page 21
Art.106. (1) Any person who has knowingly done or caused to be done any act
whatsoever that infringes the provisions of this Law shall be liable to a fine of
between 50,000 and 200,000 Djibouti francs.
In the event of a repeat offense, the fine may be increased to 100,000 to 400,000
Djibouti francs, to which may be added a term of imprisonment of between one and
six months. Under this Law, repeat offense is understood to mean when the infringer
has already been convicted for an identical offense in the five years prior to the
current offense.
(2) The court may also order:
• the confiscation of counterfeit items;
• the confiscation of any items or materials that have been directly used to produce
the unlawful copies;
• the confiscation of revenues seized to be handed to the owner of the infringed
rights;
• the temporary or permanent closure of the establishment used by the person
convicted;
• the publication and posting of the conviction ruling.
Art.107. (1) Fraudulently placing on a work, performance or phonogram the name of
an author or holder of neighboring rights or any other distinctive sign adopted by him
to designate his work, performance or phonogram shall also be punished with the
penalties provided for in Article 106 of this Law.
(2) Those who knowingly import, export, sell or offer for sale, make available to the
public or generally introduce into circulation copies referred to in paragraph 1 of this
Article shall also be punished with the same penalties.
Art.108. Those who exploit a work made up of an expression of folklore or work that
has become part of the public domain without having obtained the prior consent of
BDDA shall also be punished by the penalties provided for in Article 106.
Title 9 – Scope of application of the Law
Art.109. Application to works
(1) This Law shall apply to:
((a) the works of nationals of the Republic of Djibouti;
((b) the works of legal persons covered by Djiboutian jurisdiction;
((c) the works of foreign nationals of which the first publication took place in the
Republic of Djibouti;
((d) works of foreign nationals who are resident in the Republic of Djibouti;
((e) works of architecture erected on the territory of the Republic of Djibouti and any
work of art incorporated in a building located on that territory.
(2) This Law shall also apply to all works that must be protected under bilateral or
multilateral agreements to which the Republic of Djibouti is or will be a party.
Art.110. Application to performances, phonograms and broadcast programs
(1) The provisions of this Law shall apply:
• (a) to the performances or performers who are nationals of the Republic of Djibouti;
• (b) to performances that take place on the territory of the Republic of Djibouti;
• (c) to performances fixed on a phonogram protected under the terms of this Law;
• (d) to performances not fixed on a phonogram and disseminated in a broadcast
program protected under the terms of this Law.
(2) The provisions of this Law shall apply to: