SECTION 327

Infringement of Intellectual Property and Artistic Rights (1) Whoever: a) by any means whatsoever exploits a literary or artistic work done in violation of the law through performance, reproduction or transformation or distribution; b) reproduces, communicates or supplies to the public by sale, exchange, rental of a recording, phonogramme, videogramme undertaken without 121 the authorization, of the performer, of the producer of the phonogramme or videogramme or the audiovisual communication enterprise where such authorization is required; c) infringes the moral right, through violation of the right of disclosure, the right to authorship or the right to respect of a literary or artistic work; d) infringes the right of authorship and the right to integrity of a performance; e) imports, exports, sells or puts up for sale forged objects; f) imports or exports phonogrammes or videogrammes produced without the authorization of the performer or producer of the phonogramme or videogramme, where such authorization is required; g) knowingly produces or imports with the intention of selling or renting or setting up equipment, device or instrument entirely or partially designed to fraudulently receive televised programmes where such programmes are reserved for a specific public that receives them in return for a fee paid to their operator or his legal representatives; h) fraudulently neutralizes effective technical measures used by owners of copyrights or neighbouring rights to protect their works against unauthorized acts; i) allows the irregular reproduction or performance in his establishment of works protected by law; j) fails to pay a fee provided for by law or does so tardily without justification; k) removes or alters without authorization any electronic information relating to the copyright regime; l) distributes, imports for distribution, communicates without authorization originals or copies of works, performances, videogrammes, phonogrammes, programmes, being aware that the electronic information relating to the copyright regime has been removed or altered without authorization , shall be punished with imprisonment for from 5 (five) to 10 (ten) years and with fine of from CFAF 500 000 (five hundred thousand) to CFAF 10 000 000 (ten million) or both such punishment and fine. (2) "Information on copyright regime" shall mean information that helps to identify the work, performance, videogramme, phonogramme or programme, or information on the conditions of use of such productions and any number or code representing such information where one of these elements of information is attached to a copy of a production or is linked to the communication of a production to the public. 122 (3) The penalties provided for in Subsection (1) above shall be doubled where the offender is a co-contractor of the owner of the infringed right (4) The court may order the confiscation of forged copies, the equipment used to commit the offence as well as proceeds derived therefrom. (5) The competent court may also order the destruction of the equipment used and the forged copies, and the publication of its decisions as provided for in Section 33 of this Code.