(Trinidad Express) Carnival mas band designers, bandleaders, artisans, musicians and others involved in what is defined as works of mas will from now enjoy copyright protection for their respective creations and productions.
This was stated by the vice president/commissioner of compliance at the Trinidad and Tobago Copyright Collection Organisation (TTCO), Richard Cornwall, at the launch of the TTCO’s new area of copyright protection known as Works of Mas.
Assistant chief officer of compliance at TTCO, Dion Heath, told the Express this makes Trinidad and Tobago the first nation in the world to provide copyright protection for the Carnival arts. He said that the TTCO was in fact in the process of securing the rights for Trinbago to become the legal domain for the protection of Works of Mas.
“We are presently working on securing a treaty with the World Intellectual Property Organisation to have Trinidad and Tobago made the domain for works of mas, meaning that we will be where anyone from wherever in the world will register for copyright protection of anything to do with the production of mas, that is designers, bandleaders, artists, musicians, performers and others,” Heath said.
To date, the National Carnival Development Foundation has signed up with TTCO and Heath is confident that more bands and organisations will come on board as the word gets out. He said that in the coming weeks the TTCO will be hosting a number of workshops and seminars to educate members of the mas fraternity as well as anyone involved in the arts and entertainment arena interested in their rights and copyright law.
