Dear Editor,
Little or no regard is given to Copyright and related rights in Guyana despite this country being a signatory to the Berne Convention for Copyright, the Universal Copy-right Convention and the British Copyright Act 1956.
The social intention of these measures is to stimulate and reward creative work. Hence, the protection of Copyright and related rights must be part of the bedrock of progressive, democratic societies. On the contrary, reproductions of our artistes, other artistes’ and authors’ work are done without authorization or legal constriction. We see this in the photocopying of books, paperwork and songs. This prevents artistes and authors from obtaining profits, which would not happen if copyright law was enforced here. This accounts for our inability to attract top performers. By now, they would be aware that reproduced copies of their body of work are being sold for “ a dime a dozen.” This discourages these people from pursuing their craft here in Guyana and we lose them to other countries. In some cases their growth is stunted because of the challenges they face in succeeding abroad.
Our economy is interwoven with the success of our artistes in the same way as it is with other professionals. Our economy could only be boosted by proper treatment of our human resources. Sadly, these resources have been neglected. The Barbadian singer and performer Rihanna, contributes tremendously to Barbados’ economy. Guyana has produced a large number of talented singers such as Lisa Punch, Eddy Grant, Dave Martins, Johnny Braff, Lionel Abel, Timeka Marshall, Poonam Singh, Jackie Jaxx, Big Red, Barbara Sookraj and the list goes on. These people spend most of their time overseas and many have permanently left these shores. Punch chose to return home to give the APNU Party support when they were campaigning for the national elections. Simultaneously, she was gaining recognition internationally. It can only be hoped that she didn’t forfeit her opportunities for Party loyalty. There is no evidence that loyalty was reciprocated to the extent it should have been.
It would be interesting to know how many recording studios there are in Guyana. There should be a rallying cry for contributions from the government, private enterprise and individuals for the erection of a museum recognizing all our artistes, musicians, authors and all Guyanese who have achieved noteworthy local and international recognition. Also, there should be people employed by the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sport for the purpose of scouting for talent. Maybe we could have “Guyana’s Got Talent” and “Guyana’s Idol” television shows similar to those in the United States of America.
It is long overdue that we address the issue of copyright and other related rights. How does Guyana escape with this lawlessness? Why doesn’t Caricom condemn Guyana for upholding this practice? A check should be made throughout Caricom to promote a unified approach to this matter. All challenges within Caricom should be handled in this unified manner. Our talent has to compete internationally with much greater populations and economies so we have to unite on these major issues.
Faithfully,
Conrad Barrow