Copyright
Copyright exists in Guyana by virtue of the Copyright (British Guiana) Order in Council, Statutory Instrument No. 79 of l966, which applied the Copyright Act of l956 of the United Kingdom here. However, in practice it has been difficult to enforce and widely ignored. For example, the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation has not paid copyright fees on the thousands of records it plays each year for a very long time. In addition, popular local singer Rudy Grant has been engaged in litigation for the last seven years trying to establish that he has the copyright for the well known song Mash in Guyana which was a hit in Mashramani in l987 and which Mr Grant says he composed, sang and recorded. Moreover, as is well known there is a great deal of piracy in Guyana in many areas including the illegal reproduction of tapes and computer software. Now, government plans to introduce a local Copyright Act, and has begun to circulate a Draft Bill for discussion. The explanatory memorandum says that the Bill is consistent with the pattern of the updated copyright laws of several Caricom states and with the principal international agreements affecting copyright, including the copyright section of the agreement on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Basically, copyright law seeks to protect the owners of intellectual property of all kinds so that they can benefit from their creations. This includes literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts and cable programmes. The law provides that no one may reproduce these without the permission of the owner of the copyright who is often the author but may be the publisher, broadcaster or other person. In most cases, those persons will require a payment of a fee as a price for giving their consent. These fees vary in different circumstances. This is how composers, writers, publishers and so on earn their money. Our local singers including calypsonians have been complaining for years that their work has been used or reproduced without their permission and they have earned nothing. In many countries there are active performing rights societies which monitor publications, plays and broadcasts on behalf of copyright holders who have registered with them and ensure that those persons that seek to reproduce these pay a proper fee, failing which legal action is taken against them. It is time that we had our own law as well as an active society which can protect local composers and artistes and writers from exploitation. The Draft Bill seems comprehensive and will bring us in line with other countries in the region who have been protecting their writers and performers for many years.
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