Copyright and literary piracy in Ghana

Abstract

This paper discusses the issue of copyright, especially as it pertains in Ghana. It also examines the extent of literary piracy and its impact on authors and the book industry in Ghana. Remedies proposed to curb this activity include resourcing of the Copyright Office; creation of copyright awareness; and strict prosecution of offenders.

Introduction

According to Harrods Librarians' Glossary (1984), copyright is a procedure whereby the originator of a piece of intellectual property (books, articles, piece of music etc.) receives due recompense for the inventiveness or the imagination expended. The law of copyright has had a rather slow evolution dating back to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries with the introduction of the art of printing from movable type. Increase in the number of printers resulted in the assumption of the prerogative of granting printing privileges, usually by the monarch. A congress which deserves special mention is the Universal Copyright Convention held in 1952. Forty countries from both developed and developing areas were represented. Prior to this, in 1886, a convention was held in Berne which aimed at protecting the rights of authors.

The main international agreement on copyright is the Berne Convention of 1886, administered by World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), to which most countries in Africa have fashioned their own copyright laws. The WIPO is an international organization tasked with promoting the intellectual property of works. It is a UN specialized agency based in Geneva and has a country membership of 179. The Berne Convention stipulates that copyright usually lasts for the life of the author, plus an additional 50 years. After that the work is then in the public domain.

To most people, the author is a person who writes or produces a book. In all fields of human endeavour, initiative and originality are primary values associated with authorship. In the specific context of the book industry, and particularly in the authorship of literary works, an author is also expected to have a creative turn of mind, a distinctive vision of society and a restless passion to communicate. In order for an author to contribute to knowledge and the advancement of his fellow men, he should reveal a distinctive quality of mind, reveal creative originality in his total being and a willingness to share something of value with posterity. One may therefore confidently assert that, without authorship of some kind, books cannot be produced.