Overview
Unfortunately, the BSA or SIIA doe not have
any information on piracy for Jamaica.
There aren’t many issues of privacy in Jamaica. They don’t censor material coming into the
country. From my experience in Jamaica
there was not much issue about privacy unless you were from an affluent
neighborhood. Most citizens live in a
yard that was shared by about two or three families. So most of the times people knew what your
were doing. Most people in the United
States had fences, in Jamaica barbed (bobwire) wire was mostly the border
from yard to yard. As, far as
Intellectual Property, Jamaica is part of the WIPO, and in February 2002 they
founded an office to help manage their Intellectual Property conflicts in
house. The Jamaican Music Industry has
many statures in regards to Copyright and Public domain when it comes to
information about each artist. Intellectual Property
In February 2002 Jamaica formed a new Intellectual Property Office
(JIPO), consolidating the administration of Jamaica copyright, trademark and
patent laws. The Jamaica Intellectual
Property Office (JIPO) is the primary Agency with responsibility for matters
relating to intellectual property rights in Jamaica. JIPO will administer the Intellectual Property System, including the
Registration of Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Industrial Designs,
the administration of Copyright and Related Rights the administration of the
Patent System, New Plant Varieties and Layout Designs and as provided by
respective statutes. Through its
operations, JPO will aim to: § Contribute to national economic growth and development through the proper
protection administration and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights; § Provide Jamaican creators, inventors and commercial enterprises with
modern and comprehensive procedures and facilities for the acquisition and
protection of Intellectual Property Rights and this provision to foreign
right holders; § Facilitate an international level of Intellectual Property and protection
for Jamaican rights holders; Heighten public awareness of the economic value
and importance of Intellectual Property Rights the need for these rights to
be respected and § Facilitate the improvement of the Intellectual Property System in light
of a new technologies and globalization of trade through updating the Laws
and accession to relevant agreements and Treaties.
(10) Privacy In
June 2002 the Senate passed the Access to Information Bill despite a sharp
division over a clause which empowers the minister of information to exclude
any statutory body from the influence of the information law. The passage of the
information bill by the Senate concludes a 10-year process to provide the
public with a right of access to information produced by state agencies. The
measure goes next before the governor general for his assent. Following this, regulations for the operation of the law will have to be
drafted and approved by Parliament. The measure then comes into effect 12
months after its completion.
(14) Jamaica’s Music Industry
Copyright
Jamaica has moved to improve the protection of creative and intellectual
properties, with the enactment of the Copyright Act, 1993. This legislation
falls under the review of the Office of the Prime Minister. Jamaica's Copyright Act, 1993 applies to original literary, dramatic or
artistic works; sound recordings, films, broadcasts or cable programs;
typographical arrangements of published editions. Copyright in music and artistic works lasts for the lifetime of the
author, plus a period of 50 years. Jamaican nationals, citizens, habitual
residents and corporate bodies established under Jamaican Law can benefit
from the Copyright Act. The same categories of potential beneficiaries from
the United States of America, Canada, Japan and many European, African and
Asian countries are also protected under Jamaican Copyright Law.
(32) Public Domain Not everything of an artistic or
intellectual nature can be copyrighted. Ideas, names, and titles are
excepted. Ideas are not property unless they are put into tangible form such
as a book, drawing, or musical composition. Names generally may not be protected
unless they belong to distinctive characters: The fictional Lone Ranger is an
example. Brand names may be protected as trademarks. Titles can be used
repeatedly. Ten authors can write 'A History of the Vietnam War', and, though
the contents of each book can be copyrighted, the titles cannot. Nearly every artistic or intellectual work created before the 20th
century is not copyrighted and thus also belongs to the public. This includes
all the books written in past centuries as well as paintings, sculpture, and
musical masterpieces. Anyone can, therefore, perform a play by Aeschylus or
Shakespeare or play the music of Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. Their works
were created before there were copyright laws.
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