The Eastern Caribbean nation of Dominica finds itself at the center of a groundbreaking legal confrontation surrounding the beloved patriotic song ‘Aie Dominique,’ with two separate lawsuits filed at the High Court that could reshape artistic rights protection across the Caribbean region.
Original composer Ophelia has initiated legal proceedings against both Cornell Phillip and the Dominica Olympic Committee (DOC), asserting violations of her moral rights as the song’s creator. These rights encompass artistic protections including proper attribution, prevention of false authorship claims, and safeguarding against derogatory treatment of creative works.
In a parallel litigation, music publisher McCarthy Marie has filed suit against the DOC alleging unauthorized reproduction and distribution of the composition. The complaint specifically references the committee’s synchronization of an instrumental version with visual elements in promotional materials without obtaining necessary licensing permissions or creator consent.
This legal confrontation emerges against the backdrop of a significant precedent established in July 2023, when artist Sean Caruth secured a landmark victory against the Tobago House of Assembly in a similar moral rights case. Legal experts observe that the outcome of these concurrent lawsuits could establish crucial jurisprudence regarding the protection of authors’ and performers’ moral rights under Caribbean copyright law frameworks.
The cases have attracted substantial public attention due to the song’s profound cultural resonance within Dominican society. All parties are scheduled to appear before the High Court of Dominica in coming weeks, with proceedings expected to clarify institutional obligations regarding rights clearance procedures for copyrighted material in multimedia productions.