PoS Rotary gets copyright lesson

Members of the Rotary Club of Port-of-Spain Central were treated to a full presentation on Copyright by Allison Dumas, CEO of the Copyright Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago (COTT) at the Rotary Club luncheon held at the Queen’s Park Oval yesterday. Dumas stated that any person who does, or authorises others to do any of the restricted acts without consent from the copyright owner, infringes copyright. The Copyright Act 1997 of Trinidad and Tobago grants distinct and separate rights that apply to music. “Copyright is also a property right, although it is intangible, it is a part of the intellectual property (property which is derived from the mind). It belongs, initially, to the person who creates that original work,” Dumas said. She added that unlike other intellectual property, one does not have to register to claim protection. “It arises automatically as soon as an original work is created. So if you are a songwriter, as soon as you sing you have copyright or if you are an architect, as soon as you sketch, you have copyright.”

COTT, a non-governmental organisation, represents composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers. It manages and licences collectively performing and reproduction rights in their music under the Copyright Act 1997. It grants licences and collects fees from users of copyright music and distributes royalties to the writers and publishers who own the copyright. Copyright is the exclusive right, granted by law, to the creator of original literary, artistic or musical works (or the creator’s assignee such as a publisher) to do, authorise, or prohibit certain acts in relation to the works. Dumas added: “Under the Copyright Act, if you wish to use copyright music in public or if you wish to record copyright music you must get the prior permission of each copyright owner. The copyright lasts for the life of the author or creator and 50 years after that person has died. And because it is property it means that it can form part of an estate, so your estate can inherit from your creativity.