wire or wireless means, in such a way that
members of the public may access them from a place and a timeindividually chosen by them. 
(2) The rights conferred by sub -regulation (1), shall not extend
to mere facts reported in a press publication and shall not inc lude the
right to authorise or prohibit: 
(a) private or non-commercial  uses of press publications
by individual users; 
(b) acts of hyperlinking;
(c) the use of individual words or very short extracts of a
press publication. 
(3) The rights conferred on publ ishers of press publications by
virtue of sub-regulation (1) shal l leave intact and shall in no way affect
the rights of authors and other rightholders, in respect of the  works and
other subject matter incorporat ed in a press publication. The r ights
provided for in sub-regulation (1) may not be invoked against a uthors
and other rightholders in respect of the works and other subjec t matter
incorporated in a press publication and, in particular, shall n ot deprive
them of their right to exploit th eir works and other subject ma tter
independently from the press publication in which they are
incorporated.
(4) When a work or other subject  matter is incorporated in a
press publication on the basis of  a non-exclusive licence, the rights
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provided for in sub-regulation (1) shall not be invoked to proh ibit the
use by other authorised users.
(5) The rights provided for in sub-regulation (1) shall not be
invoked to prohibit the use of works or other subject matter fo r which
protection has expired.
S.L. 415. 05.
S.L. 460. 36. (6) The provisions of articles 9 a nd 42 of the Act, the Certain
Permitted Uses of Orphan Works Re gulations, and the Permitted U se
of Certain Works and Other Subjec t Matter Protected by Copyrigh t and
Related Rights for the Benefit of Persons who are Blind, Visual ly
Impaired or Otherwise Print- Disabled Order shall apply  mutatis
mutandis  in respect of the rights provi ded for in sub-regulation (1).
(7) The rights conferred by this regulation on press
publications shall have a duration of two (2) years from the en d of the
year following the date on which that press publication is published. 
(8) The rights provided by sub-re gulation (1) shall not apply to
press publications ﬁrst published before the 6th of June 2019. 
(9) Authors of works incorporated  in a press publication shall
receive an appropriate share of the revenues that publishers of  press
publications receive for the use  of their press publications by
information society service providers:
Provided that in the absence of agreement on the
remuneration payable under this s ub-article, the amount of such
remuneration shall be determined by the Board.
Use of protected 
content by 
online content-sharing service 
providers.16. (1) An online content-sharing service provider shall be
deemed to perform an act of co mmunication to the public or an a ct of
making available to the public when it gives the public access to
copyright-protected works or oth er protected subject matter upl oaded
by its users.
An online content-sharing service provider shall therefore obta in
an authorisation from the aut hors, performers, phonogram produc ers,
film producers and/or broadcasti ng organisations, as the case m aybe,
in order to communicate to the public or make available to the public
copyright-protected works or other protected subject matter:
Provided that such authorisation may be obtained, inter
alia, by concluding a licensing agreement:
Provided further that righthol ders shall not be obliged to
give an authorisation or to conclude licensing agreements.
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(2) Where an online content-sharing service provider obtains
an authorisation, that authorisation shall also cover acts of
communication to the public and, or acts of making available to  the
public where such acts are carrie d out by users of the services  when
the users are not acting on a comm ercial basis or where their a ctivity
does not generate si gnificant revenues.
Cap. 426.(3) (a) When an online content-sharing service provider
performs an act of communication to the public or an act of mak ing
available to the public under the conditions laid down in these
regulations, the limitat ion of liability established in article  21 of the
Electronic Commerce Act shall not apply to the situations cover ed by
this regulation.
Cap. 426.(b) The preceding sub-regulation shall not affect the possible
application of article 21 of the Electronic Commerce Act in rel ation to
those service providers for purposes falling outside the scope of these
regulations:
Cap. 426.Provided that the limitation of  liability as established in
article 21 of the Electronic Commerce Act shall not apply to se rvice
providers, the main purpose of which is to engage in or to faci litate
copyright piracy. 
(4) If no authorisation is gra nted, online content-sharing
service providers shall be liable for unauthorised acts of
communication to the public, incl uding making available to the public,
of copyright-protected works and other subject matter, unless the
service providers demonstrate that they have: 
(a) made best efforts to obtain an authorisation, and 
(b) made, in accordance with high industry standards of
professional diligence,  best efforts to ensure the unavailabili ty of
specific works and other subject matter for which the
rightholders have provided the service providers with the
relevant and necessary information, and in any event, 
(c) acted expeditiously, upon receiving a sufficiently
substantiated notice from the rightholders, to disable access t o,
or to remove from their websites, the notified works or other
subject matter, and made best efforts to prevent their future
uploads in accordance with paragraph (b).
(5) In determining whether the service provider has complied
with its obligations under sub-regulation (4), and in light of the
principle of proportionality, th e following elements, shall  inter alia  be
taken into account: 
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B 1990
(a) the type, the audience and the size of the service and
the type of works or other subj ect matter uploaded by the users
of the service; and
(b) the availability of suita ble and effective means and
their cost for service providers; 
(6) In respect of new online cont ent-sharing service providers
the services of which have been  available to the public in the Union for
less than three years and which have an annual turnover below t en
million euro (€10,000,000), calculated in accordance with
Commission Recommendation 2003/361/ EC, the conditions under the
liability regime set out in sub -regulation (4) are limited to c ompliance
with paragraph (a) of sub-regulat ion (4) and to acting expediti ously,
upon receiving a sufficiently subs tantiated notice, to disable access to
the notified works or other subj ect matter or to remove those w orks or
other subject matter f rom their websites: 
Provided that where the aver age number of monthly unique
visitors of such service providers exceeds five (5) million, ca lculated
on the basis of the previous calendar year, they shall also demonstratethat they have made best efforts to prevent further uploads of the
notified works and other subject matter for which the righthold ers have
provided relevant and necessary information.
(7) The cooperation between onl ine content-sharing service
providers and rightholders shall not result in the prevention o f the
availability of works or other subject matter uploaded by users , which
do not infringe copyright and related rights, including where s uch
works or other subject matter are covered by an exception or li mitation
in terms of the Act.
The rights provided by the Act and these regulations shall not
preclude online content-sharing service providers from uploading and
making available cont ent generated by users on online content-sharing
services in the context of: 
(a) quotation, criticism, review; and
(b) use for the purpose of car icature, parody or pastiche.
(8) (a)  The application of this regulation shall not lead to
any general monitoring obligation on online content-sharing ser vice
providers. 
(b) Online content-sharing service providers shall
provide rightholders, at their request, with adequate informati on
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
B 1991
on the functioning of their practices with regard to the
cooperation referred to in sub-regulation (4) and, where licens ing
agreements are concluded between service providers and
rightholders, information on the use of content covered by the
agreements.
(9) (a) Online content-sharing service providers shall put in
place an effective and expediti ous complaint and redress mechanism
that is available to users of their services in the event of di sputes over
the disabling of access to, or the removal of, works or other s ubject
matter uploaded by them.
(b) Where rightholders request to have access to their specific
works or other subject matter disabled or to have those works o r other
subject matter removed, they shall duly justify the reasons for  t h e i r
requests.
(c) Complaints submitted under the mechanism provided for in
sub-regulation (1) shall be pro cessed without undue delay, and
decisions to disable access to or remove uploaded content shall  b e
subject to human review.
(d) Users of online content-sharing services may refer any
dispute relating to the disabli ng of access to, or the removal of, works
or other subject-matter uploaded by them, or regarding the use of an
exception or limitation to copyright and related rights, to the   Board
for its determination: 
Provided that this shall be without prejudice to users’ right
of recourse before the Civil Court, First Hall. 
(e) These regulations shall not a ffect legitimate uses, such as
uses under exceptions or limitati ons provided for in Union law,  a n d
shall not lead to any identification of individual users nor to  t h e
processing of personal data, exce pt in accordance with Directiv e 2002/
58/EC and Regulation (EU) 2016/679. 
(f) Online content-sharing service providers shall inform their
users in their terms and conditions that they can use works and  other
subject matter under exceptions o r limitations to copyright and  related
rights provided for in Union law.
Principle of 
appropriate and proportionate 
remuneration.17. Where authors or performers licence or transfer the
exclusive rights for the exploita tion of their works, or other subject-
matter, they are entitled to receive appropriate and proportion ate
remuneration. In the absence of agreement on the remuneration
payable under this sub-regulati on, the amount of such remunerat ion
shall be determined by the Board:
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
B 1992
Provided that in determin ing the appropriate and
proportionate remuneration to the actual or potential economic value
of the licensed or transferred r ights, account shall be taken o f the
author’s or performer’s contribution to the overall work or oth er
subject matter and all other ci rcumstances of the case, such as  market
practices or the actual exploitation of the work.
Transparency 
obligation.18.  (1) Authors and performers are to receive on a regular
basis, at least once a year, and taking into account the specificities of
each sector, up to date, relevant and comprehensive information  on the
exploitation of their works and performances from the parties t o whom
they have licensed or transferred their rights, or their successors intitle, in particular as regard s modes of exploitation, all reve nues
generated and remuneration due:
Provided that where these rights have been sub-licensed,
authors or performers, or their mandated representatives, shall  at their
request receive additional inform ation from the respective sub-
licensees, in the event that th e original licensee does not hold all the
information that would be necessary for the purposes of the above sub-
regulation. Where that additional information is requested, the  f i r s t
counterpart of authors and perfor mers shall provide information  on the
identity of those sub-licensees. 
(2) The obligation set out in sub-regulation (1) shall be
proportionate and effective in ensuring a high level of transpa rency in
every sector:
Provided that the parties or th eir successors i n title to whom
the rights were licensed or transferred may make claims substan tiated
by representations to t he Board indicating:
(a) duly justified cases where the administrative burden
resulting from the obligation se t out in sub-regulation (1) wou ld
become disproportionate in the light of the revenues generated
by the exploitation for the work or performance; 
(b) that obligation be limited to the types and level of
information that can reasonably be expected in such cases:
Provided further tha t the Board may ref use such claims.
S.L. 415. 01.(3) The transparency obligations set out in this regulation shal l
not apply in respect of agreem ents concluded by collective
management organisations which are regulated in terms of the Controlof the Establishment and Operati on of Societies for the Collect ive
Administration of Copyright Regulations.
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
B 1993
Contract 
adjustment 
mechanism.19. (1) In the absence of an app licable collective bargaining
agreement providing for a mechanism to claim additional appropr iate
and fair remuneration, authors or  performers or their mandated
representatives shall be entitle d to claim such additional, app ropriate
and fair remuneration from the party with whom they have entere d into
a contract for the exploitation of their rights, or from their successors
in title as the case may be:
Provided that such a claim can only be made when the
remuneration originally agreed  upon turns out to be disproporti onately
low compared to all the subseque nt relevant revenues derived fr om the
exploitation of those works, perf ormances or other subject-matt er:
Provided further that when assessing whether such
remuneration is disproportiona tely low, account should be taken  of:
(a) all revenues relevant to the case in question,
including, where applicable, merchandising revenues, 
(b) the specific circumst ances of each case, the
contribution of each author or pe rformer and the specificities and
remuneration practices in the different content sectors. 
(2) In the absence of agreement on the additional remuneration
payable under this sub-article,  the amount of such additional
remuneration shall be determined by the Board.
S.L. 415. 01.(3) Sub-regulations (1) and (2) shall not apply with respect to
agreements concluded by collectiv e management organisations whi ch
are regulated in terms of the Control of the Establishment and
Operation of Societies for the C ollective Administration of Cop yright
Regulations.
Alternative 
dispute 
resolution procedure.
Cap. 387.
Cap. 474.20. In any disputes concerning the transparency obligation
provided in Regulation 18 or con cerning the contract adjustment
mechanism provided in regulation 19, authors or performers or their
mandated representatives may subm it such dispute for resolution
before the Malta Arbitration Centre or the Malta Mediation Centre in
accordance with procedure and form a l i t i e s  o f  t h e  M a l t a  A r b i t r a t ion
Act and the Malta Media tion Act respectively:
Provided that representative organisations of authors and
performers may initiate such proc edures at the specific request  of one
of more authors or performers. 
Provided further that this sh all be without prejudice to an
author’s or performer’s right of recourse before the Civil Court, FirstHall. 
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
B 1994
Right of 
revocation.21. (1) Where the author or performer has licensed or
transferred his or her  rights in a work or other protected subj ect matter
on an exclusive basis, the author or performer may revoke in whole or
in part the licence or the transfer of rights where there is a lack of
exploitation of that work or othe r protected subject matter for a
continuous period of five (5) years:
Provided that the author or performer in question shall by
means of a judicial act, set a time-limit of not less than six (6) months
within which the exploitation of  the licensed or assigned right s by the
respective assignee or li censee, must take place:
Provided further that in the case of sound recordings, the
time limit established by a perf ormer shall not be less than on e (1)
year.
(2) If the respective assignee or licensee fails to exploit the
rights concerned within the sti pulated time-limit, the author o r
performer in question may choos e to revoke the licence or trans fer of
rights, in whole or in part, or t erminate its exclusivity by re ferring the
matter to the Board for its determination.
(3) In the case of works of joint authorship or collective works ,
the judicial act referred to in the preceding paragraph may be filed by
any joint author or joint rightholder. However, prior to determ ining
whether or not to revoke the lic ence or transfer of rights in q uestion or
to terminate its exclusivity, as the case may be, the Board sha ll set a
time-limit within which all other  joint authors or joint righth olders
may make their submissions rela tive to revocatio n or terminatio n of
exclusivity, as the case may be:
Provided that in reaching a decision in relation to the
preceding paragraphs, the Board shall assess the relative impor tance of
the individual contributions of each joint author or joint righ tholder
involved, as well as the legitimate interests of all joint auth ors or joint
rightholders affected by the application of the revocation or
termination of exclusivity, as the case may be.
(4) Sub-regulation ( 1) shall not apply:
(a) in the case of audiovisu al works or databases; or 
(b) in the event that the lack of exploitation of the work
or other subject matter is predom inantly due to the circumstanc es
that the author or the performer can reasonably be expected toremedy; or 
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
B 1995
S.L. 415. 01.(c) with respect to contractual provision derogating from
the revocation mechanism where these form part of agreements
concluded by collective management organisations which are
regulated in terms of the Control of the Establishment and
Operation of Societies for the  Collective Administration of
Copyright Regulations.
Fair 
Compensation 
for acts done for the sole purpose 
of illustration 
for teaching or scientific 
research. 22. The reproduction, translation, distribution communication
to the public of a work for the sole purpose of illustration fo r teaching
or scientific research only to the extent justified by the non-
commercial purpose to be achieved, and as long as the source,
including the author’s name, is, unless this is impossible, ind icated ,
provided for in article 9(1)(h) the Act shall be on the conditi on that the
rightholders receive fair compensation
Exceptions and 
limitations in regulations not 
prejudiced by 
exceptions in Copyright Act. 23. The exceptions and limitations provided for in these
regulations shall not be prejudiced or limited in scope as a re sult of
articles 9(1)(d) and (h) and 26(2)(b) of the Act.
Common 
provisions.24. (1) Any contractual provision that prevents compliance
with regulations 18, 19 and 20 shall be null and void in relati on to
authors and performers and unenforceable in their regard.
(2) Regulations 17 to 21, both included, shall not apply to
authors of a computer program wit hin the meaning of Article 2 o f
Directive 2009/24/EC. 
Transitional provisions. 25. Agreements for the license, assignment or transfer of rights
of authors and performers shall  be subject to the transparency
obligation set out in regulation 18 as from 7 June 2022:
Provided that this regulation shall apply to agreements
which come into force as from that date and in respect of those
agreements entered into before that date which are still in for ce.
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
B 1956
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