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by Talia Jayasekera

The Phantom of the Opera. These words would immediately conjure two thoughts in the typical Sri Lankan mind - firstly a great play. Secondly a disastrous cancellation following a controversy on the staging of this play a few months ago by the Workshop Players. No doubt it is time we produce some original dramas ourselves.

For those of us who frequently violate copyright laws, the lecture on the `Protection of copyright and related rights in Sri Lanka', organised by the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, would have left you shivering in your very shoes!

Words like trademark infringement, character merchandising, injunction and damages were regularly used in a bid to understand the true limits of the intellectual rights of an individual. Nonetheless, I sat on, wondering at which point a giant spotlight would pick me out of the crowd as a counterfeit-buying junkie. Then again, the surrounding sea of guilty faces gave me hope that I would not be alone in the end. The lecture not only cleared up any doubts but also left you with the impression that buying counterfeit goods or violating copyrights were nothing short of mortal sins.

Actually, that is a small exaggeration on my part. Though violating copyright laws is a serious and punishable offense, it is not however a reason to call for a beheading. The combination of speakers Romesh De Silva PC and Attorney-at-Law Dinal Philips were a force to be reckoned with. They were neither brutal nor forgiving in their analyzing of the Sri Lankan situation. Facts were laid down in an orderly manner, giving the audience insights never thought of before.

"Originality is the key to copyright", said De Silva. "Copyright is a property right which authors have in relation to the works which they create. It protects literary and artistic works. Copyright is judged by skill, experience and labour the person puts into the final product".

Quoting from a study done by Soundarie David, De Silva also stated that copyright protects only the form of expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves.

"Though the interpretation of the work may vary with individuals. A person may borrow an idea but the expression of the idea has to be completely different if the person is to avoid violating copyright", he explained. "I may borrow an idea from someone else but I must express it in a completely different manner with no similarities to the original".

"Copyright is a bundle of rights and can be interpreted in various ways. Take for example a song. The song writer has copyright, the music composer has copyright and the individual doing the score and arrangement too has copyright.

Copyright comes in two forms, that is the Economic Right and the Moral Right", said De Silva. "The Economic Right is pretty straight forward. It entitles the individual to royalties if his/her music is copied but only with permission.

The Moral Right is an author being given the right to publish his/her name with the work. Another individual then cannot distort or alter the original product".

"Infringement is judged on quality rather than quantity. To establish a claim for infringement, one has to prove a close similarity between the two works and also a proof of access", he said. "Claiming damages would mean the copyright owner proving financial loss. He may also appeal for an injunction".

Attorney-at-Law Dinal Philips very eloquently stated that what is worth copying is worth protecting.

He also said that the copyright legislation of this country was still very much in the embryo stage and the present code was almost 20 years old. He stated that even on the international scene, recognising a performer's rights was very slow. Taking the famous examples of the cartoon series the Pink Panther, Mr Philips explained the concept of `Character Merchandising'.

"The heirs of late actor Peter Sellers, who played the character Inspector Cruzo in the series, sued the Pink Panther movie director in 1987 when he made a movie from film clips that he had of Sellers.

The family did not give its permission but the director went ahead with the movie and thus was sued", said Philips.

"The actor of Crocodile Dundee fame, suffered the same problem when a local producer started selling Koala Bears, calling them Koala Dundee. The actor sued for illegal character merchandising".

Philips then moved onto the local scene with the `Phantom of the Opera' fiasco, emphasizing the importance of recognising Sri Lanka's national interest in promoting English theatre. He was adamant that local production houses should not bow down to allegations of infringement based on hearsay. He further said that copyright laws take many years to fully develop even abroad and a Third World nation such as ours, will have no way of experiencing the richness of Broadway plays if these laws are enforced too early.

In conclusion, one must say that no matter the preaching and numerous regulations, the bottom line remains that as a poor nation we cannot afford the originals.

How can a working class citizen be expected to pay such exorbitant prices for music albums, may it be his favourite? How can the lovers of Broadway plays be expected to stage productions when copyrights are so unreachable? Thus, it is no wonder, we are drawn to the cheaper copies so readily available.

But it just may be that hidden under the guise of copyright infringements made by the people of this country, we truly lack the creativity and originality to produce our own masterpieces.

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