ARIPO ' Adoption Of Draft Protocol On Voluntary Registration Of Copyright And Related Rights

• Published date: 16 September 2021
• Subject Matter: Intellectual Property, Copyright
• Law Firm: Adams & Adams
• Author: Adams & Adams

ARIPO, with support of the Government of Uganda is organising a Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of the Draft Protocol on Voluntary Registration of Copyright and Related in Kampala, Uganda from the 23^rd to the 24^th of July 2021. Ministers from ARIPO Member States and invited practitioners will attend the Diplomatic Conference.

The Protocol will establish a regional voluntary registration of Copyright and Related Rights, create and maintain a Regional Database for Copyright and Related Rights. The protocol will be the first of its kind in Africa and the purpose is to help protect the ARIPO Member States and Africa's creative industry by ensuring that the creators benefit from their creative works. The exploitation of copyrighted works is a source of revenue for creators and contributes to the growth of the member states' economies.

The creative industry contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment in countries, based on the WIPO Studies on the Economic Contribution of the Copyright Based Industries in Africa. According to the WIPO Study data from 2016, Botswana's contribution to GDP was 5.46%, which is the highest, followed by Kenya's 2007 data at 5.32%. South Africa is the highest on employment at 4% in 2008, followed by Malawi at 3.35% in 2009. In Tanzania, the creative industry contribution was higher than the mining and quarrying sector in 2009 and 2010 at 3.2% and 2.8%, respectively. In Malawi, the creative industry contribution was higher than that of the mining and quarrying, human health, education, construction and transport and storage sectors. Botswana's 2018 creative industry surpassed other essential sectors such as water and electricity (0.3%), agriculture (2%), and manufacturing (5.20%). These statistics show a great need to harness the economic benefits of this sector and intellectual property protection in Africa by pooling ARIPO's resources and cooperating with strategic partners.

ARIPO is of the view that having a regional voluntary registration of Copyright and...