The world is constantly changing. New ideas are emerging in all fields of endeavour and as a people we need to participate in these discussions and understand how they affect our lives. It is no longer sufficient to assume that Bondye Bon and therefore all will be well for Dominicans simply by existing because someone else will think and act for us, while the most we need to do is react to what others do. The series of articles which the “Idiosyncratic Economist” will publish on DNO will cover a wide range of topics, but with the unifying theme of stimulating discussion on important matters of national and international importance. DNO was chosen as the medium to communicate because the author firmly believes that the modern means of communication represents , not the wave of the future, but our present reality and is thus the best medium for Dominicans to communicate with each other in real time no matter where they live.
The subject matter of copyright is “works” and these works are in the field of art, music, science and literature. It is important to point out that what is protected is the form, or manner of expression and not the ideas expressed by the author. Copyright is a form of private property which involves the existence of a “monopoly” by the owner of the copyright for a limited time to do a number of things or acts to a work. The period of protection is generally not less than 50 years after the death of the author (in Dominica and most of Western Europe it is 70 years PMA), although for some kinds of works the period of protection is calculated from the date of publication or some other period. In this second case the period of protection is generally 50 years ( Copyright in recordings and films for example) .It is important to point out that Copyright comes into existence as soon as the work is created and the author needs to do nothing at all to be the owner of the copyright in his work.
There are two main classes of rights in copyright:
(a) The Economic Rights; and
(b) The Moral Rights
The Moral Rights have to do with the integrity and inviolability of the work; the matter of divulgation of the work, the claim to authorship, etc. These rights cannot be transferred from the author at all although on the death of the author they can be enforced by the inheritors of his estate. The author can seek the same kinds of relief in the court for infringement of these rights as for infringements of his economic rights. One of the more common forms of moral rights violation is failure to indicate the name of the author, be she a photographer, a painter or a sculptor – -a violation of the right of paternity as can be seen on the cover of the 2012/2013 Dominica telephone directory. Somewhat curiously it is also the moral right of the author to use a pseudonym of his choosing or in fact not to sign his name to his work. Another major violation of an author’s moral rights is what is known as mutilation of the work, which term though some what vague and imprecise, would include things like retouching of photos, deletion or alteration of any feature in a painting or sculpture etc. These latter actions would constitute violations of the right of integrity. The moral rights of the author remain intact even after she has transferred all the economic rights to a third party! In fact doing (or in some cases not doing) anything to an author’s creation that would be prejudicial to the author’s honour or reputation would constitute a violation of his moral right of integrity.
These rights, in countries with a Roman (civil law) legal tradition e.g. most of the Continental Europe, are inalienable and last forever. In countries with an Anglo-Saxon legal system such as in Dominica, these rights were generally not expressly protected in the copyright law, but in other laws e.g. laws on privacy, unfair competition, contract law, defamation etc. However recent legislation in the Uk and most Commonwealth countries explicitly recognise moral rights which last at least as long as the economic rights. The author can waive his moral rights, but he must do so for each specific act that might infringe his moral right. The author can seek the same kinds of relief in the court for infringement of these rights as for infringements of his economic rights.
Disclaimer
This article and subsequent articles are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. The articles are offered only for general informational and educational purposes. They are not offered as and do not constitute legal advice or legal opinions. Legal matters are often complicated. For assistance with your specific legal problem or inquiry please refer to a competent attorney.
About the Author
Mc Carthy Marie is an economist by training. He is currently Chairman of The Eastern Caribbean Collective Organization for Music Rights (ECCO) and Vice chair of the Association of Caribbean Copyright Societies (ACCS). He is also a consultant to the World Intellectual Property Organisation. (WIPO).
The author would be pleased to answer queries from readers, but does not guarantee that every query will be answered.
BY the way the references to law or practice on the copyright system will be to the law in Dominica unless otherwise stated.
S promised I will respond to some of the comments/questions. I will rspond to “Nacinimod”‘s questions about where he can register his copyright. The answer is that in Dominica and most of the world there is nowhere to register your copyright. This is stated in the last sentence of the first paragraph which I repeat here : “It is important to point out that Copyright comes into existence as soon as the work is created and the author needs to do nothing at all to be the owner of the copyright in his work “. he question which usually follows is “how can I prove in court that I am the author of my work?” The answer is that in the civil court, where most copyright actions take place, the judge is required to give the presumption of authorship to the person whose name appears in the “usual place”. If the opposing party wants to put the presumed author’s claim to authorship in dispute the onus is on him to bring evidence to that effect. BY the way posting a copy of your book or other work to yourself has no evidentiary value since it proves nothing at all.
I was a bit disappointed that the article was so short and ended somewhat abruptly. However the information is timely and welcome. Thank you Mr. Marie…keep them coming. Education is always liberating!
Admin: You would have noticed that the headline indicated that it was part one which means there are other parts to follow on the same subject. Other subjects will also be dealt with in the series which is published every weekend.
How often will these articles be published? Looking forward to reading more. Good move, Mr. Marie!
Admin: Every weekend until the end of the series which, by the way, will not deal only with copyright issues
We are in the midst of a technological, economic and organizational transformation that allows us to renegotiate the terms of freedom, justice and productivity in the information society. How we shall survive in this new environment will in some significant measure depends on the policy choices that we make over the next decade. To be able to understand these choices to make them well we must recognize that they are part of what is fundamentally a social and political choice “a choice of how to be free, equal, productive human beings under a new set of technological and economic condition. Ideas are very important to any society. This truth is becoming apparent as the developed world move rapidly towards a knowledge economy, in which values derives not from ownership and utilization of hard physical assets, but from the processing and interpretation of information. Where as physical assets allows strait forward protection due to its tangibility and excludability idea assets are different.Access to knowledge should be seen as a fundamental human right the same as it is to education and health care, knowledge is a basic necessity of life that should be freely available to all. Therefore, any public good like education for instance, could help us to understand also that an invention or innovation is a social product originated in the shared knowledge of mankind and no one could be regarded as the absolute owner of them; therefore, restriction or benefit on the use of available knowledge should not be claimed in an exclusive manner. The same could be used to oppose biotechnology firms that own IP protecting crops which they wish to sell to developing world farmers at a high profit. According to the article does it mean that if you develope a product to protect yourself and i am able to develope the same product and improvise on it to solve multiple purpose to protect myself in a sutuation where my life is at risk i should not do it? If not then where does the ethical right to life co-exist. The misic industry for example has been under the pirate attack for year yet it’s the most thriving industry. The pirate are here to stay just work along with themand make them your legal partners instead of spending tons on $$$$ trying to fight then
If you are indeed a marketing student, you need to get your idea across a lot more quickly and concisely. You will not survive with these long diatribes.
I dont know why Mc Carthy dont find something more productive to do than talking about copyright, moral rights and economic rights.
I see it will come a time when we will not beable to play any music at our homes when we would be having a party and having a crowd. After buying our CD’s dos’nt he expect us to play them? He thinks we should obtain a licence to play music at our homes
What is the point of this article? It does provide any new information or information specific to Dominica. Where does one file copyright application for example.
Forgive the typo. Should read “Copyright”
interesting article. For many years I enforced the Cpoyright Designs and Patents Act alongside the Trade Marks Act. Counterfeiting and intellectual property theft has not been taken seriously in Dominica. These protective measures have built in civil remedies and are also backed up by criminal legislation. It is a serious business to steal copyright. That is what it is. Theft.
Nice move Mackie to bring this out in the open. Need to do some follow ups. It is so important that creativity is suported and protected.
A breath of fresh air great information fo all to digest. My question to you MR Marie. Did D.B.S.grossly violated MrGordon Henderson rights as it relates to the recent situation which caused D.B.S to ban MR Henderson music being played over their air waves. Just asking???Remember there`s never a dumb question.
yes DBs radio did violate Mr. Henderson rights as a composer/songwriter and record producer. Mr. Henderson sued DBS Radio for copyright infringement in the high court in Dominica. DBS settled with Mr.Henderson and other parties by paying a sum of money.
Thanks for the insight Mark
who cares anyway?
tch…Stop me from playing music, i dare u…
Thanks for the posting this is good information.
Since mr Marie is willing to answer questions can he tell me if the right to compensation for songs ,publications ect is more important than being compensated for work done at 19 years old for family members who thinks that driving a five ton truck loaded with bananas or passengers is not work because you are sitting all day?
Yes it is. Don’t get personal.
Excellent attempt at focused discussion on serious issues. Great respect mark!