CISAC and OAPI partner to promote creators' rights, growth and jobs in Africa
Paris, 15th September 2017 – CISAC and the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (African Intellectual Property Organisation - OAPI) have joined forces with an agreement to jointly promote and defend creators’ rights in Francophone Africa.
The agreement signed today is CISAC’s latest partnership in the area of intellectual property rights in Africa, following a similar move with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) in February. The MoU with OAPI includes collaboration on activities to strengthen creators’ rights, such as training seminars on improving revenue collections, raising awareness and increasing research on rights in the region.
OAPI is the intellectual property organisation representing the interests of its 17 Francophone member states, including Senegal, Ivory Coast, Congo and Burkina Faso. CISAC, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, oversees a global network of 239 member societies in 123 countries. These include 36 members in 31 African countries including in OAPI Member states. CISAC represents more than 4 million creators globally.
OAPI Director General Denis Bohoussou says: “Effectively protecting creators’ rights is an essential requirement in a country’s economic and cultural development. Only by acting together in a sure and certain manner can the different parties involved secure this objective”.
CISAC Director General Gadi Oron says: “Creators and creative industries in Africa not only express the cultural richness of this region, but are also huge drivers of economic growth and jobs. Intellectual property rights are front and centre of these activities, as governments and in the region are increasingly aware. That is why CISAC is committed to stepping up its collaboration with OAPI which has such an important role to play in improving the environment for creators in Africa”.
Only 40% of radio stations in Africa are licensed to broadcast music
Africa’s creative industries have huge growth potential but creators currently have an uphill struggle to secure fair remuneration for their work. According to a survey compiled by CISAC in July 2017, it is estimated that less than 40% of all radio stations across the region are licensed to broadcast music. Of 2580 broadcasters identified in 22 countries, only 1031 are paying royalties to authors as they should.
The African region saw total collections of €67 million in 2016, - only 0.7% of the total royalty collections worldwide - according to the 2017 CISAC Global Collections Report, to be released later in 2017.
The signing occurred during the “African screenwriters, writers and music creators from here and abroad” conference in Algiers. The event gathered creators, authors’ rights societies and international organisations in efforts to further develop authors’ rights and increase collections in Africa.
