Actors from OAPI member states in a conclave in Douala are reflecting on a common legal and technical approach, aimed at developing efficient cultural industries adapted to the digital age.
As in various sectors, digital has become essential for the cultural industry. This new era now imposes new economic models in terms of exploitation of cultural content. This concerns the cultural industries, content creators, owners of digital streaming and download platforms and even States.
It is for this reason that the Intellectual Property Law and Innovation in Africa project (AFRIPI) in collaboration with the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), brought together in Douala representatives of collective management societies and administrations in charge of culture of the different OAPI member countries. During a seminar which runs from December 18 to 20, 2023, participants reflect on ways to harmonize strategies for exploiting cultural content in OAPI member states in the digital age. In particular, it is a question of exchanging and adopting a harmonized approach with a view to the implementation of economic models which should lead to the efficient exploitation of cultural creations in a context of digitalization. “These models impose new practices in terms of creation, extraction and distribution of the value generated by the online exploitation of cultural content », explains Jean Baptiste WAGO, the DGA of OAPI.
The seminar covers technical but especially legal aspects. Because standards should be defined for the management of intellectual property rights linked to cultural content distributed online. This while preserving the laws of each country. The objective is to develop efficient cultural industries in Africa.
In addition to new business models imposed by digital technology, the other issue is that linked to financial flows. “ These flows, the capture of which sometimes escapes States, are established between different actors whose number and diversity are quite significant. In such a situation, a minimum organization is necessary at the level of each Member State to capture these flows. », Specifies the DGA of OAPI.
