0.8 Traditional knowledge  (Page 4/24)

Protection using explicit reference to tces

Many countries now explicitly refer to folklore in their copyright legislation. Such references take various forms.

Some countries have sections, chapters, or special parts of copyright law that are entirely devoted to folklore. Countries within this group include Algeria, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chile, Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Rwanda, Seychelles, Togo, Tanzania, Tunisia,  and  Zimbabwe .

In the  Congo , for example, folklore is considered party of the country's heritage, and Congolese copyright law protects folklore without a time limitation. A "Body of Authors" society is responsible for collecting royalties, representing authors' interests, and overseeing the use of folklore. Permission must be sought from the society before any public performance, reproduction, or adaptation of folklore for commercial purposes. This includes the import or distribution of copies of works of national folklore made abroad. Public agencies are exempted from the obligation to obtain prior authorization to use folklore for non-profit activities, though they still must notify the society before use.

In  Ghana , the recently adopted  Copyright Act of 2005  significantly changed the way traditional knowledge is protected. In the Act, copyright protection extends to literary works, artistic works, musical works, sound recordings, broadcasts, cinematographic works, choreographic works, derivative works, and program-carrying broadcast signals. To be eligible for copyright, the work must be original, in writing (or otherwise reduced to material form), and created by a citizen or resident of Ghana. The work must also have been first published in Ghana, or, if first published outside Ghana, published in Ghana within thirty days of its original publication. A work created by an individual is protected for the life of that individual plus fifty years; a work created by a corporation is protected for fifty years from the date on which the work was first made public. In Ghana, an author has exclusive rights to reproduce the work (with the exception of private use, quotations in other works, and use in pedagogy, which are permitted). It is an infringement of the copyright to reproduce, sell or exhibit in public for commercial purposes any work without authorization, or to use the work in a manner that adversely affects the reputation of the author. Both civil and criminal penalties may apply. Article 59 of the Act establishes a National Folklore Board, which governs the administration, preservation, registration and promotion of expressions of folklore. The Board may authorize the use of folklore and may determine a fee to be paid. The Act provides that the copyrights of authors of folklore vest in the government as if the government were the creator of the works. In Ghana (as in the Central African Republic and Congo), funds from fees or other money accruing from the use of folklore are to be used for social welfare benefits.