LIPO’s
Acting officer in Charge Prince Decker, speaking the seminar , held yesterday
at YMCA.
The Liberia
Intellectual Property Office (LIPO) has for the first time since its inception
hold a special seminar for artists and inventors, which is meant to enlighten
them on the legal framework of intellectual property and the essence of its
moral and economic rights.
The special
seminar, dubbed “Intellectual Property (IP) Clinic,” discusses the importance
of IP, the value of it as an asset in commerce and economic development, and
the present status of IP in Liberia. Among the participants were a large number
of artists and inventors as well as users of IP.
During the
seminar, artists and inventors admitted that the low level of IP awareness
among them makes it easier for their works to be exposed to infringement or
piracy, because they are not registering their creations.
LIPO’s
Acting officer in Charge Prince Decker said the seminar comes at a time when
the problem caused by lack of IP awareness among artists and inventors continue
to have a disturbing financial effect on their trade; because they lack a basic
understanding of the law, they don't register their works.
Mr. Decker
added that in order to stop these financial losses, the players in the industry
need to firstly understand IP and its legal framework; and once they understand
it they will start to reap the benefits.
"If we
are to build a society that will be knowledgeable about IP, it is essential
that we reach out to the creators, to ensure that they are equipped with the IP
knowledge needed to succeed in their field and avoid people exploiting them.
“While it is the truth that IP has the
potential to help reduce poverty, create employment and accelerate economic
growth, this can only be done through comprehensive public awareness campaigns,
to boost understanding of the system and its potential benefits, which we are
doing now.
“Educating
the industry’s players about IP is crucial in harnessing the economic benefits
of IP, which is vital to the longevity of creative industries; they will be
their own security by suing people who pirate or infringe on their creations,”
Mr. Decker said.
Mr. Decker
added that in a recent study by LIPO, it was discovered that 80% of creators
know that IP is important, but doesn’t have the knowledge needed to support
them in their future careers. So to give them this knowledge, LIPO decided to
host the IP clinic and beef up the year-long nationwide campaign that it
started.
The seminar
yesterday was part of LIPO’s celebration of World IP Day, which is today (April
26), under the theme: ‘Piracy is a Public Enemy for our Economic Growth, Stop
Piracy to Empower Innovation and Creativity.’
World IP Day
is a day on which the global IP community joins with others to acknowledge the
fundamentally important role of IP in promoting innovation and development
throughout the world, the release said.
DJ Weezy,
CEO of Naymo Record, home of PCK and L’ Frankie, two of Liberia’s finest
artists, in a statement said in today’s modern world, more young people are
becoming inventors and artists, so they need to understand the country’s IP law
and its legal framework, which is crucial to the creation of an enabling
environment and a social knowledge about IP.
Weezy added
the IP clinic has educated him and members of the creative sector about the
benefits of IP, as well as the do and do not, which they had no knowledge about.
He noted that the continuation of this awareness is crucial in helping them to
avoid the loss they incur on a daily basis.
“You can
believe that as CEO of a record label, which owns two of Liberia’s best
artists, none of our songs are copyrighted because I never had the knowledge
about this whole IP thing.
“This lack
of knowledge is affecting many of us, so we are kindly appealing for an
extension. We need this kind of discussion frequently for the betterment of the
industry. Today, we have learned a lot and now going home to apply it,” DJ
Weezy added.
“From today’s
seminar we have been educated about our rights as a right holder and how we can
go about benefiting when our works are registered,” Joseph S.K. Pambu, an ICT
trainer and consultant, said. “Not only my inventions but also to care about
other people’s inventions and the fine attached when you infringe or copy other
people’s work.”
Guest Article:
Robin L.C Dopoe Jr.
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