tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2617183138118819994.post9117544135832292955..comments2024-03-05T17:50:31.778+02:00Comments on Afro-IP: Nigeria to impose copyright levies on "everything under the sun"Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2617183138118819994.post-48514195676297255822013-03-04T17:08:39.521+02:002013-03-04T17:08:39.521+02:00It's fair & in line with moral rights for ...It's fair & in line with moral rights for copyright holders to benefit from the fruits of their creative works. The levy system while apparently justified to some extent, the seemingly general or omnibus nature of its application raises some questions. For instance one wonders about issues of implementation as well as distribution of these levies after collection by the Collection Management agencies and again what would determine the ratio(s) of distribution? Are there reliable data to rely on in implementing this policy? These and other questions are important and relevant as regards the peculiarities of the country. In respect of Canada & other countries including some in the EU, it's important to note that they have their own issues and peculiarities as well. It's interesting to note that towards year-end 2012 Canada came up with legislation to clamp down on online (digital) piracy (illegal down-loading of online copyrighted material), which (legislation) require ISPs to release physical addresses of owners of IP addresses which have been found to violate these laws thereby raising privacy and data-protection issues. In the EU the "Three strikes" rule obtains and the US recently (just a few days ago) came up with its own "Six-Strikes" rule modeled after the EU laws. The Google levy comes to mind as well. The point is, what works for one may not work for another and it remains to be seen whether all these measures will reduce or eliminate the types of piracy towards which they're targeted and also whether the exemptions itemised by the Nigerian Copyright Commission are adequate. This can only be discovered through trial, I guess. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11081248162113659343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2617183138118819994.post-49545120012973033062013-01-02T17:16:02.795+02:002013-01-02T17:16:02.795+02:00Thanks to Afro Leo for the great reporting on this...Thanks to Afro Leo for the great reporting on this important development.<br /><br />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://www.idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications/Pages/IDRCBookDetails.aspx?PublicationID=72. During fieldwork research to produce this book, the authors conducted interviews with key stakeholders about the origins and impacts of Ghana's levy system.<br /><br />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://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2012/2012-11-07/html/sor-dors226-eng.html<br /><br />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<br /><br />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=877191Jeremy de Beerhttp://www.jeremydebeer.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2617183138118819994.post-36458392711406028652012-12-07T20:51:35.887+02:002012-12-07T20:51:35.887+02:00In the quid pro quo nature of things, in the regul...In the quid pro quo nature of things, in the regulation is there any corresponding privacy copying right provision for those paying the levy?Joly MacFiehttp://isoc-ny.org/p2noreply@blogger.com