Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 2016

the entertainment industry. Not only does copyright law apply at the time of

creation, even before a work has been publicly exposed.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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.

Clearing the Hurdles

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