On 7 December 2012, this blog reported that a private copying levy system is set to be introduced in Nigeria (see Nigeria to impose copyright levies on "everything under the sun"). The post received the second highest views in that month; but more important was the comment by Jeremy de Beer who directed the rest of us to further research - some of which he authored - on this topic. So, for the benefit of our readers with research interests in this area, this is what he said:
"Thanks to Afro Leo for the great reporting on this important
development.
About the system in Ghana, and the potential impact on
access to educational resources, Afro-IP readers might be interested in Access
to Knowledge in Africa: The Role of Copyright http://bit.ly/qbxpw9. During fieldwork research to produce this book, the authors conducted
interviews with key stakeholders about the origins and impacts of Ghana's levy
system.
It is interesting that Nigeria is moving in the opposite
direction of countries that are phasing out experimentation with levies over
the past 10-15 years, such as Canada. See http://bit.ly/Vcuydp. For more on the practical and conceptual incompatibilities between levies and
digital rights management systems, readers might be interested in De Beer, J.,
2006. Locks & Levies. Denver University Law Review, 84(1), pp.143–180 http://ssrn.com/abstract=952128.
And on the impact of levies on the market for digital
content, albeit in a much different socio-economic and cultural context,
readers might be interested in De Beer, J., 2005. The Role of Levies in
Canada’s Digital Music Marketplace. Canadian Journal of Law and Technology,
4(3), pp.153–168. http://ssrn.com/abstract=877191."
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Still on Nigeria, Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) invites you:
This Leo loves the notion of public consultations (Looking at Europe, Afro Leo is quick to tell me that public consultations help policymakers decide whether they should press ahead with a ready-made decision or change course). Hopefully your voice will count for something if you join the NCC on 19th and/or 20th February 2013 for a round table discussion on how to reform the copyright regime in Nigeria. For more details, click here (If you will be attending, Afro-IP would like to receive a brief from you -anonymously or otherwise - on what was discussed)
