Jamaican collective management organisations (CMOs) have only a decade-long history but they have already made significant progress in bridging the gap between copyright holders and users of copyright material. In an era in which new technologies have enabled easier and quicker access to protected works and threatened the core business of CMOs worldwide, Jamaican CMOs continue to be vibrant and their future looks bright in the changing global environment.
Collective management refers to the arrangement whereby one organisation is mandated by a group of rights holders to administer the same type of right(s) collectively on their behalf. This arrangement is essential for the exploitation of some rights in copyright: in particular, the right to perform or play a work in public, the right to broadcast the work or the right to reproduce multiple copies of portions of the work. In such cases, given the large number of consumers, it is usually not feasible for individual right holders to negotiate terms of use and collect royalties from every user directly, although advances in information communication technologies (ICTs) are now making this task more achievable.
In Jamaica the legal framework for collective management of copyright is provided by the Jamaica Copyright Act (1993) (the Act). Under the Act, Jamaican CMOs may issue licences or operate licensing schemes covering more than a single collective work or works in respect of which the authors are the same and the works must be made or commissioned by more than one individual, firm, company or group of companies. Over the past decade five CMOs have been established, three of which, in the face of various challenges, have remained active.
JACAP
The Jamaica Association of Composers Authors and Publishers (JACAP) was the first CMO established to serve Jamaican composers, lyricists and publishers of musical works. Incorporated in March 1998, JACAP succeeded the UK-based Performing Right Society (PRS), which operated satellite agencies in former British colonies like Jamaica. JACAP commenced operations in January 1999 and administers the public performing rights, film synchronisation rights and recording rights granted to copyright owners under the Act and licenses those rights to users in exchange for licence fees which are in turn distributed to its members and affiliates.
JAMCOPY
The Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency (JAMCOPY) was incorporated in July 1998 to administer the reproduction rights of authors and publishers in respect of their published printed works. JAMCOPY licenses educational establishments, government administration and commercial users the right to copy published printed works in its repertoire.
The Act generally restricts copying by a reprographic process. Although copyright in literary works is not infringed by virtue of copying for instructional purposes, such copying cannot be done by a reprographic process. Furthermore, institutions providing tertiary education may make reprographic copies of passages from a published work for instructional purposes without infringing copyright but are limited to 5% of any work per quarter. This allowance is however rendered inapplicable where a licensing regime exists.
JPAS
The Jamaica Performers Administration Society (JPAS) was established in 2000 to administer rights and remedies granted to performers in their live and fixed performances. Under the Act, performers are not due any royalties for the public performance or broadcast of their performances as is the case for authors and publishers. At the time of the creation of JPAS, and even until the present, under Jamaican law performers only have non-proprietary rights with most of their entitlements being dictated by contract.