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Barbados on US watch list
by ANTOINETTE CONNELL
antoinetteconnell@nationnews.com
BARBADOS IS ON a United States watch list for not paying copyright fees for cable programmes and public performances of music.
A recent report again cited Barbados for the retransmission of US broadcasts and cable programming by local cable operators without permission.
“In the realm of copyright and related rights, the United States continues to have concerns about the unauthorised retransmission of US broadcasts and cable programming by local cable operators in Barbados, particularly stateowned broadcasters, without adequate compensation to US rights holders. Several outstanding copyright infringement cases filed by stakeholders against local cable operators and one local radio station remained at a virtual standstill in 2022.
The United States also has continuing concerns about the refusal of Barbadian TV and radio broadcasters, and cable and satellite operators, to pay for public performances of music,” the report said.
Anthony Green, Station Manager of Starcom Network, distanced the company from the report, stating that it had paid and met its requirement in relation to copyright issues.
‘Good relationship’ “ Starcom Network enjoys a good relationship with Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (COSCAP). Our payments are up to date and we have a process in place to make sure that we meet the requirements that COSCAP has in place,” he said.
Calls to Sanka Price, chief executive officer of the state-owned Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, were not returned up to press time.
The report stated that the US “also has continuing concerns about the refusal of Barbadian TV and radio broadcasters, and cable and satellite operators, to pay for public performances of music. The United States urges Barbados to take all actions necessary to address such cases to ensure that all composers and songwriters receive the royalties they are owed for the public performance of their musical works. The United States looks forward to working with Barbados to resolve these and other important issues”.
Chief executive officer (CEO) of COSCAP, Dr Erica Smith, said cable operators in Barbados are not licensed by her organisation.
“It is something we’ve spoken to many times. Just as the radio stations need a licence, so too do the cable operators. Unfortunately, Barbados has featured on
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the watch list for a number of years and one of the outstanding concerns speaks to the need to implement the Internet treaties. Barbados has draft new legislation for copyright that incorporates the treaties but it is a matter of enacting the bill,” she said.
In the report, the US pointed out that last year’s review of draft amendments to Barbados’ Copyright Act to implement the treaties was delayed with Parliament now expected to discuss the amendments by yearend.
Barbados, it stated, had acceded to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty and WIPO Copyright Treaty, collectively known as the WIPO Internet Treaties, in 2019.
“However, the lack of enforcement of intellectual property judgements, insufficient resources for law enforcement, weak enforcement of existing legislation and longstanding backlogs in the judicial system remain as concerns,” it read.
Smith said there was a concerted effort to have the draft bill completed but could not say at what stage it had reached.
“It is unfortunate that the processes are so slow, whether we are speaking to enacting the legislation or the legal process where there are issues enforcing rights because the court system is so slow. The challenge with cable operators we have been trying to address for years. We had engaged legal counsel and we’ve just been getting nowhere; even in terms of negotiations there is no progress. Of course, if we have to go through the law courts it could take an indefinite period of time,” she said.
The CEO questioned how serious Barbados was about developing the creative industries and getting investment if it did not have legislation that spoke to the digital environment.
“If we have a situation where it can take so long and be so expensive to enforce your rights, I don’t see how anybody will take us seriously,” Smith said.
The Special 301 Report comes from an annual review of the state of intellectual property protection and enforcement in US trading partners.
Barbados joins 21 others on the list, including Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Vietnam, while Russia and China are on the “priority” watch list.
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