RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/179
6 June 2000
(00-2227)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION
Responses from Trinidad and Tobago to Questions Posed by Japan
By means of a communication from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Trinidad and
Tobago, dated 25 May 2000, the Secretariat has received the following responses to questions posed
by Japan, as distributed in document IP/C/W/173.
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A. COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
1. Please explain how the protection is provided for works, phonograms, performances and
broadcasts from other WTO Members under the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights of
Trinidad and Tobago (hereinafter referred to as "Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Law").  Please
describe the provisions of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Law which provide for the National
Treatment and Most-Favoured-Nati on Treatment as required by Articles 3 and 4 of the TRIPS
Agreement as well as Article 9.1 of the Agreement which incorporates Article 5.1 of the
Berne Convention.
Under section 54(2) of the Copyright Act, 1997  ("the Copyright Act") Trinidad and Tobago
provides protection for works that are protected in Trinidad and Tobago by virtue of and in
accordance with any International Convention or In ternational Agreement to which Trinidad and
Tobago is party.  This includes the WTO TRIPS Agreement.
Section 55(4) of the Copyright Act provides similar protection for performers, producers of
phonograms and broadcasting organizations protected by virtue of and in accordance with any
international convention or other international agreement to which Trinidad and Tobago is party.
These same sections therefore provide National Treatment and Most-Favoured-Nation
Treatment.  Furthermore, section 54(1)(b)  extend s protection to "works first published in another
country and also published in Trinidad and Tobago within thirty days, irrespective of the nationality,
residence or domicile of their authors".  Section 55(1)(b) extends protection to:
"performers who are not nationals or residents of, or domiciled in, Trinidad and
Tobago but whose performances:
(i) take place in the territory of Trinidad and Tobago;
(ii) are incorporated in sound recordings that are protected under this Act;  orIP/C/W/179
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(iii) have not been fixed in a sound recording but are included in broadcasts
which qualify for protection under this Act."
2. Please explain exceptions or exemptions of the National Treatment and Most-Favoured-
Nation Treatment under the Copyright and Neighbou ring Rights Law, if any, as permitted in
Articles 3 and 4 of the TRIPS Agreement.
No exemptions are provided by Trinidad and Tobago.
3. Please explain whether and how Trinidad and Tobago provides retroactive protection to
works, phonograms, performances from other WTO Members, as required by Articles 9.1, 14.6,
and 70.2 of the TRIPS Agreement which apply, mutatis mutandis, Article 18 of the Berne Convention.
Please indicate the date to which such protection extends back with respect to each category of
subject-matter.
Under Section 4 of the Copyright Act, retroactive protection is provided to works,
phonograms and performances made before 1 October 1997 (the date of coming into effect of the
Copyright Act) provided that the term of such protection under the previous Act of 1985 had not
expired, or in the case of works, had not expired under the law of the country of origin of such works
that are protected under any international convention to which Trinidad and Tobago is party.
4. Please explain whether protection of "computer programs" under the Copyright and
Neighbouring Rights Law covers computer programs in both source and object code, as required by
Article 10.1 of the TRIPS Agreement.  Are those co mputer programs protected as literary works in
accordance with Article 2(1) of the Berne Convention?
The definition of "computer program" in section 3 of the Copyright Act covers computer
programs in both source and object code.  Section 3 of the Copyright Act states, inter alia :
"…  'computer program' is a set of instructions expressed in words, codes, schemes
or in any other form, which is capable, when incorporated in a medium that the
computer can read, of causing a computer to perform or achieve a particular task orresult;"
Under section 5(1)(a) computer programs are protected as literary works.  Section 5(1)(a) of
the Copyright Act states, inter alia :
"Copyright is a property right which subsists in literary and artistic works that are
original intellectual creations in the literary and artistic domain, including in
particular:
(a) books, pamphlets, articles, computer programs and other writings; …"
5. Please clarify whether "database" under the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Law
includes compilation of data in machine-readable form.  Please explain how the Law complies with
Article 10.2 of the TRIPS Agreement in this respect.
Databases are protected as derivative works under section 6 of the Copyright Act, which
provides in parts as follows:
"(1)(b) collections of works and collections of mere data (data bases), whether in
machine-readable or other form, provided that such collections are original by reasonof the selection, coordination or arrangement of their contents.IP/C/W/179
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(2) The protection of any work referred to [above] shall be without prejudice to
any protection of a pre-existing work incorporated in or utilised for the making of
such a work."
B. ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
6. Please indicate the remedies which the judicial authorities order regarding intellectual
property rights, including injunctions, damages, expen ses, destruction or disposal of infringing goods,
materials or implements for their production.  Pl ease explain the criteria for and the way of
calculation to decide the amount of the damages which judicial authorities order to the person who
infringes intellectual property rights to pay to the right holder.
See Trinidad and Tobago's answer to Checklist of Issues on Enforcement, question 5.1
7. Please indicate titles of laws and regulations and their provisions in which the suspension of
the release of counterfeit trademark of pirated copyright goods is prescribed, as stipulated in
Article 51 of the TRIPS Agreement.  Please explain  types of intellectual property rights about which
the suspension can be made upon an application by a right holder.
See Trinidad and Tobago's answer to Checklist of Issues on Enforcement, question 15.1
8. Please explain the kind and amounts of crimi nal penalties including imprisonment and fines
regarding intellectual property rights.  In particular, are the crimes persecuted only when the injured
party has made a formal accusation?  Please also explain whether penalties are consistent with
Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement which requires the penalties to be sufficient to provide a deterrent,
consistently with the level of penalties applied for crimes of a corresponding gravity.
See Trinidad and Tobago's answers to Checklist of Issues on Enforcement, questions 20 to
24.1
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1 Document IP/N/6/TTO/1.