Dear Editor,
I was reading the KN and the SN on August 27 and 28, respectively, and I had to laugh very loud to know that at every given opportunity – on radio and television and in newsprint – I mention that artists’ copyright is very, very important. However, I always get the feeling that most of the artists/artistes in Guyana could not care less if their rights were trampled on.
But the time has come for them to see how major companies protect their rights when those are being infringed.
The articles in KN and SN will show you how far Digicel is willing to go in order to stop Stanford Twenty/20 from encroaching on their exclusive sponsorships rights.
Digicel has applied for an injunction before the high court in London in respect of the proposed Stanford Twenty/20 event to be held between England and the West Indies in Antigua on November 1, 2008 for US$20M, winner takes all. Stanford is saying it is not the West Indies team he is using. It is the Stanford Superstars Twenty/20 team that includes players from the West Indies team. Well, we will see who is right, and after the dust settles someone will lose. But they are big companies and they don’t care about the money. It’s all about the property rights and their image, and Digicel are in the driver’s seat, believe me. You know now that the Stanford players and English players are going to be vexed with Digicel for holding up proceedings and the US$1M each winner will receive if they are in the winning team. But do you think Digicel cares about the million dollars each winning player will get? Hell no! They do not. They are out to show any company which encroaches on their rights what steps they are willing to take in order to stop them. Remember this is a part of the five-years US$100M series which consists of one all-star match per year against an English select team.
Stanford has more to lose than Digicel in this particular case, and I think he will end up settling with Digicel out of court. However, the case could go to trial and that would take a very long time, and you know that the first game of the series is due to begin on November 1, 2008 in Antigua. So guess who has the problem? The hearing in London on September 18, is to let each party know where they stand, and if the judge feels that Digicel has no case he could lift the injunction so the game could be played.
Reports suggest Stanford is very close to signing on Cable and Wireless (Digicel’s competitor and a former sponsor of the West Indies team) as a sponsor for the series. If Digicel loses the case it will leave them in a very embarrassing position, which would mean no more major sponsorship deals with any Caribbean teams in any sporting events.
Your faithfully,
Rudy Grant
