Jamaica Unveils Copyright Registration System

On December 30, the Jamaica Gleaner reported that the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) recently created a formal voluntary copyright registration system.  This new system will complement the National Library system established under the Legal Deposit Act, which requires that creators deposit a copy of their material as a record of Jamaica's published heritage and development.

This is a positive development for Jamaica.  Whilst the registration of copyright is not required under  the Berne Convention, it will benefit to Jamaica copyright industries, including both the artistic community (e.g. songwriters, authors, audiovisual creators) and the technology sector (software and app developers).  The registration system will facilitate the exercise of copyright and related rights by providing right owners with a mechanism to clearly establish authorship and/or ownership of rights. It will enable market participants to get documentation, including certificates of registration or certified copies of registry documents, that provide important information on a work or other subject matter, its author or, through a documented chain of transfer, its present ownership.  Registration can also help to delimit the public domain, and consequently facilitate access to creative content for which no authorization from the right owner is needed. Lastly, the registration system will give market participants access to valuable source of national statistics on Jamaica's creative industries.   

The creation of a copyright registration system is an important building block of any modern intellectual property framework.  Based on the responses submitted to World Intellectual Property Organization as part of its 2010 survey, it appears that Jamaica is one of the first Caribbean nations to do so.  It remains to be seen whether other Caribbean nations will follow in Jamaica's footsteps.