Armstrong, De Beer, Kawooya, Prabhala, Schonwetter (2010)

Source Details

Armstrong, De Beer, Kawooya, Prabhala, Schonwetter (2010)
Title:	Access to knowledge in Africa. The role of Copyright.
Author(s):	Dr. Perihan Abou Zeid, Poku Adusei, Professor Said Aghrib, Jeroline Akubu, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, Chris Armstrong, Dr Bassem Awad, Pria Chetty, Professor Jeremy De Beer, Professor Moatsem El-Gheriani, Professor Noufissa El Moujaddidi, Professor Abdelmark El Ouazzani, Assane Faye, Naana Halm, Ronald Kukungulu, Dr. Dick Kakungulu, Dr. Dick Kawooya, Caroline Ncube, Nogaye Ndour, Julieta Nhane, Dr. Marisella Ouma, Achal Prabhala, Fernando Dos Sanots, Dr. Tobias Schonwetter, Dr. Mamadou Seye, Dr. Ben Sihanya, Filipe Sitoi
Year:	2010
Citation:	C. Armstrong, J De Beer, D Kawooya, A Prabhala, T Schonwetter. (2010). Access to knowledge in Africa. The role of copyright. UCT Press, South Africa
Link(s):	Definitive , Open Access
Key Related Studies:
Discipline:	I2: Education and Research Institutions I24: Education and Inequality O34: Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital O38: Government Policy
Linked by:

About the Data
Data Description:	Copyright laws and regulations; impact assessment interviews (qualitative)
Data Type:	Primary data
Secondary Data Sources:
Data Collection Methods:	Semi-Structured Interview Document Research
Data Analysis Methods:	Textual Content Analysis Legal Analysis
Industry(ies):	Publishing of books, periodicals and other publishing Cultural education Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities
Country(ies):	Egypt Ghana Kenya Morocco Mozambique Senegal South Africa Uganda
Cross Country Study?:	Yes
Comparative Study?:	Yes
Literature review?:	Yes
Government or policy study?:	Yes
Time Period(s) of Collection:
Funder(s):	ICT4D IDRC Shuttleworth Foundation Cape Town LINK Centre

Abstract

"The African Copyright and Access to Knowledge (ACA2K) project’s researchers are not the first to recognise the problem of the lack of evidence for copyright policymaking, or the urgent need for a better understanding of the impacts of copyright and other intellectual property (IP) laws, policies and regulations on everyday life issues, such as on access to educational and learning materials. However, it is no exaggeration to say that the ACA2K project is the first to deploy a sophisticated interdisciplinary collaborative research methodology and to generate on-the-ground empirical evidence on the impact of copyright on a particular sector across a group of countries."

Main Results of the Study

For all countries, the studies assess the copyright law environment and assess its impact towards the promotion of access to education by analysing secondary data on socioeconomic impact factors. This includes the legal system, literacy, access to ICTs, education system, and gender considerations. In some cases, qualitative interviews are conducted to capture evidence of the applied copyright effects on education. Copyright infringements are found to result from insufficient (institutional) access and financial resources to obtain educational material legally; ‘unnecessarily long protection periods’; and lack of knowledge about copyright protection. There is a particular emphasis on gender-related impact on Kenya.

Policy Implications as Stated By Author

The study suggests a harmonisation of IP laws and their assessment towards the effectivity of international agreements necessary where the IP-system is premature; consideration of education accessibility in the creation of IP laws; and the consideration of socio-economic factors that lead to an increased inclination to copyright infringement.

Coverage of Study

Coverage of Fundamental Issues

Issue	Included within Study
Relationship between protection (subject matter/term/scope) and supply/economic development/growth/welfare
Relationship between creative process and protection - what motivates creators (e.g. attribution; control; remuneration; time allocation)?
Harmony of interest assumption between authors and publishers (creators and producers/investors)
Effects of protection on industry structure (e.g. oligopolies; competition; economics of superstars; business models; technology adoption)
Understanding consumption/use (e.g. determinants of unlawful behaviour; user-generated content; social media)

Coverage of Evidence Based Policies

Issue	Included within Study
Nature and Scope of exclusive rights (hyperlinking/browsing; reproduction right)
Exceptions (distinguish innovation and public policy purposes; open-ended/closed list; commercial/non-commercial distinction)
Mass digitisation/orphan works (non-use; extended collective licensing)
Licensing and Business models (collecting societies; meta data; exchanges/hubs; windowing; crossborder availability)
Fair remuneration (levies; copyright contracts)
Enforcement (quantifying infringement; criminal sanctions; intermediary liability; graduated response; litigation and court data; commercial/non-commercial distinction; education and awareness)

Datasets

{{{Dataset}}}