Earlier last month, the International Authors Forum (IAF) participated at the joint WIPO-ARIPO regional seminar ‘Copyright: A Driver of the Creative Economy’, hosted by ARIPO in Harare, Zimbabwe. They attended alongside the Heads of Copyright Offices and Collective Management Organizations of the African Continent.
Over 50 representatives from key copyright stakeholders participated in the meeting. They acknowledged the issues emerging due to digital diffusion and discussed the current copyright ecosystem. The meeting also reviewed how these copyright stakeholders can work together to find a solution to existing copyright issues across Africa.
This three-day seminar prompted important discussions on how to further encourage concrete actions by the member states and the relevant stakeholders.
“IAF presented an outline of how to achieve a fruitful and successful author-publisher relationship, from author’s point of view. Moreover, IAF presented its campaign about Fair Contracts, sharing the insights of the ‘’Ten Principles for Fair Contracts’’ which has been developed by the IAF membership. This is the foundation of good cooperation between authors and publishers in the publishing ecosystem.
Photo Credits: ARIPO