When you are jumping up to Ernestine Carballo's soca selections during Carnival or singing along to Ras Indios reggae tracks on the radio , no one stops to think about copyright laws and the fact that these Belizean artists aren't getting paid the royalties they are due . Well music ambassador Shyne Barrow wants to change that. As we have reported Shyne is calling on artists to protest against businesses that are not adhering to the copyright laws. So, today, Barrow and his team at the Belizean society of composers , authors and publishers held a press briefing with a visiting expert to reinforce the importance of paying copyright fees.
Marissa Longsworth, In-house Attorney - CILGlobal IP Ltd.
"Our laws state that the person who snaps that picture, the person who sings that song, who strums the guitar, who plays that piano is the first automatic owner of their copyright. Therefore, if ownership has been assigned then to use something that's owned by someone else just as in any type of property, you have to pay. Now I wanted to be made very clear that the copyright act as it stands makes it illegal to use copyright works without permission. Permission could be for free, but you must get that person to give you that permission that you can use it for free. And if you say, 'well I got permission from this record label to use it for free', what happens to the writer in the background that did the lyrics that's expecting payment? Has he given permission for his lyrics to be used? If he doesn't want to give permission, play the musical. Has the composer of the music allowed for it to be used? Now these are all the considerations that legally we have to consider when it comes to copyright, in fact I'll give you an example of Belize's current situation. The software company Microsoft is currently in Belize through its representatives going to various companies and saying 'you have used my Microsoft word excel and so on and you didn't pay for it, here's my bill'. They have the right to do that and so does every musician."
Shyne Barrow, CEO - BSCAP
"Our artists deserve more respect and more appreciation. No one is doing the artist a favor when they play the music. If the music is great you play it. If you play it, you pay for it. It is just a matter of law."
Now BSCAP has the right and authority to sue any business that are non copyright compliant. Those include hotels, bars, clubs, lounges, restaurants and of course radio and television stations. Each category of business carries their own fee structure. For instance radio stations would pay 4 Percent of their gross ad revenue . Now it's not only paying Belizean artists , but the law includes paying international artists as well, and that is equally important
Marissa Longsworth, In-house Attorney - CILGlobal IP Ltd.
"Not only does organizations like BSCAP collect for local members, their responsibility is also to collect on behalf of international members. Every time you hear a song by Beyoncé or otherwise legally, they are to collect and remit it to whichever organization represents Beyoncé. That's a part of their job. So when we are evading these fees, not only are we evading paying local artists but we are evading our international obligations to pay for the use of products. It falls into our aspects of trade and commerce as well. If we are seen as a country that does not respect intellectual property, then all sorts of businesses such as animation studios, record studios, movie studios, they will not be interested in investing in Belize because they have no protection, no enforcement rights."
Business like Bowen and Bowen , Brothers Habet , Scotia Bank among others businesses have worked out an agreement and are paying their copyright fees. Shyne says LOVE FM and KREM Radio have committed to pay as well.
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