Features
Collective management organisations and efforts to protect rights owners (Part 1)
[This piece is culled from a study conducted byMagnus Ebo Duncan (PHD), titled: “Economic
contribution of copyright companies in Ghana”]
Though copyright laws are made to protect rights owners, individual management of rights is practically impossible for certain types of use. The impracticability of enforcing the laws individually – both for the owner of the rights and for the user – creates a need for collective management organisations.
This article presents how the collective management organisations (CMOs) in Ghana are acting in the interest and on behalf of the owners of rights. Ghana’s examples can be emulated by CMOs in other countries.
THE LAW AND CREATION OF COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT ORGANISATIONS
Article 36(2) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana stipulates as follows: The State shall, in particular, take all necessary steps to establish a sound and healthy economy whose underlying principles shall include:
(a) the guarantee of a fair and realistic remuneration for production and productivity in order to encourage continued production and higher productivity;
(b) affording ample opportunity for individual initiative and creativity in economic activities and fostering an enabling environment for a pronounced role of the private sector in the economy.
These Constitutional provisions are in tandem with the objects of copyright law, which establish appropriate mechanisms to protect the work of creators and give them incentives to produce new works for public consumption.
Section 49 of the Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690) gives a legal backing for the formation of collective copyright administration societies. The Section provides as follows:
1. Authors, producers, performers and publishers may form collective administration societies for the promotion and protection of their interest.
2. A collective administration society may, acting on the authority of the owner of a right, collect and distribute royalties and other remuneration accruing to the owner.
3. The Minister may, by legislative instrument (L.I.), make regulations for the formation, operation and administration of societies.
In line with the above provisions of the Copyright Act, three (3) collective management organisations have been formed in Ghana. These are:
• Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO)
• Reprographic Rights Organization of Ghana (CopyGhana)
• Audiovisual Rights Society of Ghana (ARSOG)
The activities and operations of these collective management organizations are regulated by law i.e. the Copyright Regulations, 2010 (L.I. 1962) and the Hon. Minister for Justice has oversight responsibility over the CMOs. The Regulations contain elaborate provisions on the formation, operation and the administration of the CMOs. CMOs are registered as companies limited by guarantee. However, it is the Minister for Justice who grants them a certificate of approval to operate as CMOs.
LEVY ON DEVICES USED FOR THE REPRODUCTION OF COPYRIGHT MATERIALS (PRIVATE COPYING LEVY)
The Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690) imposes a levy on devices used for reproducing copyright materials. This levy is also known as the private copying levy. The levy, which is collected by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), covers both the media and equipment used to copy copyright protected materials, which are imported into the country.
The Copyright Regulations, 2010 (L.I. 1962) set out the devices on which the levy is imposed and the procedure for the distribution of the proceeds of the levy to rightsholders. Currently, the levy constitutes the largest source of income for the collective management organisations in Ghana.
GHANA MUSIC RIGHTS ORGANIZATION (GHAMRO)
GHAMRO’s principal roles are to manage the rights of music owners and to issue licences to music users. The membership of GHAMRO is made up of authors/composers and publishers. The organisation’s membership in 2015 was 3,277 and grew to 4,138 in 2016.
Collecting revenues for members
GHAMRO as a CMO, is responsible for ensuring that tariffs are designed to make commercial use of musical works benefit those who compose and publish them. The sources of revenue for the society are revenue from mechanical rights, performance rights, and other sources.
GHAMRO collects fees from users who engage in public performance of music. The organisation has established a vertical hierarchy of the various types of exploitation in which music is performed. Three classifications of exploitation have been made on the basis of the role played by music. These are:
(a) Exploitation where music is essential or indispensable (e.g. radio and TV broadcasting, live performances, disc jockeys);
(b) Exploitation where music creates the atmosphere and is thus necessary (e.g. night clubs, hotels, restaurants, pubs); and
(c) Exploitation where music serves as a background which is not strictly necessary but is favourable to have (e.g. caller tunes used by telecommunication companies).
Currently, the main user categories recorded in the organisation’s books are as follows:
1. Broadcasting stations (radio and television)
2. Hotels
3. Restaurants and bars
4. Night clubs, drinking bars and pubs
5. Financial institutions
6. Fuel retailing stations
7. Telecommunication operators
8. Live performance by various event organisers
9. Shops and malls
10. Barber shops and salons
The organisation has also taken steps to broaden its licensing stream to cover digital music licensing, airlines, road transport unions, secondary schools and churches.
The third source of revenue, which constitutes a very small proportion of total revenue generated, are the token fees charged for the registration of new members as well as for updating their records with new works.
Conflict at work is more common than you might think. According to 2022 research by The Myers-Briggs Company, more than a third of the workforce reports dealing with conflict often, very often, or all the time in the workplace.
Addressing a dispute might feel tense or awkward, but resolving the conflict is typically well worth it in the long run. Whether you are trying to mediate conflict between colleagues or are directly involved. Last week we looked at three and this week is the remaining four steps you can take to manage workplace conflict.
4. Find common ground
The best way to handle workplace conflict is to start with what you can agree on. Find common ground between the people engaging in conflict. If you are directly involved in the conflict, slow down and focus on results instead of who’s right.
If you are the mediator for conflict resolution between coworkers, observe the discussion and help point out the common ground others may not see.
5. Collectively brainstorm solutions
When deciding how to handle workplace conflict, it can be tempting to problem-solve on your own. Sometimes, it feels easier to work independently rather than collaboratively. However, if you want to achieve a lasting resolution, you will need to motivate your team to get involved.
Brainstorm possible solutions together, and solicit input from everyone involved on the pros and cons of each option until you settle on a solution that feels comfortable to everyone. This will help all team members feel a sense of ownership that can help prevent future conflicts.
6. Create an action plan
Once you have created an open dialogue around workplace conflicts, it is time to resolve them. Just like any other work goal, this requires creating a concrete plan and following through.
Create an action plan and then act on it. It does not matter what the plan is, as long as you commit to it and resolve the conflict as a result.
7. Reflect on what you learned
All conflicts offer an opportunity to grow and become a better communicator. Identify what went well and what did not.
Work with your whole team to gather learnings from the conflict so you can avoid similar situations in the future.
Today, I continue with my narration of personalities and their accomplishments as members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Finland, with a focus on Mr Joseph Osei Amoah.
Mr Amoah is one of the senior members of the Ghanaian community in Finland and a top member of the Ghana Union Finland, an association of the Ghanaian migrant community in Finland.
He is an active and a well-respected person in the Ghanaian community in Finland. Mr Osei Amoah moved to Finland in the mid-1990s, and he has lived in Helsinki all this time.
Accomplishments and honours
It is important to recount accomplishments as part of the success stories of the personalities of Ghanaian descent in Finland in order to highlight their exploits both within the Ghanaian migrant community and in the wider Finnish society.
Mr Amoah holds a Master’s degree in Demography from the University of Helsinki. At the time he came to Finland in 1994, he had majored in Economics at the Bachelor’s level at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Sometimes affectionately called “Chairman” in the Ghanaian migrant community, Mr Osei is a former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) branch in Finland, assuming office around 2015, a few months after the branch was formed, until 2019 when he did not run again for the elections. He helped to bring vibrancy into the NPP Finland branch.
Religious life
Mr Amoah is a prominent member of the Global Methodist Church in Finland. In spite of his busy working life and other responsibilities, he remains a committed member of the Global Methodist Church in Finland.
He plays a key leadership role in the church, which is attended by many Ghanaian migrants and other African migrants, Finns, and those of other nationalities.
His position in Asanteman Finland
Mr Osei Amoah is an outstanding member of the Asanteman Finland, where he is the Gyasehene, a prominent position as a sub-chief in the Asante (and Akan) royal hierarchy, in the functioning of the traditional authority systemgenerally in Ghana.
The Asanteman Finland is an association formed purposely with the aim of supporting each other as well as to ensure unity among its members and others outside of the group.
One of its top priorities of Asanteman Finland is to display the Asante culture in Finland. Mr Osei Amoah finds this as very important since by upholding the traditional culture and heritage, the association enables its members and especially the young ones to get the chance to learn and appreciate Asante and Ghanaian cultural values. They do this through rites such as marriage, the naming ceremony, and death and funeral rites, which makes the people to learn more of their provenance and not forget their origins.
“My point is that, by displaying the traditional heritage it helps people to learn more about their provenance. For, I think it will be embarrassing to go home and see that even the young ones have much knowledge about how to perform certain rites whilst those of us in the diaspora may be deficient in understanding those practices”, he argued. It is also very important for the young ones who are born in Finland to learn what the culture of their original society is, he continued.
The Finnish educational system
Mr Osei has a lot to say about the Finnish educational system, which he sees as very good. “When we came to Finland, education was free. There were library books and manuscripts readily available in the library, and one could print or make as many photocopies as possible for your studies. There was more flexibility. One could read books and write exams on them for the necessary grades in order to complete your studies”. In his opinion, Ghana could learn much from the Finnish system, which is one of the best in the world.
He said the only initial challenge he found in Finland was how to master the Finnish language, without which it was difficult to get a job befitting one’s status after the studies. But things have changed today and there are many English courses so it is easy to study and get a job that matches your studies, especially in the area of ICT, he said.
His role in the Ghanaian community
Mr Osei Amoah has been very active in the Ghanaian community, as I have indicated earlier. He is still very active in the Ghana Union Finland, and has played a leadership in many functions organised by the Union, as a non-governmental organisation for the Ghanaian migrant community in Finland.
Mr Amoah has been a counsellor and mentor who has guided many young Ghanaian migrants on their career paths and has also been part in settling various kinds of conflicts between opposing parties or persons. In conclusion, I would say Mr Osei Amoah has succeeded in embossing his name in the golden pages of visionary Ghanaians in both Sweden and Finland.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
