A Powerful U.S.-based Anti-copyright Coalition Says Copyright Legislation in The Bahamas is Poor

The International Intellectual Property Alliance IIPA Lobbies to Prevent The Bahamas from Getting Off A Watch List for Violation of Intellectual Property

In its annual trade report released this month, the The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) noted that The Bahamas remains on its priority watch list for inadequate protection of intellectual property rights

Copyright Concerns Grow

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

March 21, 2005

The Bahamas is under attack from a powerful U.S.-based anti-copyright coalition, which has mounted an intense lobby, aimed at preventing this country from getting off a watch list for violation of intellectual property.

The International Intellectual Property Alliance says in a new report that copyright legislation in The Bahamas is poor.

The IIPA is a private sector coalition formed in 1984 to represent the U.S. copyright-based industries in bilateral and multilateral efforts to improve international protection of copyrighted materials.

The Bahamas could face sanctions from the U.S. government if this lobby is successful.

This could mean withdrawal from The Bahamas of the benefits of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, which allows a wide range of products grown and manufactured in the English-speaking Caribbean duty free entry to the U.S market.

“Little or nothing is currently being done to provide effective enforcement against the spread of physical goods piracy,” the IIPA says.

“We are not aware of any police actions that serve as real deterrents against the commercial sale of pirate goods.  The lack of adequate legislation and enforcement discourages potential local and international investments and threatens the growth of a local music industry.”

Just last week, Bahamian police announced a national effort intended to target pirate goods, including DVD’s and CD’s.

The IIPA also says that The Bahamas has the potential to be a successful market for the legitimate recorded music industry due to high levels of tourism and per capita income, and adds that the legitimate industry is also very interested in the exploitation of local and international repertoire in public locations, including cruise ships, and by broadcasters.

On February 18, 2000, the Motion Picture Association and the Television Association of Programmers filed a special petition that highlighted the fact that the Government of The Bahamas had implemented a compulsory license, which they claimed violated international copyrights norms.

As a consequence, the Government of The United States entered into negotiations with the Government of The Bahamas.  Those negotiations resulted in an exchange of letters dated October 26 and November 9, 2000 constituting an agreement between the two parties.

Under that agreement, The Bahamas committed to conform its cable compulsory license to international norms.

The compulsory license allowed Bahamian cable operators – in this case Cable Bahamas – to retransmit premium cable television programming in the absence of agreements with those cable companies.

Cable Bahamas had argued that the cable operators refused to enter into agreements with them to transmit certain English language programme because The Bahamas was viewed as being a part of the Latin American market.

“Even though more than four years have now passed, The Bahamas still has not met its commitments under that agreement,” the coalition claimed, referring to the one between The Bahamas and the United States.

But Minister of Financial Services and Investments Allyson Maynard-Gibson, who has responsibility for copyright issues, said this is inaccurate.

“The Government of The Bahamas has honoured a commitment made by the previous administration to curtail the compulsory licensing regime,” she said in an interview with The Bahama Journal.

“Both houses of parliament have passed that amendment to the Copyright Act.  Submissions made this year to the [United States Trade Representative] by the Government are that The Bahamas should be downgraded because its commitment has been honoured.

“The Bahamas also points out that we hope that the USTR would be able to facilitate our effort to cause the USTR and the other specific parties, the IIPA and the Motion Pictures Association of America to honour its side of the agreement by causing the cable service providers to have premium service provided to The Bahamas.”

In its annual trade report released this month, the USTR noted that The Bahamas remains on its priority watch list for inadequate protection of intellectual property rights.

But as indicated by Minister Gibson, government officials expect that the country will be downgraded when the list is revised this year.

“You would recall that the previous administration exchanged a letter with the USTR that we would curtail our compulsory licensing regime and they would encourage the service providers to cause premium service to be provided to cable providers in The Bahamas,” she said.

“We, The Bahamas, have honoured our side of the bargain.  The United States has not yet honoured its side of the bargain and we are looking forward to them honouring their side of the bargain.”

A Call For The Bahamas To Be Included on A Watch List for Copyright Infringement

The Motion Pictures Association of America MPAA says that Bahamian copyright law is in violation of international law and is harmful to the U.S. film industry 

The Bahamas government is attempting to amend the necessary legislation to ensure that no sanctions are imposed on The Bahamas

Copyright Blacklist Threat

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

04/03/2004

The Motion Pictures Association of America has recommended that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) place The Bahamas on a watch list for copyright infringement that could lead to the U.S. government imposing sanctions.

The MPAA argues that Bahamian copyright law is in violation of international law and is harmful to the U.S. film industry.

If The Bahamas moves from its present position on the USTR priority watch list to the priority foreign country list, this could mean withdrawal from The Bahamas of the benefits of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), Minister of Financial Services and Investments Allyson Maynard Gibson said in the House of Assembly Wednesday.

The Minister, who was speaking on a bill to amend the Copyright Act, noted that getting on the priority foreign country list is the "last thing in the world The Bahamas would want."

The USTR first placed The Bahamas on its watch list in 2002 and in 2003 moved The Bahamas to the priority watch list, which indicates that it believes that The Bahamas was not acting in good faith to resolve the problem.  At present, there are 11 countries on the priority watch list.

The CBI allows a wide range of products grown and manufactured in the English-speaking Caribbean duty free entry to the U.S. market.  In 2001, The Bahamas' total exports to the United States stood at approximately $154.2 million.

The government is attempting to amend the necessary legislation to ensure that no sanctions are imposed on The Bahamas.

The Copyright Act, which was passed in 1998, provides for the creation of a system of compulsory licenses which enabled the sole cable operator in The Bahamas, Cable Bahamas, to offer premium channels to the Bahamian public, and pay royalties into a special fund.

But U.S. copyright owners have accused Cable Bahamas of stealing their signals.

 The Copyright Royalty Tribunal has on its accounts some $934,917.92 in copyright fees from Cable Bahamas, but there have been no claims to the Tribunal, Minister Gibson said.

She said failure to narrow the scope of the compulsory license, as is the intention of a bill to amend the Copyright Act, could also have a negative impact on tourism in that it is possible that the U.S. could respond by withdrawing the pre-clearance benefits both tourists and Bahamians have come to enjoy.

Minister Gibson added that inadequate remuneration for the compulsory licensing of free-over-the-air broadcasts is a concern for the Americans, particularly with respect to uses by hotels and other commercial enterprises.  Under the present Act, cable operators are required to provide "equitable remuneration" for their transmissions.

But the USTR determined that the rates are too low.

Minister Gibson pointed to the difficulty regional cable providers face in trying to secure U.S. cable programming in English.

"A number of premium cable providers in the U.S. had over a number of years seemed to be unwilling to negotiate to allow their U.S. based channels to be broadcast in The Bahamas and other English speaking Caribbean countries," she explained.  "They offered instead their Latin channels, which happen to be in Spanish, for broadcast in The Bahamas."

Brendan Paddick, CEO of Cable Bahamas, told the Bahama Journal in an earlier interview that Caribbean nations have a lot of problems entering into agreements with many U.S. networks.

"Despite our efforts to enter into agreements and to pay them on a basis similar to what cable companies in the U.S. pay them, these companies essentially refuse to enter into licensing agreements with Cable Bahamas," Mr. Paddick said.  "[They claim] it would be too expensive for them to secure rights for many of the Caribbean nations...to pay for their programmes."

Minister Gibson told parliament Wednesday that, "Our legal advisors and international legal opinion are of the view that compulsory licensing is allowed under current international agreements.

"The government is satisfied that the compulsory license as provided for in the current legislation is allowed under international law."

She explained that, "It should be noted that the U.S. does not argue that compulsory licenses are not allowed under international law, it rather argues that such international law does not allow the compulsory licensing of encrypted signals."

While appreciating the argument made by the U.S. for the protection of the rights of the copyright holders, she said the most important issue for the government is to ensure that the Bahamian public is able to obtain quality cable programming in English.

"It is my understanding that this is why the government agreed to a compromise with the U.S. government," Minister Gibson said.  "Under this compromise, The Bahamas agreed to narrow the scope of the compulsory license provided for in the Copyright Act and to begin consultations with U.S. copyright owners on increased remuneration for the compulsory licensing and to amend its royalty rate structure."

The U.S. government, meanwhile, undertook to encourage U.S. copyright owners to enter into good faith negotiations with Cable Bahamas to provide voluntary licensing on commercial terms.

"It is also likely that the former government considered the investment of the numerous Bahamians and pension funds in the only licensed cable provider," she noted.