Time for modern copyright legislation – Jagdeo

Last Updated on Thursday, 26 September 2024, 21:32 by Writer

More than 15 years after he had first argued that Guyanese were entitled to bootlegged textbooks, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said Guyana now needed to enact modern copyright and intellectual property legislation to make Guyana attractive to international businesses and protect local artistic works.

“I think it’s time actually that we start strengthening our platform because the economy is becoming more modern and also we need new types of businesses that would demand copyright protection,” he said.

He referred to overtures through the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for Guyana have new copyright legislation to enhance its attractiveness to investors. “We’re also part of the WTO and some countries expect us to, in the new dispensation, they’re not going to bring certain types of business here unless we have protection for them so, in the modern era, as we go forward, I think the historic position may have to change,” he said in response to a question from Demerara Waves Online News.

Copyright holders could sue for violations under the 1956 British Copyright Act that Guyana inherited at the time of independence in 1966, but virtually no one has done so even if their original Mashramani songs are copied and sold without their permission.

As President around the mid 2000s, Jagdeo had pushed back against calls for new copyright and intellectual property legislation, saying then that Guyanese needed cheaper locally copied textbooks rather than the more expensive original versions. It was only after legal action by the UK Publishers Association that the Guyana government had been forced to quash a contract with a local bootlegger to supply textbooks to the Ministry of Education.

But on Thursday, Vice President Jagdeo stated categorically that “I believe our artistes should be protected.” He said Guyanese disposal incomes have increased and they could now afford to pay streaming services in contrast to more than a decade ago when there was widespread sale of music and videos. “People’s income levels have grown and I think they get their content now from more sources that they can actually pay for,” he said.

He acknowledged the need for copyright protection of local and foreign content. Reflecting on his previous stance, he had thought the developed world was not protecting “a lot of our stuff” and even hired Guyanese teachers and nurses that were being trained at great expense. “My views have evolved over the period,” he said.

The issue of copyright protection in Guyana has regained prominence within the last two weeks after Guyanese singers Jackie “Jackie Jaxx” Hanover and Ivan “D’Ivan” Harry sued One Communications for US$1.6 million for using their songs without their permission. The case was filed in a New York Court and the summons issued to the company earlier this week.

Earlier this year, Shadow Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Nima Flue-Bess had promised to push for long-overdue modern copyright legislation to protect the artistic works of Guyanese composers, authors, poets and musicians.