National Seminar on Copyright to be held this week

The Companies and Intellectual Property Office of  Dominica, in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations headquartered in Geneva, will hold a national seminar on copyright and related rights later this week.

The seminar is carded for the 29th and 30th of January and will be facilitated by staff  from WIPO’s copyright division as well as regional and local experts.

One of the topics which will be covered at the seminar is: Copyright in Relation to The TRIPS Agreement of the World Trade Organization. The TRIPS Agreement, which came into effect on 1 January 1995, is to date the most comprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property. Other topics include The Nature of Copyright and Related Rights, Copyright and Related Rights law in Dominica, Enforcement of Copyright and Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights. The Economic importance of Copyright and related Rights will also be discussed at the seminar.

The seminar is open to  members of  the public but it will be of particular importance to creators such as film and video producers, authors and publishers of literary works such as books and newspapers, photographers, architects, songwriters and musicians, record producers, computer programmers, paint artists and other persons who produce literary and artistic works.

The organizers say that in addition to creators of copyright works, the information to be disseminated will be of particular interest to the legal profession, the managers of media houses, members of the business community and policy makers in the areas of Economic Development and Trade, particularly Trade in Services.

The venue for the seminar is The Garraway Hotel in Roseau and it is expected to start at 8:30 am on Thursday the 29th.