Editorial

Efforts meant to have an effective and efficient implementation of the country’s Copyright law are still alive and stronger, as clearly exhibited in numerous training programmes organised by the Government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the National Centre for Arts and Culture and other relevant stakeholders.

The Gambia’s new Copyright Law of 2004 replaced the outdated British Law on Copyrights, which was in use since the time of colonial administration in the country. However, the said law did not cover certain areas; hence prompting the authorities to come up with a new law that will fill gaps left in the old copyrights law.

For example, Section 66 of the 2004 Copyright Act of The Gambia made provision for creation and establishment of a collecting society in the country, responsible for collecting loyalties for the artists, inventors and innovators, and also setting up a board of directors for the said collecting society, responsible for managing the affairs of the collecting society.

The new 2004 copyright law also made detailed provisions about the roles and functions of different stakeholders for the implementation of the country's copyrights law and such key stakeholders included the National Centre for Arts and Culture, custodians of The Gambia's traditional norms and values. It also highlights the registration and depositing of copyright works and products, among other issues.

Furthermore, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), based in Geneva, Switzerland, over the years since coming into force of the new Gambia Copyright law in 2004, has supported and sponsored many local stakeholders’ trainings on the implementation of the law. Such latest training is currently underway at the Dunes Resort located in Kololi, meant to have the law effectively implemented without any further delay.

The use of knowledge, time and energy to produce something, is not easy. It is for the recognition of this the promulgation of copyright law is necessary; to protect creators and innovators from those who pirate their works.

However, the issue remains,how soon will the country's copyrights law be effectivelyimplemented to the letter. The stakeholders must come together to forge a common sense of direction for successful implementation of a law that stands to benefit them and generations to come.

This could be best done through formation of recommended associations and groups as stipulated in the new copyrights law; such as the Gambia music association, the artist association, creation and establishment of a collecting society tasked with registering works done either individually or collectively.

The Gambia as a developing country stands to gain a lot from the implementation of the copyright law, as the country is blessed with young talented artists, writers and authors whose works must be encouraged and used so as to leverage their economic, political and moral standards in society. The implementation will also complement efforts of the Ministry of Education in its policy and strategy of using locally authored books and other reading materials in our education system.