Afro Caribbean Creative Bridge forum: Stakeholders call for stronger intellectual property, copyright protection for creatives

Stakeholders in the creative industry are calling for stronger intellectual property and copyright systems to ensure creators are protected and fairly compensated for their work.

The call was made at a Cross Regional Forum on Intellectual Property and Music, dubbed the Afro Caribbean Creative Bridge, organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in collaboration with Ghana's Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts.

The forum brought together stakeholders to explore ways of strengthening intellectual property protection and deepening creative ties between Africa and the Caribbean.

Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Dzifa Abla Gomashie, called for more effective copyright management systems to ensure creatives benefit financially from their work.

She said stronger copyright protection would empower creatives to thrive in the global marketplace while enabling them to move, collaborate and work across countries.

“Too often, many of our creatives, at the end of their lives, have very little to show for what they have achieved, only because they stopped producing. But the music is being played all the time. Who is paying for that?” she asked.

The Minister also called for greater cooperation between African and Caribbean countries to strengthen the creative industries in both regions.

Musician and Ambassador for Africa, Rocky Dawuni, said Africa possesses immense creative wealth, which must be recognised and protected as a valuable asset.

“Africa is a land of creativity. Our creativity defines who we are as a people, from our music to our food and culture,” he said.

He stressed the need for appropriate legal frameworks to protect creative works and ensure creators benefit from the value generated by their intellectual property.

Carol Simpson, the officer in charge of Latin America and the Caribbean at WIPO, said the organisation is working on practical solutions to help creators protect and benefit from their creative works.

“We're really working from a very practical perspective, bringing experts here who can have discussions and come up with solutions in terms of how our creatives can better protect and benefit from their creativity,” she said.

The forum forms part of efforts to strengthen collaboration between Africa and the Caribbean and address intellectual property challenges facing creatives as their work reaches wider international audiences and markets.

For Ghana's creative industry, the discussions speak to a long-standing concern: artistes and creators often earn little from their work even as their music, films and designs continue to generate value across streaming platforms, radio, events and international markets.

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