By: Staff Writer
February 14, 2023
The Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, hosted a training workshop ‘Effective Legal Frameworks for Building the Digital Economy’ in Barbados. The Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda (CCA) was adopted in 2018 with a view to boosting trade and investment links across the Commonwealth and raising intra-Commonwealth trade to US$2tr by 2030. The workshop was organized in light of the growing importance of creating strong and resilient digital economies, and the correlative need to create an adequate enabling environment through the creation of effective and cohesive legal frameworks. But how will this benefit the region?
On day one, Regan Asgarali, Controller of Intellectual Property (IP), Intellectual Property Office of Trinidad and Tobago spoke of current events that in the sphere of things happening there locally that were in need of protecting and safeguarding as property, such as the trademark for the Commonwealth Youth Games to be hosted in Trinidad and Tobago later this year, as well as CarniCON, a carnival conference that showcases all things related to the Trinidad and Tobago two day festival.
He calls Copyright as the uncle of IP and protection rights in today’s world, while emphasizing the power of IP to take the region’s culture in the region and the commonwealth to the world. He referenced Trade Secrets being part of the intellectual properties with protection, with the example of the famous Angostura Bitters manufactured in Trinidad and Tobago and exported to the world-without its recipe known- through how contracts are well written and constructed. Looking at the fintech industry, what makes propriety software unique, along with copyright protection for the source code all falls into having an advantage in intellectual property.
However, looking at the direction Intellectual Property needs to go, Asgarali referred to TRIPS Provisions Trade related aspects of Intellectual property rights. In Trinidad and Tobago, Asgarali says right now there are over 500 SMEs with online accounts, they file and can pay for their mark within five minutes. He says this is where unlocking the potential of IP has to go.
Citing PayPR, a downloadable E-Wallet introduced by state telecom company in Trinidad, TSTT, that provides an online marketplace for buyers, and sees electronic funds transfers, Asgarali says IP helps keep some business processes a secret, something he adds aids in growing economies and with the rise in mobile application softwares, what he describes as ‘IP in motion’.
He adds that finding out electronic software patents have now been made easy with Google, which allows you to search for electronic monetary systems, making technology easily sourced for development, as well as finding out just how protected it is locally and within the region.
Over the years, he says the process of acquiring a patent through the government of Trinidad and Tobago has gotten a lot easier with electronic filing from being paper based for a long time, which came after much work was done to ‘demystify’ the IP system.
Currently over five percent of the GDP within Commonwealth nations is derived from creative industries and digital trade, music, language, culture and traditional knowledge, which forms part of the wider picture of economic diversification
Dale Marshall Q.C. M.P, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Barbados says conversation has moved from terms such as electronic commerce to digital economies, with countries in the region have enacted several pieces of legislation aimed at information and communication technologies and data protection acts.
Areas like cybersecurity and cybercrimes, artificial intelligence, fintech must all be included in modern policy framework that would enable protection measures to the public, is a must going forward as well.
Foster greater collaboration and create a space where the region can work together to remove challenges within CARICOM, in growing economies and fostering cross border trade and leveraging modern digital tools.
Currently Barbados has lead responsibility in CARICOM’s CSME and they too will need to ensure their current fiscal policies through agencies such as Financial Services Commission, the Central Bank of Barbados and the Fair Trading Commission work together to safeguard what he describes as fast growing financial services sector
While the forum is a week long event, participants at the seminar are expected to gain insights from leading experts from international agencies on good practices, standards and regulations which governments should consider in the development of resilient and sustainable digital legislative frameworks.
The workshop is a joint initiative of the Digital Connectivity Cluster of the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda, which focuses on supporting inclusive digital transformation across the Commonwealth, and CTU, which promotes collaboration among ICT (Information and Communications Technology) stakeholders and serves as a facilitator for the formulation of ICT policies across the Caribbean.
The Governments of the Member States of the Caribbean Community established the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) by treaty on April 28, 1989.
Since its establishment, the CTU has been able to create a multi-stakeholder platform that actively promotes collaboration among all ICT stakeholders and supports public-private partnerships. Through the CTU’s expanded membership, the private sector, civil society and regulators are actively engaged in ICT policy formulation processes.
Commonwealth leaders adopted the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda (CCA) at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April 2018, with a view to boosting trade and investment links across the Commonwealth and raising intra-Commonwealth trade to US$2tr by 2030. The CCA is structured around five clusters/working groups, each of which is chaired by a member state and in which members participate on a voluntary, opt-in basis.