Jamcopy Information

JAMCOPY, the Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency, is a collective management organization and Jamaica's national Reproduction Rights Organisation (RRO). It was set up by creators and publishers of materials published in printed form, to manage their reproduction rights. The Jamaica Copyright Act 1993 gives all creators sole and exclusive right to publish and reproduce their work in any form. Through its licences, JAMCOPY provides a centralised, easy and affordable mechanism through which users have access to, and can legally reproduce extracts of, copyright material published in print - books, periodicals and journals. The proceeds from the licence are distributed to copyright holders after deduction of administration costs. JAMCOPY therefore acts a bridge between creators and users of copyright material, offering an efficient and convenient service whereby the society can benefit from the works of creators while respecting copyright and complying with the Jamaica Copyright Act. A non-profit organisation, JAMCOPY's formation in 1998 was spearheaded by a national taskforce of author and publishers organised under the auspices of the Book Industry Association of Jamaica. The Taskforce was guided by the then Copyright Unit of the Ministry of Commerce and Technology (now the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office) and received technical and financial tremendous support from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (now Access Copyright) acting on behalf of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisation (IFRRO). In June 1999, the Government of Jamaica officially recognised JAMCOPY as the sole national licensing body for the reproduction of copyright protected materials published in the print media. JAMCOPY is full member of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO). (IFRRO), an international network of RROs and associated organizations. This relationship with IFRRO has facilitated JAMCOPY entering into reciprocal agreements with other 24 RROs throughout the world which are also members of IFRRO. Protection for the works of JAMCOPY's affiliated copyright holders extends outside of Jamaica as a result of the bilateral agreements with other RROs. Through these agreements, the interests of Jamaican copyright holders are protected in those foreign territories and Jamaican licensees are able to access works from an ever-growing international repertoire. JAMCOPY is also a founding partner in the Jamaica Anti-Piracy Alliance. Regionally, JAMCOPY is the Secretariat for the Caribbean Reprographic Project, an initiative to foster and deepen regional collaboration in the collective management of reprographic reproduction rights in the Caribbean.