Caribbean Reprographic Project Carol Newman JAMCOPY

Introducing the Caribbean Several islands and mainland territories surrounded by, or bordering on, the Caribbean Sea Spread from the southern tip of Florida in the north to the northern shores of Venezuela in the south and all that lies in between Several groupings within this region but the one applicable for the purposes of this presentation is the CARICOM grouping

Territories of the Caribbean

CARICOM English speaking Commonwealth Caribbean States Established in 1973 to facilitate cooperation in economic, social, cultural and political matters Membership extended in 1995 to include non-English speaking states 14 member states Population of 15 million

Important Demographics St. Kitts and Nevis has smallest population – 44,000 Jamaica has largest (English speaking) – 2.7M Lowest GDP – Guyana - US$831 Highest GDP – The Bahamas –US$15,894 But, next to the Bahamas is Barbados with US$9,700

Purpose of IP Administration To promote copyright compliance To enable commerce to exist around copyright To provide efficient management of rights for both rights holders and users To return VALUE to rights holders (value not exclusively limited to money)

Regional Challenges and Solutions The region faces unique challenges: small size and population base of the territories their low GDP National collecting societies do not generate sufficient revenue for viability, efficiency and sustainability. The smaller pool of licensors (rightsholders) and prospective licensees (users) in the area of reprographic reproduction rights, relative to musical rights, makes a regional approach less taxing on the limited resources of the countries and ultimately more beneficial to national rights holders in the Caribbean.

Question: How could we as a region leverage our IP administration capabilities as a region, as diverse as we are, to maximize the potential benefits both for users and rights holders in the region?

Suggestion/Idea Collaboration: Regional collaboration would provide a comprehensive region-wide solution for the management of rights to the benefit of all the countries concerned With the support of IFRRO and WIPO, the Caribbean Reprographic Project (CRP) was established

Caribbean Reprographic Project 2005: Ocho Rios Consultation Agreement to collaborate in the relevant functions required, on behalf of rightsholders in the area of reprography Regional Steering Committee established Action Plan formulated 2006: Trinidad Consultation Reaffirmation of objectives Areas of cooperation WIPO Regional Meeting of Heads of Intellectual Property of Caribbean Countries – WIPO Regional Ministerial Level Meeting on Intellectual Property for Caribbean Countries - Endorsement of CRP

Proposed Caribbean Model The regional collaboration model comprises: 3 nationals RROs in Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados a sub regional RRO for the OECS countries a regional RRO to perform agreed collaborative functions for economies of scale, greater reach, impact, visibility, effectiveness and, ultimately, sustainability

Progress 3 National RROs: 1 OECS Sub-regional RRO – ECCLA Jamaica (JAMCOPY) Trinidad & Tobago (TTRRO) Barbados (BCOPY) 1 OECS Sub-regional RRO – ECCLA Antigua & Barbuda Dominica Grenada St. Lucia St. Kitts St. Vincent

Administration JAMCOPY to perform specific services for BCOPY ECCLA

Next Steps - Advancing the Caribbean Reprographic Project 2008 Montego Bay Consultation – November 1

Thank you for your attention