Have you ever written a poem or a song and wondered if anyone would steal your material and claim it as their own? Well, you can become a member of the Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers (JACAP) and have your material copyrighted to prevent this from happening.

Only recently, the organisation published an advertisement for licensing officers to help reduce the number of persons who abuse others' musical materials. When The Gleaner contacted Desmond Young, director of the JACAP Management Committee, he said they were seeking the services of three licensing officers, one for each county.

JACAP is a music copyright administration society, established in 1998 and incorporated in 1999 with the Performing Rights Society Limited London (PRS), which operated an agency office in Jamaica for more than 60 years.

JACAP's members are songwriters, composers and music publishers. All musicians in Jamaica, or anyone affiliated with the music business, can be a part of JACAP.

The Copyright Act requires permission from music creators before using their works publicly.

Young said JACAP is concerned that too many entities that fit the description of 'music user' are non-compliant with the Copyright Act of 1993.

JACAP is adamant that this brazen disregard for the rights of creators, and indeed, the laws of the land, will not be allowed to continue. There are several provisions in the law for action to be taken by JACAP if non-compliance continues.

There are currently a number of non-compliant persons who have joined JACAP, thus adding to a high amount of uncollected revenue.

For this reason, trained licensing officers will be on the road to secure fees. Up-to-date members will be issued a certificate of compliance.

JACAP operates similarly to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) - both in the United States of America.