COPYRIGHT & THE GULLY QUEEN VYBZ KARTLE UNOFFICIAL VIDEO: I just concluded an interview with a Jamaican radio station where we discussed the music video below. The issue was whether this unofficial production, which featured homeless LGBT youth forced to live in the sewers of Kingston, violated the copyright of Vybz Kartel, a Jamaican dancehall artiste currently serving time in prison for murder. Kartel recorded the title song. By way of background, copyright consists of 2 general sets of rights: economic (the right to any money made from the work) and moral (the right to be recognized as the creator of the work, and also to decide how/when it is used). However, as with most rights, there are exceptions, and Jamaicas copyright law provides that when the work s used for research, private study, criticism, review, and reporting, then no permission of the copyright holder is required. Whether any of these exceptions apply is a matter of fact for the court to determine. While I am completely neutral about this video (I am admittedly not a fan of dancehall music), in my opinion, there is an argument that the use of Kartels song was an effective way to report on a very egregious situation that is of national importance. The interviewer then questioned whether it was fair for the Jamaican LGBTI community to use dancehall to promote our lifestyle when we all have fought so hard against dancehall. The FACT is, LGBTI Jamaicans are not interested in promoting any lifestyle. We simply want to have our rights respected. The myth that we are engaged in any sort of promotion or recruitment is entirely a cynical fear-mongering tactic used by fundamentalist evangelicals who are trying to scare people into making donations to their anti-gay cause. If any group is promoting a lifestyle its the homophobes. Secondly, it is an absolute falsehood to say gay Jamaicans all hate dancehall. What we hate is hate IN dancehall. The genre is MUCH wider and has MANY positive songs. Hence, major dancehall show producers have banned homophobic songs and performers with no negative impact on their bottom line.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 23:32:56 +0000
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