Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia Push For Harmonisation Of Copyright Laws

Experts person highlighted the harmonisation of copyright laws, innovation, and infrastructure development, among different things, arsenic cardinal to strengthening Africa’s originative economies.

The experts – enforcement manager of Copy Ghana, Joseph B. Gyamfi; laminitis and CEO, Bliss Executives, The Gambia, David Jeng and the manager of Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC), Lagos and intelligence spot consultant, Lynda Aphaeus, spoke astatine the ‘Advancing Inclusive Copyright Regime for Africa’s Benefit’ webinar to commemorate the Africa Copyright and Collective Management (ACCM) Day.
While acknowledging the advancement made by idiosyncratic African countries to fortify their intelligence spot and copyright laws for the payment of their citizens, they agreed that the differences successful African copyright laws and terms, inadequate infrastructure and deficiency of governmental volition hinder Africa’s maximisation of the benefits of IP policies for the maturation of the continent’s economies.

Beyond the contented of debased net entree by galore Africans successful distant and suburban areas, Jeng believes that infrastructural challenges, specified arsenic inadequate energy supply, airs an adjacent greater problem.

“Only 38 per cent of Africans person entree to the internet, but much captious than this is electricity, which lone 46 per cent of Africans person entree to. And if you don’t person entree to electricity, you don’t person entree to the internet. We request to code the basal causes of these infrastructural challenges.

“Young Africans indispensable besides guarantee that we are close successful the centre of the planetary treatment connected IP, updating IP and copyright policies and are progressive successful innovating the solutions that champion code Africa’s problems,” Jeng said.

He urged African governments to articulation planetary organisations similar the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) that tin assistance Africans payment from IP rights and make the governmental volition to accommodate and enforce them locally.

Emphasising the value of harmonising African copyright and copyright absorption organisations (CMOs’) champion practices, Alphaeus said it makes for easier collaboration crossed regions and the continent, which enhances Africa’s bargaining interaction connected IP issues, and helps curb piracy.

“We should person a standardised argumentation regarding copyright extortion terms. We indispensable person azygous requirements erstwhile it comes to copyright exceptions and cooperation. We besides request to look astatine harmonising CMOs’ champion practices crossed the continent and practice successful enforcement mechanisms,” helium said.

Alphaeus besides suggested African countries leverage existing frameworks and initiatives, specified arsenic ARIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) engagement of African countries connected IP development, and the AU Agenda 2063, which emphasises taste and economical integration, to support IP rights and copyright presumption updated and concurrent with contiguous integer rights realities.

On his part, Gyamfi elaborated connected the value of CMOs successful Africa, peculiarly successful making information easy accessible by negotiating with creators arsenic a group, arsenic opposed to doing truthful with them individually. CMOs besides assistance unafraid the consent of creators, making the organisation of royalties to creators easier, portion ensuring, via exclusive rights and limitations, that definite institutions similar education, libraries, spiritual bodies, taste institutions and nationalist medication person entree to a definite percent of copyrighted works.

However, corporate absorption societies successful Africa are underfunded and excessively regulated by the government. They bash not relation astatine optimal capableness successful presumption of information collation and outgo of copyright royalties to creatives.

“In Uganda, creatives marque their profits lone done events. Enforcement is key, but tin beryllium a situation successful immoderate societies. If we tin link CMOs with taxation postulation channels, follow exertion successful the collation and outgo of copyright fees and royalties, this volition boost transparency,” Jeng asserted.
The ACCM webinar is simply a precursor to the 6th variation of the Africa IP Summit scheduled to clasp successful Dakar, Senegal, connected November 12 and 14, 2025.