English: ZA

Africa's Copyright Laws, Right to Research in Africa Conference

Location: Pretoria, South Africa Date of Recording: 23 January 2023 Date of Publishing: 01 February 2023

Description: Does Africa have a Right to Research in Law?

Every copyright law in the world has at least one limitation or exception that permits uses of protected works for a “research,” “scientific,” or “private” purpose. But many of these exceptions were drafted in the pre-digital period and fail to enable modern research technologies. Many African countries are currently amending their copyright laws, partly to tailor them to the digital environment. Where are current African copyright laws flexible enough to enable modern research needs? Where is further reform needed to promote innovation, access to knowledge and development through research?

Chair: Prof. Malebakeng Forere Associate Professor in Law, University of Witwatersrand

Panelists: Prof. Sean Flynn, PIJIP Director, American University Washington College of Law, United States

Dr Melissa Omino, Acting Director, Centre For Intellectual Property And Information Technology Law (CIPIT), Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya

Chebet Koros, Research Fellow, CIPIT, Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya

Dr Sanya Samtani, SARCHI Chair, International and Constitutional Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Dr Chijioke Okorie, Centre for Intellectual Property Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Prof. Allan Rocha, Federal University of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Discussants: Cynthia Nzuki, Research Assistant, CIPIT, Kenya Dr Andrew Rens, Senior Researcher, ICT Africa, South Africa

More on the Right to Research in Africa Conference:

How can Africa predict and respond to the next pandemic? How do we model the impact of climate change on agriculture? How can we ensure access to accurate news and research in all African languages? Can we digitize our heritage to preserve it for future generations? Can we use AI to build a better future for Africa?

Answering these questions requires the very latest computational research methods. We need to mine information from research sources and databases all over the world. Do African researchers have access to the data they need? Does copyright law help or hinder the Right to Research?

African researchers, legal experts, policy makers, activists, and intergovernmental organisations join to have these important discussions.