By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Tourism believes a former Miss Bahamas Universe-turned-songstress has "no valid case" against it for breach of copyright and a $130,000 employment contract.

Dionisio D'Aguilar told Tribune Business that his Ministry's officials were adamant that Khiara Sherman's Fly Away With Me song was never used in its paid advertising campaigns.

He also refuted Mrs Sherman's claim that the Ministry, prior to his arrival as minister, breached "a binding" three-year employment contract with her worth almost $130,000, refusing to accept her work and "failing to make any" of the due payments.

Mr D'Aguilar said the Ministry of Tourism's position was that "no contract was ever signed" with Mrs Sherman, who held the Miss Universe Bahamas title in 2009-2010, and alleged that she only showed "a clear desire" to agree terms when the offer was withdrawn.

Mrs Sherman, in a lawsuit filed jointly with her record company, AK Fortyseven Records, in the Houston federal court, had alleged that "in 2016 the Ministry of Tourism reproduced and distributed a verbatim copy of Fly Away With Me in conjunction with a co-ordinated advertising and media campaign, including a high-dollar television commercial and postings on YouTube".

"The Ministry of Tourism did not ask or receive permission to use, reproduce, distribute or perform the song. The Ministry of Tourism violated plaintiffs' exclusive rights in Fly Away With Me, including the rights of reproduction, distribution, performance and creation of derivative works," the lawsuit claimed.

Accusing the Ministry of committing a "willful infringement", Mrs Sherman and her record company then alleged: "The Ministry of Tourism had seen Khiara Sherman perform Fly Away With Me on multiple occasions, knew she authored the song, and knew plaintiffs owned the copyright in the song. The Ministry of Tourism nonetheless infringed without permission or authority."

Countering on the Ministry's behalf, Mr D'Aguilar told Tribune Business: "Our communications department has confirmed this song was never used in any paid media advertising for the Bahamas.

"As it related to copyright infringement, there are no such instances that have been identified. The Ministry of Tourism has not utilised that song in any paid media."

The Fly Away With Me song was featured at Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival in 2015, when it was selected as one of the competition's semi-final entries.

Mr D'Aguilar conceded that the song's "further use" by the Carnival's National Festival Committee (BNFC) and other tourism-related agencies had been identified, but the Ministry of Tourism was not involved.

As for Mrs Sherman's employment contract breach allegation, the Minister said she was initially offered a job as a marketing representative at the Bahamas Tourism Organisation's (BTO) Los Angeles office in March 2016.

The location was then changed to Houston, where she lives, in May 2016. "There was some haggling back and forth over the conditions of employment; compensation, benefits and the rest of it," the Minister revealed to Tribune Business.

"She basically wanted alternative benefits and compensation. That went on and finally, in September 2016, the Ministry of Tourism concluded that her external commitments would conflict with her Ministry of Tourism marketing responsibilities, and said it was unable to finalise her employment with the Ministry."

Mr D'Aguilar said that while Mrs Sherman was sent an "offer letter" by the Ministry of Tourism, she never accepted it as she "sought to negotiate certain conditions".

"No contract was ever signed with Mrs Sherman," the Minister told Tribune Business. "Only after the offer was withdrawn did Mrs Sherman express a clear desire and commitment to accept the terms.

"The Ministry no longer had any desire to employ Mrs Sherman, and that position has not changed.... We just don't think her claims are correct, are valid. There's no case."

Not surprisingly, Mrs Sherman's version of events over the employment contract differs sharply from the Ministry of Tourism's.

Her lawsuit alleged: "In September 2016, the Ministry of Tourism extended Mrs Sherman an offer to enter into a business relationship. In exchange for work performed by Mrs Sherman, the Ministry of Tourism's offer stated it would last three years, pay $113,160 directly to Mrs Sherman, and result in other benefits worth at least $15,000.

"Mrs Sherman accepted the Ministry of Tourism's offer, and a binding contract was formed between the parties. Mrs Sherman attempted to perform the work under the contract but the Ministry of Tourism refused to accept. The Ministry of Tourism breached the contract by failing to make any of the promised payments."

She is now demanding "the monies owed on the contract which were not paid", plus "all actual damages she suffered as a consequence of the Ministry of Tourism's breach".