A visitor to this site recently asked the following question about Copyright, and Abiola Inniss, legal expert on Copyright issues, and author of Copying: Copyright and The Internet, responded below.

Question: Does the Copyright law of the US protect the works (art/music/photo/etc) of a Caricom-American (naturalized Caribbean person) in his/her former country and/or other Caribbean Countries/South America?

Abiola Inniss: The copyright laws of the US will apply only in the US unless the laws of a particular country give protection to copyrighted material coming from another territory or by bilateral or other agreement between countries. The Jamaican copyright laws afford this kind of protection. Artists and producers, etc must be proactive in ensuring that their rights are protected or are capable of being protected by the laws of whichever country they wish to market their work. There is no automatic international scheme which will afford protection of copyright to anyone anywhere. All Caricom countries have some form of copyright laws, the issues of adequacy, ease of enforcement and modern relevance are the ones which concern analysts the most.The lawyer you select would normally network with others in the relevant territories to ensure that your interests are properly represented.