“The following was presented by Nadine R. Amos, Attorney-at-Law, at the Careers & Lifestyles Expo/Symposium 2012″

What is Brand Jamaica?

“Any brand is a set of perceptions and images that represent a company, product or service. While many people refer to a brand as a logo, tag line or audio jingle, a brand is actually much larger. A brand is the essence or promise of what will be delivered or experienced.”

Importantly, brands enable a buyer to easily identify the offerings of a particular company. Brands are generally developed over time through:

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• Advertisements containing consistent messaging
• Recommendations from friends, family members or colleagues
• Interactions with a company and its representatives
• Real-life experiences using a product or service (generally considered the most important element of establishing a brand)

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Once developed, brands provide an umbrella under which many different products can be offered–providing a company tremendous economic leverage and strategic advantage in generating awareness of their offerings in the marketplace” – Source: Persuasivebrands.com

“A particular identity or image regarded as an asset” – Source: Oxforddictionaries.com

Brand Jamaica is therefore those cultural, reputational and social factors that distinguish Jamaica from any other country and which can be leveraged to generate earnings, growth and development. Over the years Jamaica’s brand has had tag lines such as “sun sea and sand” “Jamaica no problem” “Bob Marley” “Reggae Music capital”. More recently due to the stellar work of JAMPRO Jamaica is also promoted as “the place to live and do business” with greater emphasis on the economic opportunities existing in Jamaica. Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics and now after the 2012 Olympics Jamaica has emphatically established itself as the “sprint capital” of the world. Less positive attributes are also highlighted sometimes to our detriment and has been fortunate to have brand ambassadors such as Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and most recently our exceptional track team.

What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual Property is defined as “intangible property that is the result of creativity” – Source: Oxforddictionaries.com

Usually categorized in two groups:

1. Industrial Property which includes patents, designs, inventions, geographical indications and

2. Copyright which includes novels, plays, films, music, paintings, drawings etc. For the purposes of this presentation Performing Arts will be treated separately although by definition it reasonably falls within the category of copyright.

What is Performing Arts?

Performing Arts includes those creative expressions generally performed before a live audience and include plays, dance productions, music, poetry.

What is the Potential for Growth and as a Driver for Economic Succes

The challenge in Jamaica is that culturally we have not been taught to value creative activity. We have not been socialized to see ideas as products in and of themselves. We focus generally on the end product which we can see and touch but we rarely give thought to the time and effort and mental work that went into the creation of the product we see and touch.

Intellectual Property rights is primarily about acknowledging this creative process and creating an environment that protects the creators and allows them to profit from their ideas.

To remedy this situation three things are required:

1. Legal framework has to be created. This has been done in Jamaica and the establishment of JIPO has gone a far way in creating the awareness required;

2. Public education is essential and there is a lot of work to be done in this area both to sensitise the public to the need to respect IPR and the consequences of failing to do so;

3. To educate the creators of their rights and the means available to protect their product and earn from their creations in other words how to monetize their ideas.

World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) commissioned study in Jamaica found that in 2005 copyright based industries contributed J$29B or 4.8% of GDP to the economy. Electricity & Water was 4.1% of GDP, Real Estate and Bussiness services was 5.2% as was Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Mining and Quarrying was 5.8%.

Music & theatrical productions contributed J$1,263.5 Million

Imagine if more Jamaicans focused on leveraging brand Jamaica to produce items that are uniquely Jamaican for the export market?

Plays, dance productions can be streamed live to a worldwide audience. A market bigger than any theatre or stadium in Jamaica can hold. Poets, authors can access the growing audible market to sell there products

With the internet, language is no barrier, distance is no barrier.