Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer

Cherry Natural in performance at the Natural Mystic Concert in honour of Bob Marley's 60th birthday, held at Knutsford Boulevard, New Kingston, on Sunday, February 6. Cherry Natural is the host of poetry show, Per Verse. - File

While the question of copyright has reared its shock of locks and garnered much attention from media and rights holders themselves, it seems that not all rights are created equal. So, in many ways the question of reprographic rights has been shoved beneath the table, swept aside in the wake of its sexier cousins and attempts to clamp down on illegal DVDs, CDs or even file-sharing.

"Most books include the declaration that no one is allowed to reproduce a book, or part thereof without the permission of the rights holder. Yet, this statement seems to be taken for granted, or at best ignored. One of the things that concern me a lot is, I don't know if it's the lack of awareness, or lack of information, or if it's scant disregard of persons whom you would expect to know better," says Carol Newman, general manager of Jamaica Copyright Licensing Agency (JamCopy).

Newman is particularly perturbed by a statement by the chief education officer, published in the JIS Newsletter of August 4. The disturbing statement was Ms. Adelle Brown's advice to teachers to copy and then distribute chapters from textbooks rather than having students buy the book.

In a press release, JamCopy advised that the ministry's advice was illegal. Interestingly, in this post-Napster era, it would have been quite evident that copying CDs and distributing them would have been illegal, but books have not received that much attention.

Chapters photocopied

Indeed, as parents find their finances evaporating in the face of rising cost of living, in many instances, especially in schools, books or chapters are photocopied. Sometimes, the books are either out of print, or there are limited numbers on the island. Newman explains that though fair use includes copying for personal purposes for review, or research or criticism, the fair use does not extend to making multiple copies and for distribution.

Newman points out that some persons have pointed out that they only charge a nominal fee that covers the ink, electricity and paper. She notes that the charge therefore does not cover the most important element of the photocopy - the content.

Though copyright, as it relates to the issue of ownership, continues to make waves, Newman explains that JamCopy has had a dentist's job in getting writers to join JamCopy so their rights can be protected. Newman explained that despite the fact that joining JamCopy has no membership fee, writers remain reluctant.

According to Newman, in 2003 JamCopy was given funds from Authors Licensing and Copyright Society to be distributed to Caribbean writers, but the funds were not dispersed until recently as writers remained reluctant to come forward.

Over the past few years much attention has been paid to educating creative producers about their rights, and to a great extent, the lesson has been learnt. So, Newman notes that rights owners seem to be cognisant of their rights, but they simply have not made moves to protect them.

"Perhaps the (rights owners) take the point that they own it, but what do they do after that?" she asked. "More people know but still hesitate to take the next step," Newman continued.

Bilateral agreements

She explains that though JamCopy has bilateral agreements with 24 countries, only just over 50 Jamaican writers have joined the collection agency, which was first created in 1998. She explains that eligibility to join JamCopy is to have one piece of work published, which can include song lyrics, poetry, a book or an article.

Newman explained that JamCopy has already distributed its first payment and its second payment is scheduled for next November. She explains that the collection agency's mission is a simple one: "We want rights holders to benefit from their creativity," she said.

Poet Cherry Natural explains that she is concerned about protecting her reprographic rights, and though she is not a member of JamCopy, has joined an overseas agency, as her book, Earth Woman, was printed in the United States. She notes, however, that even so, she intends to join JamCopy.

According to Cherry Natural, the reticence may come from a lack of information. "I think a lot of them (writers) don't know enough about it," she said. "We're not really a book publishing society so it just kinda go over people head when you publish something," she said.

Newman had noted that many of the writers that JamCopy targeted for recruitment were from the University of the West Indies. While fiction writers are included, academic works and journal entries are a lot more likely to be reproduced than fictional works. Newman expect burgeoning dismay at the lack of responsiveness.

Yet, Dr. Sonjah Stanley-Niaah's (lecturer in the Institute of Caribbean Studies) take on the issue may easily explain the reticence or seeming disinterest JamCopy encountered. According to the lecturer, as long as the work is being reproduced for educational purposes, she is not perturbed.

Explaining that she recognises the need to further investigate the nature of those reprographic rights, she remarks that other elements of her copyright are protected. Stanley Niaah argues that she is not overly worried by abuse of fair use because if a book is so popular that it will be excessively photocopied, it will have been popular enough to generate much sale.

Additionally, she explains, "As much as I would like people to buy the book, the reason I'm producing the book is not the sale of the book," she said.