Seminar Urges the Promotion of Respect for Legal Standards Protecting Copyright

Seminar Urges the Promotion of Respect for Legal Standards Protecting Copyright 
Santo Domingo, Friday, May 22, 2014

T he Ministry of Culture (MINC) brought to a close the “International Seminar on Copyright and Related Rights in the Dominican Republic” with a series of presentations that resulted in several conclusions, among which is a public call and awareness for respect toward the established legal standards.

In addition, the seminar discussed and suggested the continuity of information and awareness programs about the laws protecting the creators of artworks.

Details were provided by the Director of the National Office of Copyright (ONDA – Oficina Nacional de Derecho de Autor), Dr. Marino Terrero Feliz, adding that an efficient copyright protection system will ensure that the economy of the country is socially viable and also develops in other areas.

The event, planned by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in conjunction with MINC, ONDA, and with the cooperation of the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (lNDOTEL), began on Monday, May 19th and concluded on Tuesday, May 20th.

The closing ceremony was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Culture, Carlos Santos, accompanied by Dr. Marino Terrero Feliz and Lorena Bolaños, Program Manager of WIPO’s Development Division on Copyright, in Geneva.

Other personalities at the head table were: Víctor Drummond, Chairman of the Latín Artis Legal and Development Committee; Gabriel Salcedo, Representative of the Association of Rights Management of Audiovisual Producers (EGEDA), of Argentina; Wilson Rafael Ríos Ruiz, Intellectual Property and Information Technology and Communications Lawyer, of Colombia; and Ernesto Piedras, a Mexican Economist.

Terrero Feliz said that nowadays copyright is present in all human activities; in that sense, it is logical that, as government and society representatives, ONDA provides all possible protection to authors.
He noted that the content of the presentations referred to the economic contributions of the creative industries, to how they contribute to the gross domestic product and to the economy; therefore, it is a theme important for the future that deserves that we pay close attention to it.

For his part, MINC’s Deputy Minister of Institutional Development, Mr. Carlos Santos, said that, in terms of results, the event has allowed the various stakeholders that oversee the exercise of these rights in the Dominican Republic, to build a broad and updated view of what copyright and related rights represent.

Among the most prominent themes, Feliz mentioned “Copyright and the New Technologies: Challenges and Opportunities” and “Creative Economy in Latin America”.
He also highlighted the content of “Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights. Tropology”.
Lastly, he thanked the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Ministry of Culture, and the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications.