A performance contract is an agreement by which the copyright holder authorizes a show organizer to perform or cause or allow the performance of the said work in public under conditions laid down by them.
A performance contract is signed for a limited duration and for a determined number of communications to the public. Except where exclusive right is expressly stipulated, the performance contract shall not confer any exploitation monopoly on the show organizer.
Public performance must take place under conditions that will guarantee the respect of the moral rights of the copyright holder as referred to in Section 40 of Law-No.-2000-011-of-December-19-2000-on-Copyright-and-Neighbouring-Rights.
The organization of shows is subject to the obtention of an authorization and to the payment of royalty by the organizer under conditions laid down by regulations in Cameroon. The show organizer may not transfer the advantages of his contract without the written consent of the copyright holder.
PUBLISHING CONTRACT
The publishing contract is the agreement by which the copyright holder authorizes a person called publisher, under defined conditions, to print a fixed number of copies of the work, and to ensure their publication.
The copyright holder is bound to:
(a) Guarantee the publisher a peaceful and, unless otherwise agreed upon, exclusive exercise of the transferred or granted right;
(b) Ensure the respect of the right and protect it against infringement;
(c) Permit the publisher to fulfil his obligations, and in particular, hand him the object to be published within the deadline stated in the contract and in a form that will enable a normal printing.
The publisher shall be bound to:
(a) Publish or ensure publication under the conditions and following the modes of expression provided for in the contract;
(b) Refrain from making any alterations without the written authorization of the copyright holder;
(c) Ensure that each copy bears the name, pseudonym or mark of the copyright holder unless otherwise agreed upon;
(d) Publish within a deadline consistent with the practice of the trade, unless there is a special agreement;
(e) Ensure permanent and steady exploitation, as well as commercial distribution in accordance with the practice of the trade;
(f) Return the object to be published to the copyright holder after printing.
The publisher shall be equally bound to provide the copyright holder with all evidence as to the exactness of his accounts.
Where the contract makes no provision for special terms and conditions, the copyright holder may, at least once a year, require the publisher to produce a statement indicating the number of copies manufactured in the course of the financial year and specifying the date and circulation, as well as the number of copies in stock.
Unless otherwise agreed upon or contrary to practice, the statement referred to above shall indicate the number of copies sold by the publisher, the number of copies which have become unusable or damaged through chance or unforeseeable circumstances as well as the amount of royalties owed or paid to the copyright holder.
When the business, in case of receivership or liquidation of assets, is managed by a receiver or liquidator, the latter shall be bound by all the obligations of the publisher.
Where no transfer of the business was made within a period of one year as from the date of publication of the bankruptcy judgment, the publishing contract may be terminated at the request of the copyright holder.
Where the business is sold, the buyer shall be bound by the obligations of the transferor.
The receiver or liquidator may not clear or realize the manufactured copies before the lapse of fifteen days at least as from the date he notified the copyright holder of his intention through registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt. The author shall possess a right of pre-emption on all or part of the copies. Failing any agreement, the redemption price shall be fixed by an expert.
The publisher may not, for free or against payment, or as contribution to capital, and independently of his business, transfer the benefit of the publishing contract to a third party without obtaining prior authorization from the copyright holder.
In case of transfer of business that may seriously jeopardize the material and moral interests of the copyright owner, he shall have the right to obtain compensation, even by way of termination of the contract.
Where the publishing business was operated in partnership or as a joint enterprise, the attribution of the said business to one of the former partners or joint owners as a result of liquidation or sharing out may, under no circumstance, be considered as transfer.
TERMINATION OF THE PUBLISHING CONTRACT
The publishing contract shall, irrespective of the cases provided for by ordinary law or by the preceding sections, come to an end when the publisher completely destroys all copies of the work.
The contract is rightfully terminated when the publisher fails to republish the work after the copyright holder has served him formal notice giving him a deadline for stocks to run out. The edition shall be considered to be out of print if two requests for supply of copies sent to the publisher are not met within six months.
If the copyright holder dies or, as the case may be, is dissolved without completing the work, the contract shall be terminated for the unfinished part of the work, unless the publisher and the rightful claimants of the holder reach an agreement.
The copyright holder may grant the publisher preferential rights for the publication of his future works provided they relate to a specified genre. However, this right shall, for each genre, be limited to five new works.
WHAT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE PUBLISHING CONTRACTS
The following shall not constitute a publishing contract:
(a) The “author-financed” contract whereby the copyright holder pays the publisher an agreed sum to make a specified number of copies of the work under the form and following the modes of expression defined in the contract, and to ensure their publication and distribution. This contract constitutes a hiring of the work;
(b) The “fifty-fifty” contract whereby the copyright holder assigns a publisher to make at his own cost a specified number of copies of the work in the form and following the modes of expression defined in the contract, and to ensure their publication and distribution in return for a mutually contracted undertaking to share proportionally the profits and losses occurring therefrom. This contract is considered a partnership.
The contracts referred to above shall be deemed concluded only after the approval of the competent collective management body.
AUDIO-VISUAL PRODUCTION CONTRACT
The audio-visual production contract shall be the agreement whereby one or more individuals undertake, in return for payment, to create an audio-visual work for an individual or a corporate body known as the producer.
The contract binding the producer to the authors of an audio-visual work other than the author of a musical composition shall, unless otherwise stipulated and without prejudice to the recognized rights of the author, entail the transfer to the producer of the exclusive rights to explore the said work.
The audio-visual production contract does not entail the transfer to the producer of the graphic or theatrical rights to the work. It shall include the list of elements used in the production of the work which are preserved as well as the terms and conditions of such preservation.
Authors shall be due remuneration for each kind of exploitation. Subject to the provisions of Section 24 of the law, when the public pays a price to receive a specific and specifiable audio-visual work, the remuneration shall be proportional to that price, taking into account possible degressive rates which may be granted by the distributor. It shall be paid to the authors by the producer.
The producer shall, at least once a year, provide the author and co-authors with a statement of receipts earned from exploiting each mode of the work. He shall, at their request, provide all proofs to ascertain the correctness of accounts, particularly the copies of contracts by which he transfers all or part of the rights at his disposal.
The author shall assure the producer of the peaceful exercise of the rights transferred.
The producer shall ensure that the audio-visual work is exploited in accordance with the practices of the profession and the nature of the work.
The producer shall consult the director prior to any transfer of the audio-visual work to another type of medium in view of another mode of exploitation.
In view of the payment of authors’ remuneration accruing from the exploitation of the audio-visual work, authors shall enjoy the same preferential rights as those provided for in Section 15(3) of the law.
RECEIVERSHIP OR LIQUIDATION
Receivership or liquidation of property shall not give rise to termination of the audio-visual production contract. Where the production or exploitation of the work continues, all the obligations of the producers towards the co-authors shall be fulfilled by the receiver, the administrator or any other person involved in the operations of the enterprise during receivership or liquidation of property.
In case of transfer of all or part of the enterprise or liquidation, the administrator, the debtor, or the liquidator, as the case may be, shall arrange in a separate set each audio-visual work that may be transferred or auctioned. He shall be bound, on pain of nullity, to notify each of the authors and co-producers of the work through registered letter at least one month prior to any decision concerning the transfer or liquidation procedure. The buyer shall equally be bound by the obligations of the transferor. The author and co-authors shall have pre-emptive right over the works, unless one of the co-producers decides to buy it.
Failing any agreement, the purchase price shall be fixed by an expert.
Where the enterprise has been out of business for more than three months or where liquidation has been pronounced, the author and co-authors may demand the termination of the audio-visual production contract.