Copyright Act 2003, news reproduction and press-article exceptions
Copyright Act, 2003 (Act No. 5 of 2003, Commonwealth of Dominica), s. 65, s. 69
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force since 15 November 2003.
A snippet reproduction rule binding private bodies.
As of 7 September 2026.
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Section 65(1) permits the reproduction, in the form of quotation, of a short part of a published work that has been made available, without the copyright owner's authorisation, provided the reproduction is compatible with fair practice and does not exceed the extent justified by the purpose. Section 65(2) requires the quotation to 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.
Section 69(a) permits reproducing, broadcasting or otherwise communicating to the public an article published in a newspaper or periodical on a current economic, political or religious topic, or a broadcast work of the same character, unless the right to authorise reproduction is expressly reserved by the copyright owner.
Section 69(b) separately permits reproducing and broadcasting or otherwise communicating to the public short excerpts of a work seen or heard in the course of reporting current events, to the extent justified by that purpose.
Section 51 makes willful infringement of a reproduction right protected under the Act an offence, punishable on conviction, in the case of an offence involving making or dealing with infringing copies, by a fine of two thousand five hundred dollars for each copy for a first offence and, for a subsequent offence, that fine and imprisonment for twelve months, and in the case of any other offence under the section, by a fine of fifteen thousand dollars for a first offence and, for a subsequent offence, that fine and imprisonment for six months.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Section 51(1) makes it an offence to make for sale or hire, import otherwise than for private use, possess in the course of business, or otherwise deal in an infringing copy without the copyright owner's authorisation. Section 51(4) punishes an offence of making or dealing with infringing copies, on conviction, by a fine of two thousand five hundred dollars for each copy or article for a first offence, and by that fine and imprisonment for twelve months for a subsequent offence. Section 51(5) punishes any other offence under the section, on conviction, by a fine of fifteen thousand dollars for a first offence, and by that fine and imprisonment for six months for a subsequent offence.
Penalty structure
Section 51(4) caps a first offence of making or dealing with infringing copies at a fine of $2,500 per copy or article; section 51(5) caps a first offence of any other kind under the section at $15,000. Both rise, for a subsequent offence, to the same fine plus imprisonment (twelve months under subsection (4), six months under subsection (5)). The Act states these amounts in dollars; Dominica's currency is the Eastern Caribbean dollar (XCD).
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- 7 September 2026
- Currency
- XCD
- Fixed cap
- 15,000
What it reaches
Obligation class
Attribution
When LexLint raises it
aggregates_content
Read the law
Copyright Act, 2003 (Act No. 5 of 2003), Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica Laws portal