CISAC highlights Africa advocacy in annual report

The report was released on 22 May, ahead of the CISAC General Assembly on 30 May in Seoul, South Korea. It provides a snapshot of CISAC’s achievements in the past 12 months, and highlights key priorities led by its legislative advocacy for creators’ rights at a pivotal moment in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).

It also includes the perspectives of CISAC president Björn Ulvaeus and board chair Marcelo Castello Branco, as well as an interview with director-general Gadi Oron.

The report highlights CISAC’s lobbying campaign against South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill, which was adopted by Parliament in late February despite widespread criticism. The bill had sparked extensive public debate and media coverage in the lead-up to its adoption.

“The first comprehensive modernisation of South Africa’s copyright law in 50 years activated a vocal grassroots campaign of opposition, led by the country’s CMOs and supported by CISAC,” the report says. “The Copyright Coalition (CCSA) campaign, led by SAMRO [Southern African Music Rights Association], remains focused on persuading the South African president against signing the bill. Since the beginning of the legislative process, CISAC has amplified the criticisms of the CCSA outlining major flaws in the draft legislation.”

CISAC lists three key failures in the bill:

• An excessive focus on exceptions opening up many new uses for which creators will no longer have the right to earn royalties.
• A clumsy ‘fair use’ exception that will lead to uncertainty and burdensome litigation.
• Inconsistency with international best practice in copyright law.

CISAC said it would continue to work to improve the legislative environment in South Africa. “South African creatives will continue advocating for a more balanced and thought-out approach to copyright reform,” it said.

Oron said: “This excessive focus on exceptions, instead of the rights of creators, is not what the function of a new copyright law should be.” 

Elsewhere, the report talks about the initiative spearheaded by the West African Economic Monetary Union (UEMOA) bloc to introduce private copying levies for creators across the region, saying it has moved into a new phase where CISAC took the lead at an implementation and strategic planning seminar in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

“In September 2023, the council of ministers of the eight UEMOA member states unanimously adopted a new regional directive harmonising rules on private copying. CISAC has played a key role in advising on this legislation, which promises increased revenues to creators and creative industries. Only two countries – Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast – currently have a functional private copying scheme.”

The directive applies a levy on manufactured or imported devices with storage capacities to compensate creators for the private copying of their works. Once properly implemented, the levy is expected to have a significant impact on local societies and rightsholders. CISAC added that it was also working to extend the private copying initiative to other parts of Africa.

“We need to put in place and enforce policies that protect creators. They are part of a value chain that contributes to the socio-economic development of our countries,” CISAC vice-president Yvonne Chaka Chaka said during another summit in Abidjan in February.

 Other highlights of the report include:

• CISAC’s successful takeover of the CIS-Net tools, enabling it to be adapted to meet societies’ changing business needs.
• Its push for adoption of the International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC).
• Its work setting the legal framework for creators in the AI environment in several jurisdictions.
• Its push for growth and strong copyright frameworks at national level, showing examples of successful campaigns in territories including South Africa, Bulgaria, Chile, Georgia, South Korea, New Zealand and others.
• Its relations with international agencies and unique engagement with centres of international influence such as WIPO, UNESCO and regional bodies to promote and safeguard creators’ rights
• Its continued lobbying across all repertoires it represents, especially the progress on the implementation of the resale right for visual artists and on the campaign for an unwaivable right of remuneration for audio-visual creators.

The report is available to download in English, French and Spanish.