professor Doris Long. The music industry in Jamaica is struggling because it cannot develop strength when there is such rampant piracy and not enough protection

The Jamaican music industry, the world's leading exporter of reggae music, is losing millions of dollars through intellectual property (IP) piracy and it is revenue that the country can ill afford to lose as it continues to develop its economy. So said one of the world's leading experts on intellectual property law, Professor Doris Long.

She is the Professor of Law and Chair at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, United States. She has worked around the world with various governments on intellectual property protection and enforcement and e-commerce issues. The US Embassy brought her to Jamaica to work with the Jamaican Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) and to host a number of workshops and conferences on this subject. She has being talking with the police, customs, prosecutors and clerks about various techniques that can be employed to combat piracy and counterfeiting.

"I had wide-ranging discussions focusing upon the importance of intellectual property and how it should be regulated in a way that balances the rights of the owners with the rights of the public," she said, speaking with Caribbean
Business Report from the Courtleigh Hotel in Kingston.

Professor Long is particularly taken with a United Nations Trade and Development Report released in 2002 which says that in 1995 Jamaican music generated US$1 billion globally but the value of what it earned from exporting music was only US$1.4 million. It is interesting to note that this was ten years ago. Today the younger generation of reggae stars such as Sean Paul, Damian Marley and Tami Chynn are beginning to make an impact on the international scene and it is vitally important at this stage of their careers that they receive the right dues for their work. Their management teams must ensure that their intellectual property rights are not abused and that they are cognisant of the appropriate laws.

"Just think of the employment that revenue could create, not to mention businesses and enterprise that would spring up.
The United States loses US$250 billion a year through intellectual property rights but a small developing country like Jamaica cannot afford to lose near on a US$1 billion to this kind of piracy."

"There is no real money being made from Jamaican music, but people clearly like Jamaican music and are buying it. It is being pirated here in Jamaica and also abroad. The music industry in Jamaica is struggling because it cannot develop strength when there is such rampant piracy and not enough protection. One of the first places to develop an economy is through a developed cultural industry with foreign direct investment. Now the best way to do that is to protect the products," said Professor Long.
In Jamaica, intellectual property rights laws were given greater credence in 1993 when a legislative framework was built upon older existing laws. Both JIPO and other agencies co-ordinated their efforts to revise the laws and highlight the importance of intellectual property rights for businesses. In 2003, the Jamaica Constabulary Force established an intellectual property unit. Part of the reason for this bigger focus on IP is the economic component - businesses cannot afford to be bleeding revenue when they should be extracting it.

"Every company has a trademark. Think of Red Stripe, you know what it tastes like and it has quality. Now the company knows it has value in that mark and will not allow others to trade off that mark. JIPO is letting Jamaican businesses know that they have value in their marks and so should register and copyright them. You cannot let people violate what you have created," said Professor Long.

The Caribbean
Last October the Professor of Law at the John Marshall Law School did a presentation in Barbados. Before that, in 1997, she did some work in Cuba and in 1999, she was in the Dominican Republic. She is finding a growing level of maturity among Caribbean musicians as to their IP rights and the value their music has.

"The problem of musicians not protecting their music is a problem throughout the world. You have many who say I don't care who pirates my work as long as it gets heard. The problem is the people who pirate your work are not paying for it and if you don't sell, you don't get the big recording contract. And the chance to export your music. Ultimately the pirates are stealing your career. That is something young musicians don't recognise. Then there are those that say I can make money through concerts, but how many concerts will you do in a lifetime? That's not a steady income stream.
Whereas if the right to your music is protected you can be selling it 20 years from now case in point Bob Marley. In this global economy unless you can play on the global field, you will be in trouble. IP law is the only one that protects innovation. It's the only one that says spend your time being a creator and you'll get the economic benefits from that and that's why we are seeing a lot more interest in IP."

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