Users of intellectual properties urged to pay copyright fees

Users of intellectual properties such as music, books and movies have been called upon to obtain authorisation from the Copyright Society of Ghana.

Mr Carlos Sakyi, a member of the board of the Interim Copyright Management Team who made the call, said all over the world copyright theft was one of the greatest offences any individual could commit adding, “Using somebody works without paying is like starving the person to death”.

He said this when speaking at a sensitisation forum for bar operators, restaurants owners, casino operators, and night clubs on the copyright laws and the need for users to pay the appropriate copyright fees.

Mr Sakyi said Ghana’s ratification of the Berne Convention mandated her to collect copyright fees on foreign music and movies that were used in the country as well as copyright fees on local music and movies used outside the country.

Mr Kwabena Kwakye Kabobo, also a member of the board of the team, said piracy was one major challenge the association was facing and called on the public to buy genuine products to promote the music and movie industries.

He said the team had arrested more than 65 individuals in the Greater Accra Region alone while in Kumasi some culprits were already facing jail sentences.

Rev Leticia Anim-Wiredu, Western Regional Chairperson for Musicians Association of Ghana and Copyright Representative, commended the entertainment associations in the Western Region for their prompt payment of copyright fees.

Source: GNA