By Sanna Jawara, Copyright Officer
The Copyright Office under the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC), is pleased to invite the general public, especially owners of Copyright works to come and voluntarily register their works as per section 49 and 4 of the 2004 Copyright Act and other legal instruments at both domestic and international level.
The board of directors of National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) as per section 56 of the cited Act, appointed a Copyright Officer assigned among other things: to administer and preside over enforcement of the 2004 Copyright Act and the 2018 Copyright Regulations without reservation to monitor and coordinate Gambiaโs compliance with its obligation to treaties, conventions and protocols on proteCopyction and promotion of Intellectual Property (IP) laws, especially Copyright and related rights.
As such, registration forms an integral part of protection and promotion of Intellectual Property (IP) related rights as per section 49 of the cited 2004 Copyright Act, Article 5 (1-4)(a-c) of Bern Convention for Protection of Literary and Artistic Works among other legal provisions to that effect.
The purpose of registration is not limited to the following:
1-to maintain a record of work(s)
2-to publicise the right of owner(s)
3-to provide evidence of ownership
4-to authenticate owner of Intellectual Property (IP), especially Copyright and related rights.
This calls urging members of the public to come and voluntarily register their works is in line with on-going preparations to have an effective and efficient enforcement of the said 2004 Copyright Act and 2018 Copyright Regulations and further inspired by Legal Framework on Establishment of a Regional Voluntary Copyright Registration and Notification System by Africa Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) set to be adopted in 2020 as well as Nairobi Strategic Plan for Development of Copyright and Related Rights in Africa.
The Government of The Gambia, through Ministry of Tourism and Culture is deeply committed and resolved to promote and protect our creative and cultural industries as contained in National Development Plan and on-going engagements at domestic and global level, hence the importance of registering our creative and innovative works as Copyright and related rights, meant to add colour to our lives as humans desirous of becoming what we wanted as per Article 1 of International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (right to self-determination).
