CARIBBEAN
CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES CAPITALISE ON IP
Tira Greene Greene and Greene
Caribbean governments and private sector companies have been making moves to capitalise on their intellectual property (IP).
Several of these activities have been propelled by the Cariforum/EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), a reciprocal trade agreement that focuses on four matters, the objective of which is to liberalise trade in goods, services and investment between the two regions on a reciprocal basis.
Cultural and entertainment services
Governments in the Caribbean have, historically, not addressed directly the economic potential of cultural services in policies to an appreciable extent. T e EU has funded several workshops within a project on liberalisation of trade in cultural and entertainment services in the Caribbean region, which aimed to address and correct this issue directly. T e objective of the project was to assess the economic contribution of the cultural/creative industries in CARICOM, a conference made up of the heads of governments from Caribbean countries, to identify the factors constraining the global competitiveness of the sector and to analyse issues aff ecting trade and investment with a view to formulating an action plan for the development of the sector.
One of the major successes of the project was the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation in the EPA. T is aims to create avenues of access for those who are not in commercial transactions but wish to enter Europe for other cultural activities, such as collaborating with Europeans.
Picking up on this initiative, T e Jamaica National Export Strategy, November 2010 noted that cultural and creative industries are a major contributor to the local economy.
T e report stated: “Within the creative sector, dance, drama, fi lm and music are among the strongest export services and have the greatest potential to promote our culture and creativity. Various reports on the music industry place the number of people employed at between 6000 and 15,000, with
80 World Intellectual Property Review e-Digest 2012
estimates of export earnings as high as US$100 million. Film location projects alone may contribute US$14 million to the local economy, with 1500 to 2500 employees who also export their services.”
T e Trinidad and Tobago carnival is one of the largest and famous pre- Lenten festivals, along with the Rio Carnival in Brazil and the Mardi Gras in New Orleans in the US. It has been the source of inspiration for several carnivals throughout the Caribbean region as well as in the US and the UK.
T e Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries noted during Project ICT Innovations for the Development of the Masquerade Industry of Trinidad and Tobago that: “T e local masquerade industry has become one of the fl agships of the carnival industry landscape of Trinidad and Tobago. Having emerged primarily as a creative activity and a sociocultural practice, the masquerade industry has evolved to also become a substantial contributor to the local economy.
“Carnival visitor arrivals have grown … and in 2007 there were more than 40,000 visitors who spent approximately US$28 million, over 10 percent of the annual visitor expenditures.
“Most recent data show that three weeks of revenue from Trinidad and Tobago’s carnival exceeds US$100 million. Additionally, overseas diaspora carnivals generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues.”
Geographical indications (GIs)
In St Lucia, the EU’s TradeCom Facility Programme is launching a pilot project with the aim of preparing a country strategy paper on the potential of GIs. It will highlight products for development, the legal and regulatory framework required and possible marketing strategies. T is project also aims to create a model approach to the development of GIs, which can be replicated in other Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries, to provide valuable inputs for the fi nal Cariforum-EU EPA negotiations on GIs that are scheduled for 2014.
www.worldipreview.com
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