Letter of the Day | Who protects Ja’s brand name or copyright?
Published:Friday | January 25, 2019 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
It is an open secret that most of the products parading as a ‘made-in Jamaica’ brand, displaying the Jamaican flag and even named from some part of Jamaica, are in no way, shape, or form associated with the country. Our country is raped daily across the world just for its name.
We are aware of the strong Jamaican appeal worldwide, and it would seem like common sense for a special team of copyright specialists and a robust legal team led by the manufacturing, exporting, and foreign policy agencies to get busy collecting on our behalf.
Apparently, this is Jamaica, “Jamaica no problem, everything irie”, so every other country and any person criminal enough is just allowed to borrow or outright steal our birthright, and it is just smiled away. Then we wonder why we are not more well off financially.
I’m putting it out in the air today that the word ‘Jamaica’ is a brand name just like Nike, Puma, KFC, or Starbucks. While those mentioned above can be done away with or changed, Jamaica is everlasting while the Earth exists. We need to understand what that means.
With this great fortune going to waste by constant plundering from wannabe Yardies, I’m calling on the relevant authorities to get busy and start collecting revenue due to us as a country from across the world. That money is needed to replace and improve infrastructure, healthcare, to fund university tuition, etc. The surplus may even bolster our nearly depleted pension schemes.
TIME FOR ACTION
We cannot just sit with our mouths shut while we are robbed blind by greedy persons and countries. It’s time we follow the Gong and “get up, stand up, stand up for our rights”.
Maybe we could be taken serious by if we started to charge those with no heritage or connections to Jamaica responsible for making and selling Jamaican flags for a profit.
Our brand is revered and known. We should be earning more from that through copyright. And don’t tell me they patented the name ‘Jamaica’ because it belongs to the country collectively. But if so, isn’t that criminal and contestable in a court of law?
JOSEPH EDWARDS