Mega Plex Entertainment, which operates Caribbean Cinemas across the Eastern Caribbean, has filed an appeal against a High Court ruling that favored the Eastern Caribbean Collective Organization for Music Rights, (ECCO).
Last month, ECCO won a landmark case against Mega Plex in the civil suit for copyright infringement and asked the court for damages.
Cinema infringed copyrights
Justice Godfrey Smith ruled the cinema was liable for infringing the rights of ECCO’s members. A second hearing was scheduled to have addressed the matter of an assessment of damages.
Mega Plex appeals ruling
But on Tuesday, Mega Plex filed its appeal against the judgment in favor of ECCO, to claim damages as a non-exclusive licensee of several copyright organizations.
In a statement, Caribbean Cinemas said it is determined to ensure that the Law of Copyright that’s applied in St. Lucia, allows for a collective society to operate within the established boundaries of the law.
“Caribbean Cinemas therefore looks forward to the consideration of its Appeal. It wishes to assure the public that it is committed to the legal process that will finally determine this issue,” the statement said.
Following the High Court ruling on July 25, ECCO’s Legal Counsel, Thaddeus Antoine, said “the cinema airs movies. In airing these movies there’s music within the movies. The music within the movies is owned by people and the people who own that music are persons represented by ECCO.”
Users of music urged to get licenses
ECCO Chairman, Shayne Ross urged all users of music to obtain a license from the organization.
“We are not just going after people, what we are aiming to do is to secure the rights for the creators of music because if those rights are not secured, then really and truly the business that we as creators are involved in it makes it not worthwhile for us,” Ross said.
