Author Dr. Henderson Carter (left), presenting Prime Minister David Thompson with a copy of "Business in Bim"
Government is enhancing the legislative and regulatory systems to further protect the intellectual property rights of Barbadians, as it seeks to shift its focus more towards cultural industries and services sectors.
This was revealed yesterday by Prime Minister David Thompson, as he delivered the feature address at the book launch of “Business In Bim” written by Dr. Henderson Carter.
According to Mr. Thompson, the Intellectual Property Section of the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office, which is responsible for administering Barbados’ intellectual property rights system, will be augmented.
“We are doing all this because we want more Barbadians to secure copyrights for literary, musical, artistic, sporting, photographic and audiovisual works, as well as other areas of education, culture and recreation.
To this end, we have made it clear that this Government wants to liberate the spirit of enterprise and create a new entrepreneurial class,” he said.
The Prime Minister pointed out that Government had made it clear that it would assist in the creation of new enterprises through training, direct subsidies and easier access to capital for investment.
He added that like Dr. Carter, he was convinced that in the new dispensation the only guaranteed job would be a job created and carried out within a small niche in the market.
“We need lots more Barbadians who no longer think in terms of finding a job, but who are oriented to exploring business opportunities for themselves, drawing on a variety of talents and taking advantage of these opportunities,” Mr. Thompson stated.
He suggested that people were needed who had both the ability to innovate and create wealth and the capacity to transform a good business idea into reality.
“This is indeed the new imperative and as a responsible Government we have to create the conditions for this to happen. The point that I am making is that we need to increase the career options of our people in the global village,” he said.
Noting that literary production was one area that was ripe for penetration by Barbadians, the Prime Minister thanked Dr. Carter for making a significant contribution to the process of liberation by “using the mighty pen, and by making the point that business enterprise is the new frontier for Caribbean people”.
He also recommended that the book should be essential reading for all those who wanted to see a better Barbados.