Intangible assets can help build your business and provide it with an additional source of income if you protect and enforce your rights.

In an earlier article, I wrote about one form of intellectual property, namely, trade marks, but we now shift focus to copyright.

The Copyright Act (the “Act”) is the primary source of law governing copyright in Jamaica. The Act provides that the owner of copyright holds a “property right” in that work. Copyright being a property right means that copyright in the work may be licensed, assigned or even transferred by testamentary disposition, that is, by a will.

Big players in the sporting industry who own copyright in various works benefit from licensing deals worth billions of dollars. For instance, according to ESPN, NBC signed a US$ 7.75 billion-dollar Olympic rights deal with the International Olympic Committee in 2014 to cover each Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

Types of Works

A work may be a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, and can also include sound recordings, films, broadcasts and cable programmes. For example, books, song lyrics and poetry are types of literary works and a musical composition is a form of musical work. It is possible to have more than one type of work that will require protection, especially where your business is part of the creative industry.

Who is the Owner?

The Act provides that the owner of a copyright work is the first creator of the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary. The exception here means that if the creator of the work agrees that he/she will not be the owner of the copyright (on the basis of some arrangement with another person, such as an employer), then the other party will own the copyright in the work.

Also, there may be instances where several persons are working on a project and the question may arise, who is the author of the work? Although the Act says that the author of a protected work is the first owner of any copyright in that work, depending on how the work was made, it could be that each person may be a joint author of the work.

In those circumstances, a written agreement detailing who will own the copyright in the work will help to reduce the possibility of disputes, and, where the parties agree to be co-owners, then the agreement should also outline what percentage share each party will own in the work.

Proof of Ownership

Copyright protection is automatic, so long as the requirements are met for the work to qualify for protection.

Since the 2015 amendment to the Act, copyright owners can voluntarily register at the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), works in which copyright is presumed to exist. Extracts from the register certified by the executive director or other authorised officer under the seal of JIPO are presumed to be authentic for all purposes and shall be admissible as evidence in any legal proceeding. The Act further recognises that the non-registration of copyright in the register will not prevent the copyright owner from enforcing their rights nor will it limit their ability to institute legal proceedings. However, registration may make it easier for the rights to be enforced.

Nature of Copyright Protection

The Act also outlines ways in which a copyright owner can manage the rights associated with their work. The owner of the copyright in a work has the exclusive right to do or authorise another person to do any of the following acts:

a. To copy the work;

b. To issue copies of the work to the public;

c. To perform the work in public or, in the case of a sound recording, film, broadcast or cable programme, to play or show the work in public;

d. To broadcast the work or include it in a cable programme service;

e. To make an adaptation of the work and, in relation to such adaptation, to do any or all of the foregoing acts;

f. To authorise any communication to the public of the work by wire or wireless means, including making the work available for access by any member of the public from a place and time determined by the member of the public.

Therefore, if any person does any of the foregoing without your permission, those actions may constitute an infringement of your intellectual property rights.

Enforcing your intellectual property rights can be beneficial -if not essential- to your brand and to your business. In some instances, protecting or enforcing your rights might be simple, but in other instances, legal advice might be necessary to ensure that your rights are properly secured.

Joshua Guiness-Brown is an Associate at Myers, Fletcher and Gordon and a member of the firm’s Commercial Department. He may be contacted at joshua.guiness-brown@mfg.com.jm or through the firm’s website www.myersfletcher.com. This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice