Copyright for published work

I am a young aspiring author who has caught the interest of a publishing house. I am set to meet the publisher to discuss the release of a novel but am hesitant with this venture after hearing stories of authors who were treated unfairly by publishers. I want to protect my work from copyright infringement and unfortunately am not conversant with matters of copyright.  Kindly guide me.
PM, Dar es Salaam

Congratulations on your upcoming novel. In simple terms, a copyright is a legal right that protects original creative works from unauthorized use or reproduction. Section 4 of the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act (the Act) defines a copyright as the sole legal right to print, publish, perform, film or record a literary or artistic or musical work. According to section 5 (1) of the Act, authors of original literary and artistic work shall be entitled to copyright protection for their work as provided in the Act, by the sole fact of the creation of such work.

These rights, as provided in section 8 of the Act, comprise of the exclusive economic and moral rights of the author to use the copyrighted work. In contrast, copyright infringement is the unauthorized use of a copyrighted work without the permission of the copyright owner. In determining whether there is an infringement, it must be shown that the infringer used or exploited the work of a registered copyright owner, without the owner’s permission. In that regard, registering your work is important to create a copyright over it. Publishing houses usually have contractual arrangements with authors which, among other things, include clauses on copyright ownership. It is important that you engage a lawyer who can guide you further to protect your copyright. We wish you all the best.