G-pan copyright costing over 4 million a year

[Wayne Cezair]

4.7 MILLION A YEAR TO LEARN THE COPYRIGHT RULES

In responding to questions from the opposition, the Minister of Finance of Trinidad and Tobago has stated that the G-pan, the patent for which is owned by the government of TnT, is a "continuous charge on the treasury" to the tune of over 4 million dollars a year, ostensibly for the filing of patents in jurisdictions where they have not been filed.
Either the Minister is ignorant of the facts of patent and copyright rules under the Berne Convention or is deliberately trying to pull a fast one or has been taken for a sucker by some corrupt lawyers.
The Berne Convention, to which most countries of the world including TnT are signatories, provides patent and copyright protection in all jurisdictions that are signatories to the Convention by any member state, regardless of where it was first patented.
Similar to the Apple Watch that was patented here this year, the G-pan, once patented in Trinidad and Tobago, obtains patent protection in almost every country of the world, and should not require any further action by anyone in Trinidad to be automatically protected in all signatory countries.
What really is going on in this country?

[Andre-Roger Dellevi]

And the steel drum beat goes on... https://whensteeltalks.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2534462:BlogPo...

[Andre-Roger Dellevi]

4.7M TTD converts to around 740K USD, so factor-in "inflated" lawyer fees and the rest you can do the math to add the bobbol factor... ;-)

[Andre-Roger Dellevi]

Have you factored in the cost of expensive lawyers??? As for the special pestle, glitch this... https://whensteeltalks.ning.com/forum/topics/revisited-williams-axed...

[Lilian Sten]

No, I just looked at the online PCT info. The actual patenting fees run into 'thousands'. The 'millions' are for the lawyers, or the 'lawyer friends'. Unless , of course, the "$4 million a year' was a 'biblical' number, faith based, exaggerated and proclaimed, but not supported by actual facts. 

[Lilian Sten]

Check out the WIPO website-PCT. (The International Patent System). International patent/copyright information is available online. Applications can be made online too.  Clear instructions, fees listed, time limits on each stage of applications  posted.There are fees for each stage of the proceedings (listed in $TTD too) but they do not run into millions, more like thousands.

[BEDE LOPEZ]

If they haven't Patent  yet, maybe they ran into ah Glitch and we do not know, maybe something is in the "Mortar beside the Pestle".

[Andre-Roger Dellevi]

Yes, but co-IP protection signals first-at-bat so filed in one WIPO domain means no one else can file appplications to be granted protections in other domains. Then to protect against violations and infringement in those other domains requires separate IP filings. Once granted, if one is a Large Entity to pay maintenance fees, especially when lawyers are involved, the costs can add up. If that is TTDs, then it may well be. My point is that the Steelpan is what CPU,d and should be patented and royalties paid back to the coffers (Treasury, UWI-SR and PT) for the development and support of pan, with strict spending protocols. That would negate PoolSplash parties and the like, ent... ;-)

[Lilian Sten]

Andre Roger-Dellevi, you are absolutely correct about the past, but you are missing the point about the present:

patenting and copyrighting is a simple and relatively inexpensive procedure, (it incurs basic stamp duties and, but not necessarily , lawyers fees).

But 4 million dollars a year!?  Please read this again:

"The Berne Convention, to which most countries of the world including TnT are signatories, provides patent and copyright protection in all jurisdictions that are signatories to the Convention by any member state, regardless of where it was first patented."  

[Andre-Roger Dellevi]

As to the justice (or lack thereof) meted out to Anthony Williams and company, know this ... It was bad enough that the Steelpan Community rose up to protest the award when well-known pioneers were omitted as luminaries of the Trinity Cross, in lieu of come-lately.  It took intense lobbying efforts to correct that.  Then to add insult to injustice, the hail that only the lawyers have benefitted is a joke at best and a sad commentary at worst, never mind the affordability of sound legal minds. As an innovator, I once made contact with Bill Gates about IP right protection for computer software beyond copyright.  He stressed the need to seek a Utility Patent as the best means to prevent theft by reverse engineering then tweaking with "diffrences/changes". But he affirmed that the basis of IP still laid with copyright which was inherent in the patent application process and lasted way beyond the terms of the patent protection. Remedy can still be sought outside T&T if the is IP protection lodged as stated, best place is the USA.

I would suggest you take this to case to outside of T&T, maybe the other domain you have registered this invention.  Try the USA which is a better domain for IP right protection.

[Andre-Roger Dellevi]

Read the "Surprising remarks"... http://m.guardian.co.tt/editorial/tuesday-october-2-2007/independen...