GraceKennedy To Take Case Against Competitor To Privy Council

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – A copyright case that has been the subject of a dispute between GraceKennedy Remittance Services (GKRS) and Paymaster Jamaica Limited will be heading to Privy Council following a judgment handed down by the Court of Appeal here.

On Friday, the Court of Appeal ruled that Paymaster owns the copyright to the software program it uses in its bill payment business, and ordered that the matter go to the Supreme Court for damages to be assessed in Paymaster’s favour.

However, the court dismissed Paymaster’s appeal against computer programmer, Paul Lowe.

GKRS claimed that it had a legitimate license for the use of the software from Lowe, the owner of the copyright.

Lowe maintained that he was at all times the owner of the software and was entitled to license it to anyone he chose.

Paymaster alleges that Lowe created the software for the company and subsequently licensed the same software to GKRS, which used it to start Bill Express, Paymaster’s competitor.

The case started in 2000, when Paymaster filed suit jointly against GKRS and Lowe, claiming damages arising out of the use by GKRS of certain software, to which Paymaster alleged it owned copyright.

In April of 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of GKRS and the developer on all claims.

However, Paymaster filed an appeal against the Supreme Court’s decision, and this was heard in September 2013.

Following Friday’s court ruling, GKRS Limited, by way of a release, indicated that while it respects the Court’s decision, based on advice from its legal team, the company is confident that it has a strong basis for appeal, and attorneys will apply for permission to appeal to the Privy Council.