Shaping a better future… Stakeholder group convenes, drafts modernized copyright legislation

Jun 19, 2016 News

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“Under the previous political administration, responsibility for initiating and sustaining the process fell under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, specifically the Department of Culture. While there has been intense, if fluctuating advocacy to update copyright legislation over the past seventeen years, there has been little to no political will to move the process forward. In brief, the political will (now) exists to deliver strong, relevant, modern copyright legislation to Guyana,” – Concept note.
By Jarryl Bryan

Musicians and writers alike have long lamented the absence of an updated Copyright law, something

that has impacted them economically. Creative minds are leaving Guyana due to the lack of relevant cultural policy. This has been a problem for years.
Things are, however, moving apace with the long-awaited Copyright legislation. A stakeholder working group convened as of June 11th and is looking at how to formulate the legislation, to make it more impactful than ever before.
This is according to Advisor on Cultural Policy Ruel Johnson, who has oversight for the development of such a policy. He stated that meetings will be held on a regular basis, with the working group. He also revealed the names of those who comprise the group, as well as the terms of reference.
Among those who will be involved are renowned international singer Eddy Grant, Government Parliamentarian Jermaine Figueira, Businessmen Lance Hinds and Vishnu Doerga, Music Producer Burchmore Simon, artist Barrington Braithwaite and economist Nichole Haynes.
In addition, Business Executive Ramesh Persaud and popular Bookseller Lloyd Austin will be a part of the group, along with Media Executive Ryan Kirton and Attorneys-at-Law Teni Housty and Tuanna Hardy.
According to the concept note seen by Kaieteur News, the group will be looking at legislation in other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries. According to Johnson, these countries will include “Jamaica, Trinidad, Grenada, which reformed their own outdated laws fairly recently and Barbados, which has in place Creative Industries Development Legislation”.

ASSESSMENT
The first component of the process, according to the note, is the assessment period to determine, in a general sense, Guyana’s current capacity to enact and enforce copyright legislation in a timely manner, including institutional, infrastructural and human resource capacity.

REVIEW
The review period of the process means the Working Group will review existing legislation, particularly within CARICOM, as well as any draft legislation that might have been commissioned by the previous administration.

DRAFTING
This component of the process falls under the aegis of the Ministry of Legal Affairs, but the particulars will be informed by the assessment and review findings of the Working Group.

CONSULTATION
The draft legislation will be put into the public domain, both in public face to face consultation as well as online. The inputs from the consultation may, if indeed necessary, lead to an adjustment of the draft.

PRESENTATION
The draft legislation will be handed over to government, with the Minister of Education or whichever parliamentarian he chooses, in consultation with Cabinet, presenting it as a Bill in the National Assembly.

PASSAGE
The Bill is then read, debated and presumably passed.
According to the terms of reference, the group will also assess how well Guyana has adhered to the Berne Convention and other relevant treaties. It will also assess Guyana’s state of readiness to adhere to its present obligations and pending regional and international agreements.
The group will also review all documentation it deems relevant to drafting the Bill and will also advise Government on the process for the Bill. They will also present the legislation to the Government, in the form of the Bill. They will also make recommendations towards wider intellectual property reform.

THE PLIGHT OF THE ARTISTE
Last year, the subject Minister of Education, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine had promised that modern intellectual property legislation would be passed within a year. In November 2015, Government, through the Ministry of Education, had launched a national consultation process on cultural policy development. The initiative was seen as a welcome step by many.
Guyana has the Copyright Act of 1956, which many consider to be woefully inadequate. This has been a contentious issue for local musicians especially, who have little to no protection for their work. Some artistes have called for the tabling of more modern legislation.
There are a number of Guyana-born artistes who have made their mark on the musical landscape of other countries, though they have never forgotten their roots. Exposed to the system employed in other countries and knowing the shortcomings faced in Guyana, they have much to share.
Residing in Barbados, but born in Guyana, recording artiste Tonieka Thompson is one such individual. Thompson made the decision to return to her homeland in order to film the music video for a popular remake. Using locations on the Soesdyke/Linden highway for filming, she has gone out of her way to give the video that Guyanese flavour. She also stayed for the 50th anniversary Jubilee celebrations, performing at several venues around the country and rolling out her single ‘50th Jubilee’.
In an interview with Kaieteur News, Thompson cited one avenue that artistes in the Caribbean have recourse to – the Copyright Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (COSCAP).
“There’s a place called COSCAP, where artistes are asked to register as an artist and also have their material registered,” she said. “There’s a fee for it but not much. By doing that they are also paid royalties every time the song is played.”
She also noted that there are other copyright organizations in the Caribbean that artistes from anywhere can join. However, the bottom line, as Thompson put it, is that no artiste should feel cheated out of their rights to their intellectual property.
“It would be sad if a young, up (and) coming artiste were to write and record a song … then to hear another artiste who’s more popular singing that very song and there’s nothing he or she can do about it. There (would be) no way to make funds other than performing at shows.”

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