The copyright law of Panama is primarily based on 1994 legislation, known as Law 15. The history of Panamanian

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

legislation dates to the 19th century. Only recently has copyright in Panama became seriously enforced, with past international criticism focusing on insufficient effort to enforce intellectual property laws. A new 2012 law has attracted concerns in the opposite direction, with many criticising it for being too draconian.

History

Some provisions for copyright in Panama date to 1826, and Panama has been a party to a number of international copyright treaties throughout the 20th century. The modern copyright law in Panama is based on a 1994 law. The Panamanian National Assembly in August 1994 passed a comprehensive

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

bill (Law 15), based on a

World Intellectual Property Organization The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishi ...

model. The law modernizes copyright protection in Panama, provides for payment of royalties, facilitates the prosecution of copyright violators, protects computer software, and makes copyright infringement a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

, with a fine up to $20,000, handed by the National Office of Copyright at the Panamanian Ministry of Education. The law also recognizes the existence of

moral rights Moral rights are rights of creators of copyrighted works generally recognized in civil law jurisdictions and, to a lesser extent, in some common law jurisdictions. The moral rights include the right of attribution, the right to have a work ...

. The length of duration of copyright is 50 years after the author's death, or the publication of an anonymous work. The Law 23 of 1996 created the Intellectual Property Interdisciplinary Commission, which oversees many copyright-related cases in Panama. In September 2012 Panama passed a new copyright law (Bill 510). The bill is a result of negotiations in the Panama–United States Trade Promotion Agreement. The new law gives the Panamanian copyright office (General Department of Copyright, DGDA) the power to fine those found to have violated copyright through

file-sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include ...

, and hand out fines of $100,000 ($200,000 on second offense); the offenders have fifteen days to defend themselves before being arrested. The fines would be kept by the copyright office, which has the right to use them for salary bonuses, with none of them passed to the copyright holders. The copyright infringers however may still be separately sued by the copyright holder. The 2012 has also limited the applications of

fair use Fair use is a doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests ...

in Panama.

Criticisms

Although the lead prosecutor for

intellectual property rights Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

cases in the Panamanian Attorney General's Office has been involved in a number of prosecutions, the Panamanian Copyright Office has been described by a 2001 US report as "small and ineffective". According to that report, the Panamanian Copyright Office has been slow to draft and move forward further improvements to the Copyright Law to implement the new

WIPO The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishin ...

treaties (the

WIPO Copyright Treaty The World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WIPO Copyright Treaty or WCT) is an international treaty on copyright law adopted by the member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1996. It provides addi ...

and the WIPO Performances and Phonographs Treaty). Nevertheless, their proposal also would establish new offenses, such as for internet-based copyright violations, raise the penalties for infractions, and enhance border measures. The legislation has been moving forward with technical assistance from SIECA (the Central American Economic Integration System). The 2012 law has attracted criticism from

free culture The free-culture movement is a social movement that promotes the freedom to distribute and modify the creative works of others in the form of free content or Free content, open content without compensation to, or the consent of, the work's origin ...

and

digital rights Digital rights are those human rights and legal rights that allow individuals to access, use, create, and publish digital media or to access and use computers, other electronic devices, and telecommunications networks. The concept is particula ...

activists (such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation), both in Panama and abroad. It has been called "draconian" and "incredibly unbalanced"; Andres Guadamuz from Technollama, quoted by

Cory Doctorow Cory Efram Doctorow (; born July 17, 1971) is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who served as co-editor of the blog '' Boing Boing''. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of ...

, the EFF and others, has called it "the worst opyright lawin the history of the universe." EFF noted that the new law violates the principle of due process. The bill has been widely unknown to the Panamian public as of the moment it passed its legislation, and not subject to any significant public debate. The activists have criticized the US government for giving in to the entertainment industry by putting pressure on Panama and other Latin American countries, forcing them to adopt what they see as less progressive copyright bills, infringing on

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

in detriment to the public interest.

References

External links

Panama legal acts related to copyright at WIPO
{{Copyright law by country

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

Law of Panama