Ghana embarks on copyright education project

The official launch of the programme took place on 7 August at the Coconut Grove Hotel in Accra, where it was announced that the education campaign will take place in conjunction with the Copyright Monitoring Team (CMT).

The campaign is to shed light on the deleterious effect of copyright infringement on the creative industry.

“Education, awareness creation and building respect for copyright are prerequisites for enforcement,” said Yaa Attafua, acting copyright administrator of the team, adding that not educating the public would lead to inefficient enforcement especially in with regards to the digital environment.

There are opportunities in the current climate but there are also challenges, she said.

“It is for this reason that the Copyright Office together with the Copyright Monitoring Team is stepping up its education and awareness creation campaign by using both the traditional and new media to drum home to all and sundry the need to respect the rights of creators”.

The CMT, which comprises police, copyright owners, book publishers, audiovisual right and musical rights holders and the Copyright Office, is chaired by Dorothy Habadah. The body will execute drives against piracy and keep an eye on copyright cases in the country.

“We have carried out this mandate since our inauguration through various random anti-piracy exercises and engaging in various public education forums on television and radio,” she said.

The body has decided to set up accounts on social media platforms for visibility and reach, and as such will have Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.

The public campaign is the latest in a flurry of activities by copyright authorities in Ghana, as in May, the Copyright Office began a study in partnership with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. The study will assess the economic contribution of industries dealing with intellectual property in Ghana.

“Over the next year with the support of the copyright office,” said Georges Bauer, project coordinator of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, “the consultants would collect data, identify gaps [and carry out other tasks].”