Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 2016 - 2017

Clearing the Hurdles

Copyright can be one of the most lucrative intangible assets negotiated in the entertainment industry. Not only does copyright law apply at the time of creation, even before a work has been publicly exposed.

Step 3: Enforcement If works are used without permission and also without any assertion from the owner, the value of the work will decrease for legitimate interests. Copyright laws throughout the region and the world contain both criminal and civil provisions to assist rights holders with preserving the value of their works. Criminal offences tend to be associated with commercial-scale infringements, as well as the sale/possession of devices which break copyright encryptions. However, copyright is a property right andmostly dealt with by private attorneys. An infringement of copyright can be a harrowing experience, especially for a fledgling creative professional being infringed by a bigger counterpart, particularly overseas. Cease anddesist letters and mediation are very effective measures, particularly if the infringementwas unintentional. One very bold assertion of ownership was described in an article in theDailyMail newspaper ofNovember 10, 2011 entitled ‘This is plagiarism’, in which American singer Beyoncé was accused of copying choreography in her new Countdown video. It stated that a Belgian choreographer,

known as licensing societies/bodies, are member organisations responsible for tracking and collecting a royalty for each use of a copyright work. The CMOs license users of copyright, and after deducting administrative costs for their services, distribute the royalties to members. CMOs sign reciprocal agreements with other CMOs in order to exchange funds which have been collected for the others’ members, so the money reaches the member no matter where it was collected. These agreements allow a creative professional’s CMO to monitor multiple communication and broadcast channels worldwide. A creative professional should make sure he/she is aware of the extent to which a CMOmanages the rights both in the real and the digital worlds. With a minimum 50-year term of protection of copyright in Berne Convention signatory member states, and with many states increasing the term, a creative professional and his or her family can benefit from the sustainable monitoring and collection through a CMOwhich will actively have to keep up with technology to maximise income for its members.

Anne TeresaDe Keersmaeker, had her past works well-documented with a specific award-winning sequence having been released as far back as 1994. Keersmaeker’s upper hand is that there is video footage of her sequences, whichhas beenpostedon YouTube side-by-sidewith theCountdown video and gives good visual representation, which may be used to establish the infringement. Copyright can be one of the most lucrative intangible assets negotiated in the entertainment industry. Not only does copyright law apply at the time of creation, even before a work has been publicly exposed, but it provides tools which guide transactions geared at income generation, and ultimately provide enforceable measures to give remedy to wronged rights holders. While a creative professional may not see the immediate value in investing time and funds into copyright protection, since the career is based more on payment for performances and appearances, the lifespan of copyright is longer than that of the creative professional and is therefore necessary security for multiple generations thereafter.

Marissa Longsworth is the In-House Attorney-at-Law for Cititrust IP, the specialised intellectual property affiliate of Glenn D. Godfrey & Co. LLP, located in Belize City, Belize. She holds an LL.M in Internet Law and Policy with merit from the University of Strathclyde. She was previously the Manager of the Copyright and Related Rights Directorate at the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office.

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