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Copyright bureau in the offing
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Following the recent consultation meeting held at the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), it is envisaged that a copyright bureau will soon be established in the Gambia to enable artists, writers, musicians, radio proprietors etc, to have their works protected.
This meeting, which brought together creators and users of copyright, was part of preparatory activities for the full implementation of the copyright law in The Gambia. The consultation meeting aimed, among their things, to update the participants on the progress made towards setting up a functioning bureau, spell out their duties and responsibilities in the copyright regime, and enlist their support and participation in the subsequent sensitisation activities as well as allow them to suggest ways to facilitate administration of copyright. Copyright refers to the economic and moral rights that a creator has over his/her work. It is a property right and it has various characteristic such as expiry date, among others. In the Gambia, copyright lasts for the entire life of the author and fifty years after. The Gambia Copyright Act 2004 replaced the British colonial copyright law of 1915 which covered only printed materials. In the case of the Gambian law, the NCAC is required to maintain a register of works, productions and association of authors to inter-alias publicise the rights of owners and provide evidence of ownership and authentication. during this meeting, Momodou Joof, director general of NCAC, made a presentation on the topic: “The Gambia Copyright Act at a glance”, giving a brief history of the coming of copyright since the first attempts; how the Act concerns each of the users and creators; their obligations, responsibilities, etc. Baba Ceesay, director of Cultural Heritage, presented a paper on the ‘Collecting Society of The Gambia’. Hassoum Ceesay, director of copyright, spoke on copyright matters in The Gambia and the way forward, and Cornelius Gomez, director of performing Arts, deliberated on the topic: ‘Towards a Gambia Performing Arts Directory for The Gambia.’ Author: by Assan Sallah
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