IP ArchIPelago

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...

  Broadcasting Bacchanal:  Watching Football and Copyright Law Dr Justin Koo With the launch of the 2022/2023 English Premier League football season, there is once again controversy in the Caribbean region concerning broadcasting rights. There is nothing new about this scenario as ever so often there is news about conflict pertaining to which entity has the broadcast rights to the latest sporting event. Disputes over broadcast rights have been litigated in the Jamaican court system on at least two occasions concerning the broadcasting of the 2015 World Athletic Championships [1]  and the 2014 IAAF Diamond League. [2] The latest controversy concerning the broadcasting rights for the 2022/2023 Premier League football season begins with the rights being granted to a new entity, Verticast, for the entire Caribbean region. [3] Subsequent to the grant of the broadcast rights to Verticast, territorial sub-licences have been made to a number of different broadcasters and cable co...

    Abortions and Intellectual Property Dr Emma Perot The world has been reeling from the overturning of the US constitutional right to abortion recognised in  Roe v Wade [1]  in the US Supreme Court. This is despite the fact that the impact of the judgment is seemingly limited to the USA. Some US states have federal rights to abortion, which still protect women to a greater extent than most of the Caribbean region. Our stricter approaches to abortion mean that the practice is generally illegal or only legal in exceptional circumstances to preserve the life or mental health of the mother. How is IP relevant to abortion where debate is usually confined to human rights discourse? Intellectual property is not immunised from the moral quandaries of legislators. In particular, patent legislation across the globe often has a provision which prohibits the patenting of inventions that could be considered immoral or contrary to public conscience. In Trinidad and Tobago, secti...

  How to NOT Get Away with  Copyright Infringement Dareem Scipio LLB “No Copyright Infringement intended. I do not own the rights to the music in this video!”  I am sure you are accustomed to seeing this phrase as you scroll through your various social media profiles and streaming platforms.  Maybe you are guilty of having used such line at some point in your life. You see the line as your protection against being sued and so you include it in the caption of every post where the works of others is featured. You feel safe, assured, at peace. However, contrary to popular belief, the words “no copyright infringement intended” offer absolutely no protection to individuals who use and share the works of others without permission. While copyright law does provide exceptions and limitations to avoid copyright infringement, these are often very specific and narrow in focus. In the Caribbean, exceptions and limitations to copyright infringement are generally co...

  Licks for 'Lick' Dr Justin Koo Shenseea and Megan Thee Stallion’s song ‘ Lick ’ has been subject to major attention and scrutiny due to allegations of copyright infringement. ‘Lick’ reproduced the phrase ‘put your back in it’ made famous by the song ‘ Put Your Back In It ’ that went viral as a result of a TikTok challenge featuring the song. However, the origin of ‘put your back in it’ is derived from an earlier song performed by Belfon in 2001 entitled ‘ Work ’.  The controversy with ‘Lick’ surrounds the use of the lyrics ‘put your back in it’ and two samples from ‘Work’ that Anastas Hackett alleges were used without permission. For the purpose of clarity, it is important to note that copyright in a single song can involve different layers – the lyrics (words), the composition (melody/background music), the performance (actual singing or playing of the music) and the production (mixing and mastering of the sound recording). Each of these elements attract copyright or neighb...