Creatives must take copyright laws seriously- Nii Psalm Nunoo

Nii Psalm Nunoo, a copyright activist, is warning Ghana's creative community to take copyright issues seriously.

He spoke out against the industry's disregard for copyright laws, using the recent argument between Kwame Mickey and Team Eternity over the song "Defe Defe" as an example.

Speaking in an interview with Graphic Showbiz, Nii Psalm Nunoo observed that a significant number of Ghanaian creatives are either unaware of or apathetic towards copyright laws, leading to rampant intellectual property theft and a culture of disregard for peers' work.

“In our creative space, a lot of people don't want to learn. This is evident, especially among our bloggers, who often fail to credit original sources or creators properly.

“The copyright system here in Africa is not handled seriously, unlike in other parts of the world where it is very stringent,” he said.

He also highlighted the contrast between the stringent enforcement and respect for copyright laws in Europe and America, versus the lax attitude towards copyright protection in Ghana.

 “It is not like that in other parts of the country. The copyright system is very, very serious. Our creators here are not taking things seriously. You can search for the creative space in Europe and America and you will find that every creative team has a lawyer in the team.

“Every creative team has a lawyer or someone who knows the law or copyright issues in the management team so that when it comes to legal issues, they can tackle it because ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

“However, in our space, you find that people do not pay attention to copyright issues and a whole lot of things. We are just not being serious about learning. We are not being serious about these copyright issues,” he added.

Nii Psalm Nunoo urged for the strengthening of Ghana's copyright office to efficiently tackle copyright infringement cases.

He wants Ghana's copyright office to be stronger and better at handling copyright issues.

 He believes the creative industry needs a change of mindset to value learning about copyright laws and protecting creators' work, making it a habit to respect people's intellectual property.

“The copyright office must be well-empowered to resolve copyright infringement cases efficiently. Without this, the creative industry will continue to suffer from rampant intellectual property theft due to lack of legal accountability,” he said.