Comments on: The copyright issue is not being addressed in Carifesta

By: GREG

GREG — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 23:44:32 +0000

Hi Mike,

I am in Dallas, TEXAS. I am hereby giving SN the permission to give you my email address.

By: mike charles

mike charles — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:05:57 +0000

Hello Greg, where r u located?
I will send you to the closest place in North America for the DVDs.
Thanks for your advice. I will have a press release shortly with those persons who I will take to court.

Thanks and best regards
Mike Charles

By: Irreverend

Irreverend — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:31:53 +0000

Eh eh. Me gun colour photocopy some local currency an den go to the DSVD on Regent Street and buy some bootleg DVD and see who gun get charge fuh wat in the Courts.

By: Dwayne Hackett

Dwayne Hackett — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:59:49 +0000

Guyana is a signatory to the Berne Convention and the WTO’s TRIPS agreement. However local legislation has still not been enacted to formalise these copyright conventions.

Anyone who says we don’t have copyright, I would encourage you to go copy some currency and see how that goes! It’s easy you know, with all the technology available to the consumer!

By: Dwayne Hackett

Dwayne Hackett — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:41:55 +0000

Mike,
It is so, not only sad but maddening – this counterfeiting, bootlegging, fakery, illegal copying – there are so many names but call it what it is- only who feels it knows it. It seems as though these copyright infringements have become so commonplace in Guyana that it is now acceptable! Even those who should know better are caught up in the thing. As Martin Carter puts it ‘All are involved, all are consumed…’.
It is very discouraging what is happening to us authors of original works. The legislative environment offers no real worthwhile support and this just makes one despondent and sometimes I ask myself, ‘Why am I still working out from this country?’
When wrong becomes the accepted thing and the right way seems strange, what hope do we have? Once again we as authors of whatever form of material we produce, need to come together, organize, and agitate so that our rights can be protected.

Regards,
Dwayne Hackett

By: GREG

GREG — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:57:16 +0000

Mike you are taking this lightly. Find a lawyer to take this case and have this matter/business taken to court. You do not have to have copyright laws to make an example of this business based on what you saw. If money is a problem I would be the first to contribute to an international fund to assist. We have to start some where. You have ground for compensation.

I bought one of your DVDs on line at paypal. Can you indicate where where I can get the others.

By: mike charles

mike charles — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:17:45 +0000

Hackett, I share your displeasure with the absence of copyright legislation in Guyana. I have recently produced my third DVD “WILD GUYANA” and firmly believe that this is my last DVD production. If we don’t have a change of this blatant stealing of intellectual property rights, I will have to cease my exposition of Guyana. I was unable to recover my expenses for the production of the DVD “GUYANA YOURS TO DISCOVER VISIT GUYANA 2007 EDITION” and recovery of the break even cost of production of “WILD GUYANA” looks bleak also.
My last three (3) years were of real blood, sweat and tears to produce “WILD GUYANA” HOWEVER you could go to beginning of Regent Street at those music/DVD stores and purchase this DVD as I did.
I stood in the store and stared at the cashier photocopying the flyer from my original DVD, she then inserted the flyer in a substandard DVD case, then placed a burnt copy of WILD GUYANA that was readily available from a stack. It got worse when she told me that the cost is $600 plus 16% VAT.
If this issue of copyright infringement is not addressed shortly, Guyana will lose in the long term.

Regrets
Mike charles

By: GREG

GREG — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 06:51:33 +0000

I feel your pain. Guyanese artiste are weak. The boycott should have been enforced to put some pressure on Govt to show the seriousness of the matter. Further, you should take legal action about the infringements to establish a precedent.

By: Irreverend

Irreverend — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:23:25 +0000

Das why me nah put none a me wuk online. Me even friken fuh write one book because somebody gun photocopy am and tief am. You should a sue he tail and get some money from he! Most a dem don’t know a thing about copyright issue because from since school days dem bin a photocopy and plagairize and burn CD etc. and nobody ever tell dem a wrang thing dem a do.