Abijah, left, and Assassin
FOR YEARS, Jamaicans have been selling 'pirated' musical works and bootlegged tapes of performances with scant regard for the owners of the works. This has been very profitable and despite protests from some sectors of the entertainment industry, the authorities were slow to react. Piracy is the reproduction of a performer's work without the performer's or owner's (if they are not the same) permission in a way that results in a loss of income for the same.
However, things are beginning to change. Just recently persons who were allegedly infringing on others' copyright have had to face the courts.
Over a week ago, two St. Andrew-based business persons were allegedly found in possession of material which contravene local copyright laws.
The two, Marie Samms and Carl Gibson, answered to charges of breaches of the Copyright Act when they appeared in the Corporate Area Criminal Court last Thursday and their case will be mentioned again on May 29.
They were charged the previous Friday after members of the Police Organised Crime Unit carried out operations at record shops in the Corporate Area. During the operation, the police went to several shops along Constant Spring Road where a total of 119 compact discs (CDs), a CD burner and 149 video cassettes were seized at two shops operated by Gibson and Samms.
Also in the courts for a similar alleged offence is James Bryan of Morant Bay, St. Thomas. His case will be mentioned on May 28 in the Morant Bay Resident Magistrate's Court. According to Natalie Wilmot, the Manager of Copyright and Related Rights at the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), copyright pirates do not need to have much infrastructure to make money.
"There are lots of creative ways in which these pirates work. All you really need is a huge empty room somewhere and you stuff it with about 20 CD burners and you are making money while you sleep."
Jamaica's Copyright Act, which was ratified in 1993, applies to original literary, dramatic or artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts or cable programmes and typographical arrangements of published editions.
Under Jamaican law, copyright in music and other artistic works lasts for the lifetime of the author, plus an additional period of 50 years. As a result, it is illegal to reproduce or allow the reproduction of copyrighted works without the permission of the owner of the copyright.
Despite the law, Jamaican hustlers thrive on infringing on peoples' copyright. Sidewalk music shops provide any popular form of music cheaper than most of the island's record shops. As a result, there is a ready market. According to Wilmot, it is that market that promotes piracy. "It's a viable business because as long as someone is willing to and knowingly buys a pirated work, then there will be persons to provide it. Then there are those who have scant regard for peoples' copyright."
Wilmot's point was bolstered when The Sunday Gleaner spoke with one entrepreneur who operates a thriving CD business on a Kingston sidewalk. In his booth were the most recent albums from 50 Cent, R. Kelly, Sean Paul and Wayne Wonder, to name a few.
"Mi a mek a money fi feed my family yah man," he said. The young man, who requested that his name not be published, currently operates as a 'middle man'. The CDs are burnt and then handed to him for sale and he then gives a percentage of the sales back to his supplier.
The idea that the business he was involved in being illegal did not seem to bother him. In fact, he challenged the illegality aspect. "A nuh drugs or gun mi a sell, a few CDs," he retorted.
After it was explained to him that the money he made from those 'few CDs' belonged to the owners of the works, he was further incensed. "Dem man deh rich already. You know how much money dem yute deh a mek? Ah now me know it nuh illegal. You know how much dem a sell a CD fah?"
Along with the attitudes of persons like the aforementioned CD seller, there is also the opinions of the artistes. Many local acts tacitly or openly encourage these CD sellers. On practically any CD or tape from persons like a 'Cassette Ninja' or 'Cassette Jones', entertainers are heard 'bigging' them up singing their praises. Most make 'dub plates' for them and even hand them the material to be used. In those instances it can be accepted that they have been given the permission to use the work in the manner they see fit.
In other cases where compilations are made without direct consent from the artiste, they are still allowed to do it. Why? Up- and-coming deejay Assassin, properly known as Jeffery Campbell, explains. "We music industry is in a state of development, where we cannot do without them," he said.
He further said that while copyright may become an issue in years to come, other things have to be sorted out first. "We have to sort out a whole heap a tings before we look pon copyright. Right now, you have producers putting 10, 20 artistes on one rhythm. So di ting (work on the rhythm) can go out, even widdout you (the artiste). These things have to fix first before we look into copyright."
However, the deejay's point is challenged by Wilmot. "I think they need to get together as a unit and do a survey to get an idea on how much money is being made on their behalf. I challenge them to do the survey, and then they will be able to understand just what is going on, with their property," said Wilmot.
However, the burning of CDs and the copying of video tapes for sale are not the only ways that copyright can be infringed upon. Persons who make available the equipment used to burn CDs and know that they are being used for that reason can also be charged with the offence. Similarly, persons who distribute, not for profit, works on a wide scale basis giving to friends for example so that it affects the owner of the copyright can also face copyright infringement charges.
Also capable of being charged for infringement of copyright are persons who promote stage shows or dances or even the venue owners. This can happen, for example, when a song is used in an advertisement for an event or when an artiste's song is sung by another performer at the event. As a result, persons who plan to put on any of the previously mentioned events should get a license from Jamaica Association of Composers Authors and Publishers (JACAP). The license fee from JACAP is eight per cent of gate receipts for a first-time event, and four per cent thereafter. JACAP has 300 members locally and acts as a intermediary group for similar associations world-wide. According to Steve Golding, an administrator at JACAP, they are not seeing as much compliance with the rules as they would like. "Compliance does leave a lot to be desired and it is not as voluntary as we would like. When we see the events advertised, we tend to track down the promoters and see if we can sit and meet with them," said Golding.
From the fees collected by JACAP, the owners of the copyright of works are paid. The first payout was done in December and payees included artistes such as Abijah.
With all the rules involved and more persons coming forward to report infringements of copyright (police can only be brought in after the matter is reported) it may be a matter of time before the entertainment industry is forced to change. Copyright law and the application of the same is finally in place and being applied and all the players in the game, on both sides of the law, will have to adapt.
