THE United States is keen on copyright laws and the enforcement of such legislation in Guyana, according to U.S. Ambassador Perry Holloway.“Copyright infringement is certainly a serious concern for my government, and we have legislation requiring us to inform our congress of which countries are performing at a certain level and which are not. It is an important issue, and one which will be addressed through democracy and governance,” he said at a recent press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown.

Copyright laws, which provide for the protection of creations of the mind, are intended to inhibit the illegal reproduction and sale of “intellectual property.”

Intellectual property, he explained, refers to creations and inventions of the mind. These are protected in various ways, one of which involves copyright laws which enable people to earn recognition and financial benefits from what they invent or create.

But like some other laws in Guyana, copyright laws have been constantly ignored, misunderstood and outdated.

The copyright laws help to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can be encouraged and allowed to flourish. As such, technology has become such a major influence over copyright laws and how they must now be drafted that it has even posed challenges to traditional book writers, who must fight to stay relevant.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Experts say that there are four main classes of intellectual property which can be infringed, and since Guyana is primarily focused on copyright laws, then the problem that will occur is the inability to monitor what exactly is manufactured, how much of it will be reproduced, and who would be able to monitor what is going on.
The issue is creating relevant laws that can effectively deal with these matters, since the developments in technology are one of the greatest challenges for law makers and policy makers regionally, because the developments are moving faster than the laws can keep up with now.

Meanwhile, the advent of online platforms for publishing has also created another phenomenon that has cross-border challenges.

By Rabindra Rooplall