The Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency (JAMCOPY) marks its 10th anniversary with a series of activities this week, commencing with a service at the Bethel Baptist Church in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, today.

Tomorrow (Monday) an exhibition titled 'JAMCOPY: 10 years of fostering respect and facilitating access' will be launched at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Library at 4 pm.

This will be followed by the staging of a distinguished lecture on the topic 'Copyright and its contribution to the economic and cultural development of a nation' on Tuesday at the Western Jamaica Campus of the University of the West Indies, Mona - commencing at 6 p.m. The presenter will be Dianne Daley, intellectual property partner at the law firm, Foga Daley.

JAMCOPY is the national reproduction rights organisation (RRO) that manages the reprographic reproduction rights of publishers and creators, including writers, poets, journalists, playwrights, photographers, illustrators and visual artists. Reprographic reproduction includes photocopying, facsimile, xerography, copying on to microfilm and duplicating.

exclusive right

According to Carol Newman, general manager of JAMCOPY, under Jamaica's Copyright Act, "creators and publishers have the exclusive right to decide when and how their work is reproduced, whether it's being photocopied, scanned or downloaded".

Newman discloses that in the past, it was difficult for individuals or organisations to locate copyright owners to gain permission to copy their material, and it was difficult too for copyright owners protect their rights when copying was done illegally. She notes this has changed with the advent JAMCOPY in 1998.

legal permission

"Individuals, institutions and businesses can now conveniently and easily obtain legal permission to copy, and copyright owners have a convenient mechanism through which they can receive compensation for the copying of their works," states Newman.

She discloses that JAMCOPY represents the works or repertoire of creators and publishers from many countries through bilateral agreements with other national reproduction rights organisations (RROs) across the world. Newman adds that JAMCOPY is a member of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO), with member organisations in 34 countries.