If The Bahamas does not take its placement on the priority watch list of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) seriously, it could face major international trade problems.
Citing this impending issue, Vice President of the Bahamas Guild of Artists, Mr Freddie Munnings Jr. said there are many local entities that are engaging in piracy practices.
“Such acts are an infringement of the copy rights law of the land and by world standards could be very damaging to the reputation of the country,” Mr Munnings told The Guardian on Monday.
The Bahamas was placed on USTR’s watch list last Thursday when the organisation became concerned that the country had not implemented its commitment to the US in 2000 to enact legislation to correct what it termed ‘deficiencies in its copyright law.’
As an advocate of amendments to the present Copyright Act, Mr Munnings said when the work of artists are abused or reproduced without permission; its affects can cause a major drain on the world economy.
He said that it is vital for The Bahamas to line up with world standards, especially when the action would enable protection for local professional artists.
“The public needs to be educated and encouraged to adhere to the copyright law,” he said. “Any amended legislation must be done after consultation with local artists to give Government advice on what is in the best interest of the people.”
Added Mr Munnings: “I am against piracy. It is just like stealing or using something without permission. The chickens have come home to roost and now the international watchdogs are putting on the pressure. Now The Bahamas will have to respect international standards regarding copyright regulations.”
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative is responsible for developing and coordinating U.S. international trade, commodity and direct investment policy and leading or directing negotiations with other countries.
The 2000 USTR report, states that even though The Bahamas was not being placed on the list at the time, it (USTR) would be conducting an ‘Out-of-cycle’ review (OCR) on the country.
It went on to say that should a review of The Bahamas be warranted, it would focus on the Bahamian Government’s efforts to meet its bilateral commitment to amend its copyright law to eliminate provisions that create a compulsory license for unauthorised re-transmissions by cable television systems of any copyrighted work transmitted over its territory, including encrypted transmissions.
Such provisions violate the Bahamas’ obligations under the Berne Convention.
In addition, The Bahamas also agreed to revise its copyright law to make clear that Internet transmissions are similarly not subject to compulsory licenses.
The Berne Convention is an international copyright treaty signed by 96 countries including The Bahamas. The regulations of The Berne Convention are more far-reaching than the US Copyright Law. It requires member states to recognize the moral rights of integrity and attribution. There must be protection within the country’s own legal system. The author’s work may not be exploited.
It grants economic rights – the author has exclusive right to translate, reproduce, perform, or adapt protected works. The Berne Convention recently extended the terms of protection to the life of the author plus seventy-five years.
The Copyright Act of 1998 although it offered protection for literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, had a broad compulsory license, which was inconsistent with the obligations of the Berne Convention. By adopting such inconsistent compulsory license, The Bahamas denies the member countries of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) adequate and effective protection of their intellectual property rights.
According to an International Intellectual Property Alliance 2001 special 301 report, this legislative move compounded the already existing piracy problems of signal theft and cable piracy in The Bahamas.
The report describes this extremely dangerous international precedent set by the Bahamas’ compulsory license as a threat to disrupt commercial markets for programming and could cause serious adverse impact on U.S. filmed entertainment and programming packets, not only in The Bahamas, but around the world.
Because of this, the January 2000 Bahamian compulsory license requirement qualifies as one of the most onerous, blatantly illegal, egregious policies completely flaunting respect for rights protected under copyright.
While addressing the matter, Minister of Financial Services & Investment, Allyson Maynard-Gibson said the Government of The Bahamas is committed to ensuring that Bahamian legislation is in full compliance with the Berne Convention.
Minister Maynard-Gibson also said the Government would also enforce the process of removal from the priority list and fulfills obligations The Bahamas made in its submission to the USTR.
By Lisa Albury, The Nassau Guardian
