AS the discussions regarding implementation of copyright legislation in Guyana were put to the fore on Friday, Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes, believes that the issue should be addressed nationally in the form of a campaign.

At the same time, stakeholders attending the forum on intellectual property rights, which was hosted by the American Embassy at Castellani House, were assured that copyright legislation to protect the arts are on the cards for this year. The panellists included singer, Miriam Williams, rock musician Gavin Mendonca , cultural advocate Ruel Johnson , private sector member Vishnu Doerga , and artist Dominique Hunter.

During the discussions at the forum which was attended by a number of invited guests including Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin and members of the diplomatic corps, Minister Hughes said that indeed protecting one’s material in Guyana is a challenge. She suggested that there should be a programme that addresses what she termed “cultural misinformation”.

She explained that she had personal experiences in the past with content being stolen and according to her, there exists a culture of stealing others’ content. Minister Hughes noted that it is a challenge which has to be addressed at all levels of society and according to her, a process of campaigning has to be undertaken in order to get the ball rolling.

During the discussions, Johnson said that the creative arts are critical to the issue of cohesion within the society. He said that several individuals have been campaigning for copyrights here and according to him, in the past, the current government had committed to ensuring copyright legislation is implemented. He said too that one of the key bugbears to the development of the arts here is the non-allocation of resources to the cause; and later Minister Hughes noted that government will be allocating funds in the 2019 budget in that regard.

Doerga said that “I think the time is now, there is need for urgency “as he noted that Guyana is expected to improve its standing in the coming years economically and as such, the property right legislation is needed as time evolves. Mendonca said that he had a dream when the minister said in the past, that the archaic legislation which exists should be updated rather than having conversations, that this will be made a reality. He said that there should be an education drive from the level of children in which the younger generation should be taught not to download materials without permission from the internet. “So we need to re-evaluate our moral grounds in the industry, and fix it,” he said.
“This thing has been around too long, we have to move forward,” moderator, Enrico Woolford said regarding the existing legislation being updated. During the discussions, Senior Counsel Charles Fung-a-Fat, the chief parliamentary counsel attached to the Attorney General’s Chambers, noted that on this year’s legislative agenda is the copyright bill. “The bill is being worked on,” he said.

He said the incomplete 2005 bill which never made it to Parliament , is applicable to modern times.

For years, persons in the creative industry have complained that the absence of copyright legislation was making life difficult for them. Last December, during the budget debate, Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Basil Williams, told the House that several pieces of legislation will be tabled in the National Assembly this year. Among those pieces of legislation is a Copyright Bill. He also said that existing legislation, which dates back to 1966, will be amended to meet the government’s policy objectives for the laws to be more effective for the benefit and well-being of the people.