Lack of copyright law enforcement affects our work – Ghanaian photojournalists

The President of Ghana Photojournalists Network (GPNet), Mr David Andoh, says the lack of enforcement of the copyright law is affecting their work.

Mr Andoh, during an interview with the Ghana News Agency to mark World Photography Day, narrated how their works were plagiarised and used frequently without consent or crediting the originators of the pictures and videos, particularly from media establishments.

The issue, he said, had been worsened by the low level of knowledge on the part of the law enforcement agencies as well as the citizens on copyright issues, making it difficult to bring perpetrators to book.

“… even if somebody has used an image you created without your permission and you take the person to court, the lawyers find it unusual, so, they won’t give you the justice you want,” he explained.

The President added that deliberate efforts should be made to enforce the copyright laws to develop the profession and make it recognised as it was in the developed world.

“In the developed countries, if you dare pick and use even one picture and it is established that it is not yours, what you will be made to pay in a single lawsuit is enough deterrent to make you exercise caution and restraint. This is what is lacking here in Ghana we need the law to be enforced for photojournalists to make decent living out of it,” he explained.

Mr Andoh urged the media to create awareness on the value of images, what the country could achieve from photography and how it could be exploited to foster national development.

World Photography Day, marked on August 19th every year, seeks to celebrate the artistic craft, science, and history of photography. The day particularly celebrates photographs and Photographers who have captured precise elements of the present, which in the future, can be an insightful artifact of the past.

Source: GNA