Welcome to the Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency

About Us

The Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency is Jamaica’s national Reproduction Rights organisation (RRO) and Collective Management Organisation (CMO) for copyright in text and image-based published works. It was constituted in 1998 as a non-profit entity under Jamaican law and in accordance with the Jamaica Copyright Act of 1993.

JAMCOPY provides licensing and education solutions that make it easy for businesses, government and educational institutions to manage copyright compliance efficiently. These solutions incorporate facilitating access, and allowing users in these organisations to re-use and share content within the organisation and across national borders. Education and awareness building programmes that enable organisations and individuals to maximize returns from their creativity and innovation are also included.

As a collective management organisation, JAMCOPY receives authorisation from creators and publishers of material published in printed and digital format, to collectively manage their exclusive rights to publish and reproduce their works in any form.

JAMCOPY’s main functions are to:

  • negotiate licences with users to photocopy or digitise specified portions of text or image-based copyrighted works;
  • collect royalties from these users;
  • distribute the royalties to authors and publishers.
  • educate the public and promote respect for copyright;
  • initiate legal action against infringers of members' photocopying rights;
  • keep members informed about new developments in copyright legislation and administration;
  • lobby for changes to current legislation to improve protection of members' rights.

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History
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 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 also a founding partner of the Jamaica Anti-Piracy Alliance.

International Affiliation
As Jamaica’s national Reproduction Rights Organisation (RRO), JAMCOPY is a full member of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations, IFRRO, an international network of RROs and associated organisations.

This relationship with IFRRO has facilitated JAMCOPY entering into reciprocal agreements with over thirty-four other 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.

Regional Collaboration
Regionally, JAMCOPY is the Secretariat for the Caribbean Reprographic Rights Organisations’ Agency (CARROSA). CARROSA is a regional entity established in May 2016, to foster and deepen regional collaboration in the collective management of reprographic reproduction rights in the Caribbean. CARROSA’s membership is comprised of the five reproduction rights organisations (RROs) in the Caribbean, namely:

  • Jamaica Copyright Licensing Agency (JAMCOPY)
  • Trinidad and Tobago Reprographic Rights Organisation (TTRRO)
  • Barbados Copyright Agency Inc (B-COPY)
  • Belize Copyright Licensing Agency (BECLA)
  • Eastern Caribbean Copyright Licensing Association (ECCLA)

As a collective management organisation, JAMCOPY receives authorisation from authors and publishers of material published in printed and digital format, to collectively manage their exclusive rights to publish and reproduce their works in any form.

 

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