THE Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency (JAMCOPY) last week distributed $23 million in royalties to some 300 Jamaican creators and publishers of printed materials.

It was the highest distribution ever from the 14-year-old agency.

The payout was significantly more than last year, when creaters and publishers collected $14 million.

“We’ve done well in getting a breakthrough. We are not out for remuneration but for respect,” said Shirley Carby, founding chair and director of JAMCOPY.

“In a world where information is being commoditised, distribution of this kind shows that people’s creative works are being protected,” said Chairman of the JAMCOPY Board, Mark Thomas.

Persons are willing to pay for photocopied materials, but are unwilling to pay for the full content, Carby said.

“So the people who produce them deserve respect, it’s a business for the authors, it should be possible for them to make a living from their writing,” she said, adding that royalties encourage writers and open the door to professional opportunities.

The Government, in 2001, signed the first Copyright Licence with JAMCOPY, which demonstrated its compliance with the Jamaica Copyright Act. The licence gives public sector employees, ministers of Government and members of Parliament legal access to a vast array of copyright material and permits them to legitimately make copies of portions of copyright-protected works published in print.

“There’s no real safeguard once a work is published,” Thomas said. “But the law affords us the ability to protect them.”

Authors, publishers, composers, visual artistes, any creator of publishable work, JAMCOPY can administer rights on their behalf, he said.

This is the eighth distribution of royalties from the repertoire pool to JAMCOPY’S affiliated creators and publishers, derived from the licence fees.

All the major universities in the country, community colleges are included as well as the Government for the Public Sector Photocopy Licence pay.

“But we don’t want anything that will jeopardise the sales of the book, so there’s a limit to the amount that can be copied,” Carby said.

For the last several years we have focused on academics, but negotiations are being made to have licensing that covers primary and secondary schools.

“So photocopying that is being done in the schools shouldn’t be,” Newman said.

The organisation is affiliated with International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFFRO), a worldwide network of copyright companies that give advice and financial supported.

JAMCOPY represents the interests of Jamaican creators and publishers of literary, artistic, musical, and dramatic works that are disseminated in print formats in Jamaica and the world.

The works of Jamaican rights holders as well as rights holders from 30 other countries, including the United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia make up JAMCOPY’s growing repertoire.

Distribution is based on established based practices. Surveys to gather data on the materials that are being used are done by JAMCOPY, said Carol Newman, the company’s general manager.

“If your work is copied more, then you ought to get more royalties,” she said.

But distribution is made based on three guidelines, repertory payment, title specific, and genre-based categories.

Once work is in JAMCOPY’s repertoire and licensed companies have permission to use them, the author gets royalties.

As for title specific search, once the work shows up to have specifically been copied, the author gets payment. There’s also a genre-based distribution such as academic publications — those publishers get more payout.

“Everyone gets the repertoire payment, but a publisher of academic work gets a higher payout, based on the ranking,” Newman said.

Reference/scholarly works top the ranking, followed by textbooks, trade books, journals, newspapers, and magazines.

A few government agencies such as the Planning Institute of Jamaica are members. The National Council for Drug Abuse, Heart Trust National Training Agency and JAMPRO are also members. Publishers and journalists are also a part of JAMCOPY.