Are Creators Getting Value For Their IP? Reforming The Way CMOs Operate In Trinidad And Tobago
Are Creators Getting Value For Their IP? Reforming The Way CMOs Operate in Trinidad and Tobago Dareem Scipio* and Sherry Hinds* Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) are an essential organ of all creative industries. They assist creators in the management of their intellectual property by monitoring the use of works, issuing licenses and most importantly, collecting and distributing royalties. Without them, the value attributed to copyright protection will be too burdensome for individual rightsholders to effectively pursue and subsequently enforce especially in the context of music. However, for many years, artistes, producers and other persons in T&T’s entertainment industry have found themselves at the mercy of these organizations. Their predatory practices are largely facilitated by the absence of a regulatory framework to govern the operations of CMOs in T&T. Presently, there are (3) CMOs involved in the management of musical rights in T&T: Copyright Music Or...