Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has held its first general meeting on capacity building of directors-general of copyright offices to strengthen the return of cultural property to countries of origin.
The workshop held in Accra, was in partnership with Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture (MOTAC) aimed to adopt a strategy for the harmonisation of privatizing copying in all member of states.
The workshop seeks to build on the advancement made in the harmonisation process within the West African Economic and Monetary Union which includes, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Gambia.
Ogundiran Aduragbemi, ECOWAS Young Professional in Charge of Art and Heritage Culture Division, said out of the 15 states, only Ghana and Burkina Faso had stable systems that allowed them to pay artists for private copying, other members still experienced difficulties in its implementation due to the misunderstanding of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET).
He said it was imperative that ECOWAS benefited from the advancement of the process of harmonising private copying within the UEMOA area with the view of global harmonisation in the region.
Mr Andrew Egyapa Mercer, Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture in his speech said, copyright played a vital role in the dispensation of creativity, hence, it was prudent for countries to implement copyright acts to secure and save content creators and artist their hard work inputs to develop Africa.
He said copyright was not a legal framework, but the foundation upon which arts and culture blossomed and ensured that inventors or creators, artists, and cultural practitioners were recognised and rewarded for their invaluable contributions to society.
According to the Minister, ECOWAS had made significant strides in strengthening the capacity in its member states, assessing the status of copyright office and protecting intellectual property and fostered collaboration with international organisations which was instrumental in addressing copyright challenges.
'With the rapid advancement of technology, landscape of copyright has risen from piracy to unauthorized use of creative works, so these issues demand our immediate attention and action', he added.
He urged director-generals to take a proactive step in their respective roles, and advocate polices that protect the right of creators and educate teams about the importance of copyright.
He charged all directors-general to play a vital role in the implementation of the copyright laws, to foster an environment where creativity flourished and respecting the rights of those who create products.
Source: Ghana News Agency