Governments urged to help protect intellectual property rights

The Mia Mottley administration and other governments in the region are being challenged to invest more in their copyright and intellectual property rights systems so that the creative industries could adequately contribute to economic development.

This call was issued by Chief Executive Officer of the Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (COSCAP) Erica Smith, who identified underinvestment and a lack of innovation and proper policies as main hindrances to economic development through the creative industries.

“The lack of awareness and consideration for copyrights in the region is reflected in the measures that are implemented to assist, where creators are not earning from their work. In other words, the system doesn’t work,” she said.

She said as it now stands, copyright in the Caribbean was difficult to enforce, with high levels of infringement while low levels of returns were being generated for the rights holders.

Smith said while there were interventions which seek to assist in various ways, there was still a high level of market failure.

In fact, she said in the absence of adequately functioning copyright systems, there were informal disciplinary measures, difficulty in establishing ownership, “cannibalisation of sales” and an impact on levels of investment.

“We need to implement institutional support through well-functioning and well-resourced intellectual property offices rather than treating them as mere collection agencies. We need functioning copyright tribunals and we need to improve the support extended to the regional copyright organisation,” she said.

Smith was addressing an online policy forum under the theme Music, Innovation and Economic Development.

The recent function was hosted by COSCAP in collaboration with the Association of Caribbean Copyright Societies (ACCS) and the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies (SALISES).

It comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has put a damper on large gatherings and resulted in the cancellation of festivals in the region, forcing musicians and artistes to find new ways to make a living.

Smith argued that improved copyright and intellectual property rights systems in Barbados and the rest of the region could serve as a strategy for sustainable development through several sectors.

“…. Whether for the creative industries in terms of copyright; agriculture, when we look at geographic indications and plant varieties; access to medicine in terms of patent; education; entrepreneurship and innovation,” she said.

Pointing to what she said was a “distorting effect” of the annual Crop Over festival, Smith explained that although the focus was on revenue generation from June to August, there was little revenue generating capacity outside that period.

She said it was therefore for governments to create a framework that allows the copyright system or intellectual property to work to the benefit of the creative industries operators.

“Most regional governments in CARICOM have accorded the creative industries priority status, but for this to be meaningful we must strategically incorporate intellectual property rights as tools to aid development,” Smith said.

“What is required is innovation in policy development, building the required support infrastructure and investment in understanding the political economics of the regional creative industries, to shape and inform a regional copyright system which is responsive to our needs, within the constraints of the international ecosystem.”

Smith called for effective implementation, and impact assessment and evaluation to inform any changes to the intellectual property systems, “rather than simply following the models of other countries and the dictates of trade agreements”.

“So we need to invest in increased capacity building so that policy and decision makers understand the implications of intellectual property rights. We need legislation that specially considers the region’s needs, and look, for example, at the effective implementation of the flexibilities which are available in various international treaties. This has come to the fore in the current pandemic because we need to ensure how do we continue to have access to knowledge and information,” she added.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb