Lawyer Kwabena Frimpong Mensah, an associate of the Robert Smith law group, has called for the review of Ghana’s copyright laws.
He opines that the creative arts business is expanding as a result of local music and international success local artists enjoy currently.
In Ghana, the relatively late establishment of the first collection society, the Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA), in the 1980s makes it still necessary today for more education on defining its operations, membership and requirements
Many agitation and allegations of malpractices had plagued COSGA and its management. It, therefore, became necessary for the proper drafting of the copyright law and the information of an interim board to aid in the setting up of a more effective organization. GHARMO got the certification and was mandated to restructure and establish standard operating systems in order to achieve this.
Some of the agitation and allegations levelled at COSGA now plague GHAMRO. Issues raised by stakeholders include a lack of transparency, accountability; the need for the interim board to hand over to the substantive policy board; and the legitimacy of the current constitution.
Lawyer Kwabena Frimpong Mensah in an interview with Doctar Cann on Happy 98.9FM’s Showbiz Xtra show said, “the Robert Smith law group in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is organizing a public seminar to educate the public, especially those in the creative space. This is to educate them on the benefits from and of their work, know the laws and who and what can be introduced. And what happens when someone infringes on these rights on 3rd December 2021 at 9am in the Mövenpick hotel.”
He further explained that the seminar will be in two-part where the first part will discuss laws surrounding copyrights for creative persons and the second part will talk about how to monetize your intellectual parts that will bring clarity to the people.
Other guests on the show applauded the Robert Smith law group for coming up with this initiative which will help build the industry
Presenter, Londona said “if this kind of education is going on, it is prudent for a lot of creative players to partake in this exercise because education is a never-ending point.
Lawyer Frimpong talked about the need for a council for the creative arts as the space must always try to be unique.
By: Nancy Doe
