The Bainimarama Government is committed to ensuring that intellectual property rights in Fiji are fully protected and has already made significant efforts in this area.
This was the response from Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Mr Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum referring to a statement issued by the Fiji Audio Visual Industry Association (“FAVIA”) earlier today.
“It is unfortunate that FAVIA prefers to attack rather than constructively engage with the Bainimarama Government,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.
“As FAVIA will be aware, earlier this year Cabinet approved the establishment of the Fiji Intellectual Property Office managed by a steering committee chaired by the Solicitor-General and consisting of stakeholders, including the Fiji Audio Visual Commission, the Police, the Fiji Performing Rights Association, the Fiji Revenue and Collection Authority, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the University of the South Pacific, and Investment Fiji.
“The Fiji Intellectual Property Office (FIPO) has created three working groups to examine, review, and report back to the steering committee on proposals for improvements to Fiji’s intellectual property laws.
FAVIA president Chris Caine, was invited to join the copyright working group but he has not yet attended any meeting.
FAVIA would also be aware that the Bainimarama Government amended the Copyright Act in 2009 to make it easier from a legal perspective to bring prosecutions against people engaging in copyright piracy. The amendment reversed the burden of proof so that now, where an allegation of copyright piracy has been made, the onus is on the person to prove that he or she has not pirated the copy.
Fiji’s Copyright Act and its amendments are up to date and are consistent with international conventions and the laws of other countries in the region.
In addition to these efforts, FIPO has also recently established the Copyright Enforcement Unit to assist the Police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in bringing cases to court. This newly-established unit of FIPO will be headed by Mr Terrence O’Neil-Joyce, an experienced copyright expert from New Zealand.”
In relation to FAVIA’s criticism of the recent court rulings, the Attorney-General had this to say:
“FAVIA needs to appreciate that members of the judiciary are independent and make their decisions on the basis of the evidence presented before them in court. It is totally inappropriate to criticise the judiciary for performing their duty. If parties are dissatisfied with the decisions of the courts, they have the right to appeal those decisions,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.
Copyright piracy is not new and it is a world-wide problem. The Bainimarama Government has committed itself to dealing with the problems related to copyright piracy in Fiji but it is dealing with a legacy of neglect by previous governments in this area.
FAVIA should appreciate the significant changes that the Bainimarama Government has introduced in the area of copyright piracy in terms of law reform, capacity building such as FIPO and the Copyright Enforcement Unit, and greater public awareness of copyright issues.
All these areas had been ignored by previous governments.
“Instead of attacking the efforts of the Bainimarama Government by way of misinformed media releases, I would urge FAVIA to work constructively with FIPO and with Government on these issues,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.