Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 2016 - 2017

Clearing the Hurdles

Maximising the Benefits of Copyright Laws andDigital Distribution in the Entertainment Industry

By Marissa F. Longsworth

whatever is created will be shared with the world on his or her terms.

The creative industries in theCaribbean continue to grow in global recognition and even more so in earnings. The entertainment industry is burgeoning with several artistes, bands, actors, and other creative professionals travelling the world and spreading their talent to the delight of thousands of fans. Let us drill further down into the economics of creativity to understand why a creative professional is paid, what value a creative professional gives tohis or herwork versuswhat the market is willing to pay, how tomaximise earnings in this field, and what to do in order to sustain those earnings. In entertainment,muchof the tradable goods and services are fundamentally based on IP which, as the term suggests, has to do with ownership of the creative and innovative products of the mind. IP Rights (IPRs) are those rights which give the owner of these products the opportunity to benefit and potentially earn from the trading of these assets. There are varying categories of

IP, which apply to all industries and professions. Copyright, which shall be the focus of this article, grants exclusive rights to the author of an original work of music, art, literature, and drama to allow that author the chance to not only be properly recognised and respected as the author, but also to be compensated for use of the work. In addition to copyright and related rights, entertainers should also be knowledgeable about protecting brands, merchandise and image use through IP tools such as trademarking and design registration. While in most forms of IP this involves registration before the work is considered IP, copyright is unique due to its formality-free protection. Although protection measures are recommended regardless, the safety net of the law is well-appreciated by creative professionals in a dispute. Successfully commercialising IP is largely based on a combination of strategic actions and business transactions. It is recommended that a creative professional take proactive steps to ensure that

Step 1: Protection The existence of the automatic, formality-free grant of copyright is binding on all signatory member states to the Berne Convention, an international treaty that provides guidelines on the treatment of copyright. This is beneficial to all creative professionals since there is no need to register your work in order to have the recognition of the relevant copyright law as author/owner of a work. Now, this situation can save you just as much as it can be a danger to you, since the undocumented grant of copyright means that once the author exposes it to anyone else, there is the potential for false claim and unauthorised use of that creative work; and this is where record keeping and registration for the purpose of protection become important. Ultimately, copyright protection is most effective when it is done as close as possible to the actual time of

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