COPYRIGHT LAW
EXISTING LEGISLATION ON COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
Principal Legislation:
Copyright Act No. 4, September 1993
Copyright Amendment Act No. 29, September 1999.
Regulations and Orders:
•The Copyright (Librarians & Archivists)
(Copying of Copyright material) Regulations 1993
•The Copyright (Recording for Archives) Designated Bodies Order,
1993
• The Copyright (Educational Establishments) Order, 1993
• The Copyright (Customs) Regulation, 1993 and addendum, 1995
• The (Specified Countries) Order, 1994 (listing of countries party
to the Berne Convention)
•The Copyright (Specified Countries) (No. 2) Order 1994 (listing
countries party to the Rome Convention)
BRIEF BACKGROUND TO THE COPYRIGHT LAW
As a former British Colony with a
Common Law tradition Jamaica was governed by the Copyright Act of
1911 of the United Kingdom, the predecessor Imperial Statute which
once applied in all the former Colonies of the Caribbean. Jamaica’s
first Copyright Act 1913 incorporated the UK Act of 1911 provisions
on copyright offences and sanctions which otherwise would only have
applied in the UK.
The UK Act of 1911 applied in Jamaica until it was repealed by the
Copyright Act of 1993. Post independence (1962) lobby by the Jamaica
Federation of Musicians and Affiliated Artistes Union, led to the
tabling and passage of the 1977 Copyright Act, which was never
brought into force. Further lobby by the Union for a more
comprehensive Law on copyright that would also address neighbouring
rights led to the passage of the current principal Act of 1993. In
addition to the Union, the other local copyright interest groups which lobbied for the Act were Book Publishers, Librarians and
Performers.
Jamaica’s membership to the WTO and, consequently, the Agreement on
Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), also
cemented its commitment to an international and modern standard of
Copyright Protection. Jamaica was the second English Caribbean
Country to accede to the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO
Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) and is currently making
revisions to its Copyright Act necessary for the implementation of
these Treaties.
PROTECTION UNDER THE COPYRIGHT ACT
The Copyright Acts of 1993 & 1999
provide the Berne and TRIPS standard of protection in terms of
categories of works protected, the nature of rights, the scope of
protection, the duration of rights, sanctions and penalties. The
principal Act of 1993 closely resembles the UK Copyright Act of
1988.
The Copyright (Amendment) Act of 1999 provides expressly for the
protection of compilations of data or original databases, as
mandated by the TRIPS Agreement. The 1999 Act also implemented
obligations under the Jamaica/USA Bilateral IP Agreement pertaining
to encrypted satellite signals by making it an offence to (without
proper authorization) knowingly manufacture or trade in decoders of
encrypted transmissions.
THE GOVERNMENT COPYRIGHT OFFICE
The Copyright Directorate of Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO)
handles policy and implementation of the Copyright Law.
COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT IN JAMAICA
COPYRIGHT TRIBUNAL
The Copyright Act of 1993 made provision for the establishment of a
Copyright Tribunal.
Similar to the UK Copyright Tribunal, Jamaica’s Copyright Tribunal
is designed to interface with user groups and collecting societies
in the licensing of various rights. It provides a mechanism for the
settlement of disputes relating to licensing schemes or licenses,
which the parties have not been able to resolve otherwise.
The Copyright Tribunal may hear references concerning licensing
schemes operated, or licenses granted by a licensing body in
relation to the copyright in literary, dramatic, musical or artistic
works or films (or film sound tracks when accompanying a film) which
cover works of more than one author. Such licenses or schemes must
concern the reproduction, public performance, broadcasting or cable
casting of the protected work.
COLLECTING SOCIETIES
In Jamaica there are four indigenous collecting societies, which
have emerged since the Copyright Act of 1993, each concerned with
the administration of different types of rights under the Law.
The societies are:
• The Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers
(JACAP)
• The Jamaican Musical Rights Administration Society (JMRAS)
• The Jamaica Performers’ Administration Society (JPAS)
• The Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency (JAMCOPY)
JACAP
JACAP administers the public
performing rights of composers, authors and publishers in their
musical works. It succeeded the local agency of the PRS (UK) and is
a member of the international collective management organization
called CISAC.
JMRAS
JMRAS is concerned with the administration of the rights of record
producers and has some local record companies as its members.
JPAS
JPAS was established to administer the rights of performers in their
live and fixed performances as granted under the Copyright Law.
For
more information on JPAS contact jpas@cwjamaica.com.
JAMCOPY
JAMCOPY administers the reprographic
rights of authors and publishers of works in print media, which
concerns licensing the right to make multiple copies/photocopies of
such works. JAMCOPY is a member of the International Federation of
Reproduction/Reprographic Rights Organizations (IFRRO) and has
foreign reciprocal agreements with several equivalent RROs including
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Greece,
Iceland, Mexico, Slovakia, Spain, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.
JAMCOPY is currently in negotiations with several other countries
including the United States of America.
For more information on
JAMCOPY contact
jamcopy@cwjamaica.com.
COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION
There is no statutory registration
system in Jamaica and no requirement for registration under the
Copyright Act. However there is a nationally recognized voluntary
copyright registration and deposit facility provided by the
Intellectual Property Service Centre (IPC) in conjunction with
National Library of Jamaica.
Registration Procedures
The Copyright Claimant is required to fill out a voluntary
declaration of the claim to ownership of copyright, containing a
brief description of the work and the date and place of creation or
first publication.
The Declaration must be witnessed by a Justice of the Peace or in
the case of a foreign applicant by a Notary Public.
The Claimant is also required to complete an IPC Copyright Claimant
Form providing further details of the claim.
A copy or true representation of the work must be provided to the
IPC for deposit in the National Library.
The IPC makes a publication of the claim, issues a certificate of
registration within 4 weeks and is available to support the
certificate in evidence in the event of litigation in Jamaica.
About the Intellectual Property Service Centre (IPC)
The IPC is a not for profit non-governmental organization with a
Board of Directors comprised of representatives of the University of
the West Indies, the Government Archives, the Jamaica Intellectual
Property Office and the Media Owners Association of Jamaica.
The IPC offers owners and users of copyright material a central
agency for licensing and copyright clearance for secondary uses of
copyright works including over the Internet. Right owners can set
their own fees for use as long as there are no prescribed fees under
Statute or by the Tribunal.
The IPC also provides a facility for voluntary copyright
registration in Jamaica by offering copyright owners a method of
establishing a trail of evidence of their claim to ownership of
copyright. Although there is no statutory registration requirement
under Jamaica’s Copyright Law, there is nothing that precludes the
copyright owner from voluntarily registering his work in order to
have an independent record of it for evidential use. (See above
COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION).
For more information about Copyright Registration procedures and
fees and to obtain the relevant forms contact the IPC at ipc@cwjamaica.com - phone (876) 927 4375; fax (876) 978 2338.
Click here to access IPC’s Copyright services
Next
>> Design Law
