PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Protecting the intellectual property of musicians, artists, manufacturers and other innovative enterprises will be the focus of Monday afternoon’s presentation by entertainment lawyer and author Warren Cassell at ICT Roadshow St. Maarten.
ICT Roadshow St. Maarten is the first part of a week-long programme of activities which has been dubbed St. Maarten ICT Week and runs until August 20th at the Westin Dawn Beach Resort. All of the sessions are free to the general public.
Cassell is the first lawyer in the Eastern Caribbean to specialize in intellectual property and entertainment law. His expertise first came to the attention of the roadshow organizers, the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) during the ICT Roadshow Montserrat back in April. The dynamic speaker looked at the potential for the region to expand in the area of trademark and branding registration and also highlighted the necessity for this to become an integrated system to protect the ideas of entrepreneurs in the Caribbean.
The lawyer who recently released “O’Habits: 40 Success Habits of Oprah Winfrey,” says as the use of technology in the region continues to expand at rapid rates, individuals and companies must be aware that they need to protect those intangible assets, of words, music, inventions and brands.
“Most business people, whether they are just beginning or have been around for decades don’t really understand the tremendous potential for income by registering their trademarks and also why it is vital that they protect their intellectual property. We usually think of it in terms of musicians and artists, who write songs, paint pictures or photography, but a business that has cornered a market on a recipe, a particular methodology of deploying services to clients, should also consider protecting these ideas,” explained Cassell.
He added that with so many companies now offering services and products online, the risk increases that they can be exploited for gain by others. Cassell suggests companies have IP audits done, to ascertain the value of their IP portfolio and the necessary steps which need to be taken to protect them.
Wikipedia defines Intellectual property (IP) as a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which property rights are recognised. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets in some jurisdictions.
Mr. Cassell will be available to answer questions immediately following his presentation.
About goldenmedia Montserrat
goldenmedia Montserrat is a public and media relations firm that has been working with young entrepreneurs and the non-profit sector in the Caribbean for more than five years. Its flagship brand is trulycaribbean.net, which is a web portal that celebrates the work of Caribbean people, and provides information and resources to boost spirit, mind and body.
ENDS
Photo captions:
(1) Entertainment and Intellectual Property lawyer Warren Cassell from Montserrat will speak on the importance of intellectual property protection on Monday afternoon at the ICT Roadshow on St. Maarten.
(2) Cassell is also the author of O’Habits: 40 Success Habits of Oprah Winfrey
