MUSIGA ACADEMY

COPYRIGHT AND PUBLISHING

NAFTI, ACCRA
DECEMBER

OUTLINE OF
PRESENTATION
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

MEANING, NATURE AND SCOPE OF COPYRIGHT

MUSICAL ASPECT OF COPYRIGHT

TYPES OF RIGHTS AND RIGHTS OWNERS:

-ECONOMIC RIGHTS
-MORAL RIGHTS

ROYALTIES

. COPYRIGHT ADMINISTRATION IN GHANA

2

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP)

Refers broadly to creations of the

human mind. Intellectual property
rights protect the creators by giving
them property rights over their
creations.

Subject matter protected by IP rights:

Literary, artistic & scientific works
Performances of performing artistes,
phonograms & broadcasts
Scientific discoveries
Industrial designs
Trademarks, service marks, commercial
names & designations
All other rights resulting from intellectual
activity in the industrial, scientific, literary
or artistic fields
3

ORIGINS OF COPYRIGHT

Statute of Anne in 1770 was first

recognition of copyright

Paris & Berne conventions in 1883 & 1886

led to a united secretariat in 1893 on
intellectual property and copyright known
as BIRPI (United International Bureau for
the Protection of Intellectual Property)

In 1967 in Stockholm it became World

Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

In 1974 became a specialized U.N Agency

W.I.P.Os mission is to promote through
international cooperation, dissemination, use
and protection of works of human mind for socio
economic & cultural progress
4

COPYRIGHT: NATURE AND SCOPE

Copyright is essentially an exclusive right given

by law to an owner of a copyright work to prohibit
the copying of his work.

Copyright therefore deals with the right to copy

"copy" means a reproduction of a work in a written form,
or in the form of a recording or film, or in any manner or
form, but an object shall not be taken to be a copy of an
architectural work unless the object is a building or a
model; (Copyright Act, 2005 (act 690). Sec 76).
Essentially, copying connotes any act whereby a
copyright work is replicated in any form or manner other
than its original state, form or manner

COPYRIGHT: NATURE & SCOPE

Copyright is a property right but different
from the property in a physical thing eg
music and the Compact disc. Copyright is
therefore a property owned separately from the
material upon which the work is expressed.
Copyright is a right in expression and not in
ideas.
Means that the works is done either as a recorded
song and not an idea
Copyright is an exclusive right
This means that, only the right holder has the authority to
reproduce or authorize the reproduction of the work.
6

COPYRIGHT VRS RELATED

RIGHTS
Copyright deals with expression of ideas in a
communicable form while patents relate to inventions

Patents require novelty and copyright requires originality

The purpose for creating a copyright work is irrelevant

but for a work to qualify for patents, it must be
industrially applicable

Trademarks simply deals with marks

Musicians, producers and recording studios can therefore

create their own mark and have it protected under
trademarks
7

CONDITIONS FOR COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

Original

Expressed in a definite medium now known or later to be

developed with the result that the work can either directly be
accessed or with the aid of any machine or device

created by a citizen or a person who is ordinarily resident in

Ghana

first published in Ghana and in the case of a work first

published outside Ghana is subsequently published in Ghana
within thirty days of its publication abroad

a work in respect of which Ghana has an obligation under an

international treaty to grant protection.
(Copyright Act 2005 (Act 690)
8

TYPES OF RIGHTS

Economic Right & Moral Right

ECONOMIC RIGHTS

Gives the author the economic benefits in

the work

The author of the work has the exclusive

right to do or authorise
the reproduction of the work in any manner or
form
the translation, adaptation, arrangement or any
other transformation of the work
the distribution to the public of originals or
copies of the work by way of first sales or other
first transfer of ownership, and
10

ECONOMIC RIGHTS
Can be transferred by:
- Assignment - the assignment of the economic right

must be in writing and signed by the owner or his

authorized agent

-testamentary disposition or
-operation of law.

Lasts for 70 years from the death of the author or

the last surviving author or in case of sound
recording, seventy years from date the of
publication or recording

In case of employed authors, it is vested in the

employer

A right owner may also give license in respect of his

work
A license may be oral, written or inferred from conduct
11

ECONOMIC RIGHTS

The transfer shall be limited in scope to the

use provided for in that contract
In case of joint authorship, the consent for
assignment or license must be by the joint
authors
Where they cannot agree, they must refer
the dispute to the Copyright administration
A review can be sought in the High Court
after the decision of the Copyright
administration
An assignment, a licence or a testamentary
disposition may be made or granted in
respect of an existing work or future work.
12

MORAL RIGHTS

This is the right to

to claim authorship of a work and to demand that
the name or pseudonym of the author be
mentioned when anytime the work is used
to object to and seek relief in connection with any
distortion, mutilation or other modification of the
work where that act would be or is prejudicial to
the reputation of the author or where the work is
discredited by the act

Moral right cannot be transferred

Exists in perpetuity

13

ROYALTIES
Basically in four categories
Mechanical licenses and royalties allows for
mechanical reproduction of music eg cassettes, CDs etc
Performance rights and royalties allows music to be
performed either live or broadcast
Synchronization rights and royalties allows for a song
to be used in a film, T.V show or commercial
Print rights and royalties allows for music to be
reproduced as sheet music
All these royalties are paid to the songwriters and publishers
apart from the Mechanical royalties which the recording artistes
receives some

Audio Home Recording Act (1992) led to blank levy

Foreign royalties collected on behalf of artistes by
collection management organizations
14

PENALTIES AND REMEDIES

Criminal prosecution
Civil action
-criminal prosecution is done by the Attorney
General in the name of the Republic
-the punishment is a fine or imprisonment or
both
-Minimum fine for infringement is 500
penalty Units (500x12=GHc 6,000).
-Maximum fine is 1000 penalty units
(1000x 12= GHC12,000)
-Imprisonment of not more than 3 years

Continuing offence, a fine of not less than 25 penalty

Units and not more than 100 penalty Units for each
day that, the offence continues
Court may order that, sums collected out of the
infringement be paid to the right owner and the
infringing copies forfeited as well as the infringing
device seized and disposed off as the Court may
direct.
15

PENALTIES AND REMEDIES

Civil action can be initiated on the following

basis:
That there is a threat of infringement
That there is actual infringement

Court can order the following:

Injunction to prevent the infringement or prohibit the
continuation of the infringement,
Seizures by CEPS in respect of imports and exports
Damages
Order on ex-parte application for inspection or removal of
infringing devices from Defendants premises.

16

OBLIGATIONS OF RIGHT
HOLDERS
Seek for the recognition of their
rights
Enforce their rights
Register their works

The purposes of registration are

to maintain a record of works,
to publicise the rights of the
owners
to give evidence of the
ownership and authentication of
intellectual property.
17

What is a Creative Common License?

Creative Commons Licenses:
apply to works that are subject to copyright (NOT to
works already in the public domain)
offer an option for the creator to define permitted
uses explicitly
do NOT affect Fair Use
are NOT exclusive
allow copying, distribution, display, public
performance, & reformatting
do NOT contradict copyright

COLLECTION MANAGEMENT
ORGANIZATIONS (C.M.Os)
These are organizations mandated by right owners to
license their works and collect their royalties on their behalf
GHAMRO
SESAC (US)
ASCAP (US)
ARS (US)
BMI (US)
PPL (UK)
PRS (UK)
PLS (UK)
BDS (UK)
SAMRO (SA)
COSON (NJ)
SACEM (France)
SESAM (France)

19

COPYRIGHT IN GHANA

COSGA
UK copyright Act of 1911
PNDC Law 110
established the
Copyright Administrator
and the Collective
Administrative society

GHAMRO est in 2011

WAY FORWARD
20

COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT
ORGANIZATIONS
(C.M.Os)

CONTENTS
Objective
What are Collective Management
Organizations (C.M.Os)
Functions of C.M.Os
Operation of C.M.Os
Types of C.M.Os
International C.M.Os
Performing Rights Organizations (PROs)
C.M.Os in Ghana
Quiz
Homework

22

WHAT ARE COLLECTIVE

MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS
(C.M.Os)
CMOs

may be private or public

autonomous organizations or government
offices performing the functions of CMOs
administering the rights of rights owners

It

is believed that the State should exercise

effective control and supervision as well as
financial support where necessary for the
efficient functioning of the organizations

WIPO

indicates a growing trend in

developing countries where CMOs are
established under public law as opposed to
civil law to garner government backing and
support

23

FUNCTIONS OF C.M.Os
WIPO notes the following as some of the
regular activities of CMOs:
the right of public performance (music
played
or
performed
in
halls,
discotheques, restaurants and other
public places)
the
right of broadcasting (live and
recorded performances on radio and
television);
the mechanical reproduction rights in
musical works (the reproduction of works
incompact discs, tapes, vinyl records,
cassettes, mini-discs, or other forms of
recordings)

24

FUNCTIONS OF C.M.Os

the
performing
rights
in
dramatic works (stage plays)
the
right
of
reprographic
reproduction of literary and
musical works (photocopying)
related rights, or the rights of
performers and producers of
phonograms to obtain
Remuneration for broadcasting
or the communication to the
public of phonograms.

25

OPERATION OF C.M.Os

Individual right owners authorize

the use of their works under
particular circumstances.
For example, a writer can negotiate a
fee for the publication and distribution
of his book, a filmmaker can do same, a
musician can agree on a fee for the
recording of his music etc.

CMOs exercise copyright and

related rights on behalf of the right
owners.
Their essential role is the collection
of copyright fees and distributing
the appropriate amount to the
copyright owners
after deducting the sum required to
cover expenses on a not-for profit
basis (up to 30%)
26

OPERATION OF C.M.Os

Membership of CMOs is open to

owners of copyright and related
rights,
eg authors, composers, publishers,
writers, photographers, musicians,
performers or phonogram producers.

Owner of a copyright signs a contract

with the CMO thereby transferring
their rights to the organization.
These assignment or transfer of
rights cover performances or
broadcasts globally
It enables the CMO to sign contracts
with other CMOs worldwide for the
management of the rights of their
members

27

TYPES OF C.M.Os
There are various types of CMOs - from the Traditional
to the One Stop shops which are the evolving types of
CMOs.

Traditional type
These act on behalf of their members by negotiating rates
and terms of use with users
eg radio and television stations, hospitality centers like
restaurants, bars and hotels and mobile content providers.

Issue licenses authorizing use of the works of their

members
Collect and distribute royalties to their members.
Rights Clearance Centers
Grant licenses to users based on conditions for the
use of the works and the compensation due eg
writers of books, magazines etc
Right owner is involved directly in the negotiations

28

TYPES OF C.M.Os

One-stop-shops
Coalitions of separate CMOs
offering centralized service to
users for rapid authorizations.
In the view of WIPO this is
becoming increasingly popular due
to the increasing number of
multimedia productions
( productions composed of or
created from several types of
work) requiring multiple
authorizations.
29

INTERNATIONAL C.M.Os

There is a growing number of NGOs working in

the global network of CMOs.
Prominent ones are Confederation of Societies of
Authors and Composers, CISAC; International
Federation of Reprographic Reproduction
Organizations, IFFRO; the Association of European
Performers Organizations, AEPOS
WIPO is working with some organizations to
develop CMOs in developing countries to ensure
that they can respond effectively to the
challenges of the digital revolution
International Federation of Actors, FIA
International Federation of Musicians, FIM
International Federation of the Phonographic
Industry, IFPI

30

INTERNATIONAL C.M.Os

Internationally, CMOs also

engage in establishing funds to
provide welfare support for
medical bills or insurance,
retirement packages or similar
packages. These packages are
based on deductions from the
royalties payable to the
members.

WIPO notes that CMOs can play

a role in sponsoring cultural
activities that promote the
national repertoire both locally
and internationally.
31

PERFORMING RIGHTS
ORGANIZATIONS

Performing Rights Organizations (P.R.Os )perform all

the duties of C.M.Os except rights such as
mechanical rights, grand rights, master rights or
synchronization rights which they do not license.
PROs license performing rights only.
Examples of Performing Rights Organizations
American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers (ASCAP) founded in the United States
in 1914
Society of European Stage Authors & Composers
(SESAC) established in 1930
Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) in 1939
32

C.M.Os IN GHANA

Following the history of

copyright in Ghana, with
the dissolution of the
Copyright Society of
Ghana (COSGA) three
collection management
societies were formed
These are
Ghana Music Right
Owners, (GHAMRO)
Audio Visual Rights
Society of Ghana (ARSOG)
Copy Ghana for literary
rights owners
33

GHAMRO

The Ghana Music Rights

Organization (GHAMRO)
was established in 2011
and board came into
office in May
Suit filed against Board
on May 15, 2014 by 100
members for
embezzlement and over
stay in office
Court granted injunction
against the board in July
2014 and appointed a
five member receiver
manager committee
34

GHAMRO

Elections
held in June
and new
board led by
Kojo Antwi
inaugurated
for two year
tenure

35

36

QUIZ
What are C.M.Os and what role do they play
in the music industry?
Mention two types of C.M.Os and describe
their work.

What is GHAMRO and briefly describe their

operations.

37

HOMEWORK

Read about ASCAP, SESAC and BMI and

describe any similarities and differences in
their operations.

38

39