How to Update Copyright: Nigeria Shows the Way for Africa – and the World
upstart writes:
How to update copyright: Nigeria shows the way for Africa - and the world:
This battle over [copyright] moves to adopt an open-ended fair dealing based on the US approach, rather than one with a limited list of permitted exceptions and limitations, is an important one that is happening all around the world. Open-ended fair use is clearly more helpful for dealing with developments in technology that were never envisaged when old copyright laws were drawn up. They allow at least a basic flexibility in the way that copyright is applied, for example online.
Once again, the current resistance to countries adopting fair use or open norms is the result of the copyright industry refusing to allow any legal developments that favour the public or indeed anyone except themselves. A good example of the fierce battles being fought is South Africa, where President Ramaphosa sent the Copyright Amendment Bill back to Parliament after it was passed, largely because of lobbying by copyright supporters against its fair use provisions.
Nigeria's new law is important because the country is already a leader in Africa, and is predicted to become one of the world's top economies. What happens in Nigeria matters, because it sets an important precedent for other rising nations looking to update their outdated copyright laws to maximise the benefits of the digital world by adopting open norms.
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