Senate Passes Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2023

The Senate, on Friday (November 3), passed the Copyright (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2023.

The legislation was piloted by Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill.

In his remarks, Senator Hill said an amendment to the Act is required because the Regulations to accompany the legislation are not yet in place.

He stated that the Copyright Act was amended in 2015 and a new section 87(a) was included, requiring the registration of all licensing bodies.

The Act further stipulated that no person shall carry on the activity of negotiating or granting of licences on behalf of owners of copyright, unless that person is a licensing body holding a certificate of registration.

Senator Hill noted that when the 2015 Act was enacted, there were three existing unregistered licensing bodies referred to as Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) operating in Jamaica.

These include the Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency (JAMCOPY), Jamaica Association of Composers Authors and Publishers (JACAP) and Jamaica Music Society (JAMMS).

“These organisations have been operating for over 20 years. Section 87 (a), therefore, provided for the regularisation of the activities of licensing bodies, by requiring their registration with the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office. Further, Section 154 provides for a transitional period by way of an Order by the Minister,” Senator Hill said.

“This allows for a licensing body operating before the date of coming into operation of the Act to be required to satisfy the requirements for registration under Section 87(a) and any regulations in relation, thereto, within six months from the date or such longer period as the Minister, after consultation with the Executive Director, may, by Order, prescribe,” he added.

Senator Hill explained that while the regulations were being drafted, three extensions of the transitional period were granted by Order in 2018, 2019 and 2020, with the final extension having expired on May 2, 2021.

The Minister said the Attorney General General’s Chambers subsequently advised that the Orders granted, dated June 17, 2019, and June 5, 2020, were ultra vires to the Act, as the Act only provides for one extension and, as such, no further extension could be granted after the Order granted in 2018.

“Therefore, the said CMOs continued to perform without registration in contravention of the Act. This was done in good faith. As a result of the aforementioned, it was determined that it was prudent to amend the transition period with retroactive effect, to commence from July 30, 2015, since the Order in 2018 was promulgated after the transition period had lapsed,” Senator Hill said.

He stated that this amendment is, therefore, intended to remove any uncertainty in relation to the validity of the actions taken by the CMOs since 2015.

“In light of the above, the Bill is being amended to clarify the transitional provisions for the operation of unregistered organisations, while no regulations prescribing the form, manner and fees required for an application for a certificate of registration are enforced,” Senator Hill said.

The legislation was also amended to provide protection from liability for persons who, from July 30, 2015, acted pursuant to Section 154 of the Act.