Copyright protection and infringement in Tanzania a case study of the film industry

The right of a human being to enjoy the fruits of his labour and the property created thereto has been there since tithe immemorial. Copyright guarantees the owner of copyrighted work the right to enjoy the fruits of labour and provides for protection of his property against unlawful interference with his property. This study analyses copyright protection and infringement in the film industry of Tanzania as provided for under the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, Cap. 21 8 R.E 2002 (the 'Act '). The study reveals out that the Act adequately provides for protection of copyright in film works. However it is noted that the major challenge lies with enforcement of the Act. Firstly by there being a low level of understanding of the Act by persons responsible for its enforcement, (the police and Customs).Secondly, the limited human resource and financial resources to effectively enable the authorities responsible to enforce the rights. The result of this study points out the need for increased public awareness of the copyright regime, its significant and the enforcement mechanism to the Tanzanian community in general. Provision of more human and financial resources ta authorities' responsible for enforcement of the Act, as well as enhancement of the sanctions under the Act for infringement of the Act and for revisiting the civil legal process to make it more accessible and utilizable to owners of copyright and other stakeholders.