Features
Overview of the copyright law of Ghana Part 1
Ghana’s experience with copyright legislation
Copyright is the part of Intellectual Property (IP) law, which grants legal protection to authors or creators of literary and artistic works such as books, music, paintings, films, computer software, sculpture, etc.
The first copyright legislation in Ghana was the Copyright Ordinance of 1914 (Cap 126). This law, which was a replica of the British Copyright Act of 1911 was repealed in 1961 and replaced by the Copyright Act, 1961 (Act 85). Act 85 was also repealed by the Copyright Law of 1985, Provisional National Defence Council Law (PNDC Law 110). PNDC Law 110 was considered as a landmark piece of legislation because it generally conformed to the standards of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and also contained other significant provisions such as the provision for the establishment of a collective administration society and the Copyright Office, an office responsible for the administration of copyright in Ghana.
Although PNDC Law 110 was considered an important milestone in Ghana’s copyright legislative experience, it soon proved inadequate in the face of the rapid technological developments of the 1990s and the international copyright treaties concluded after 1985, i.e. the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) (1994), the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) (1996) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) (1996). Ghana as a developing country was also obliged under the TRIPS Agreement to amend its copyright legislation to be TRIPS compliant by the year 2000. The Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690) was enacted in 2005 to address the inadequacies of PNDC Law 110.
The law governing copyright in Ghana is the Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690) as amended and its implementing regulations, Copyright Regulations, 2010 (L.I. 1962).
Act 690, to a large extent conforms to the TRIPS Agreement, the WCT and the WPPT.
There is also other useful legislation, which complements the Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690) in the administration of copyright in Ghana. These are the High Court Civil Procedure Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47) which provide specialized rules for the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) and the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772).
It is worth noting that the Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690) contains a number of enhanced legislative provisions and some ‘novel’ institutions, which aim to make the administration of copyright more effective. These include:
1. Enhanced economic rights for copyright owners
2. Enhanced rights of performers
3. Broadened scope of works eligible for copyright protection
4. Enhanced penalty for copyright infringement
5. Liberalised collective management system
6. Institutionalised levy on devices used for copying copyright protected works
7. Establishment of the Copyright Monitoring Team
8. Establishment of the Copyright Tribunal to adjudicate in disputes relating to royalties
9. Expanded provisions for protection, use and administration of folklore
10. Voluntary registration of copyright
Subject matter of copyright protection
Act 690 expanded the scope of copyright protection as compared to what could be obtained under PNDC Law 110.
The works eligible for copyright protection under Section 1 of Act 690 are as follows:
1. Literary work (e.g. novels, textbooks, stories, poetical works, stage directions, film scenarios, encyclopedias, dictionaries, databases, essays, histories, etc.)
2. Artistic work (e.g. painting, architectural design, etching, lithograph, engraving, maps, fashion and wood design, sculpture, etc.)
3. Musical work
4. Sound recording
5. Audiovisual work
6. Choreographic work
7. Derivative work, and
8. Computer software or programmes
An author, co-author or joint author of any of the above-mentioned works is entitled to copyright protection as stipulated in the law.
An author within the context of the law is a natural person whose intellectual activity leads to the creation of a work.
Although copyright protection is automatically acquired from the time a work is created, the work must satisfy the following conditions in order to enjoy the copyright protection:
1. It must be original in character (i.e. must be a product of the independent effort of the author).
2. It must be fixed in any definite medium of expression.
(a) It must be created by a citizen of Ghana or a person who is ordinarily resident in the Republic,
(b) It must be first published in Ghana and, in the case of a work first published outside Ghana, it must be subsequently published in the Republic within thirty days of its publication outside Ghana, OR
(c) It must be a work in respect of which Ghana has an obligation under an international treaty to grant protection.
Ghana is party to the following international treaties and is therefore obliged to grant protection to the works of authors from other Contracting Parties.
The treaties/conventions Ghana has signed include:
1. Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1971). Accession: July 11, 1991. Date of entry into force: October 11, 1991.
2. Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) (1994). Date of accession / ratification by Ghana (nil). Date of entry into force: December 31, 1994.
3. WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) (1996) Ratification: August 18, 2006. Date of entry into force: November 18, 2006.
4. WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) (1996) Ratification: November 16, 2012. Date of entry into force:February 16, 2013.
5. The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled. Ratification: May 11, 2018. Date of entry into force: August 11, 2018.
[This piece is culled from a study conducted by Magnus Ebo Duncan (PHD), titled: “Economic contribution of copyright industries in Ghana”]
Attention-Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often mistaken for laziness or indiscipline. In consulting rooms across Accra and in reports from school teachers, the pattern repeats: children who are bright but forgetful, parents who feel helpless, teachers who see incompleteness.
Research is clear-Barkley (2015) and others describe ADHD as a difference in the brain’s regulation of alertness, impulse and working memory, not a lack of effort.
The family’s role begins with structure. Regular sleep, predictable meal and homework times, and a simple visual list (uniform → books → water → corridor) provide the external scaffolding of these children need. Praise what is completed—“You opened the book and wrote the first sentence”-instead of rebuking what is missing.
Schools can help by seating the child front-row and centre, giving short written plus verbal instructions, allowing brief movement breaks, using quiet nonverbal cues and, where possible, grading effort and method as well as neatness. These adjustments reduce conflict and raise submission rates without lowering standards.
Couples and caregivers should share roles: one grounds, one pivots, and both protect rest. Shame-“bad parenting, bad child”-needs replacing with fact: different wiring, needs scaffolding.
Outcomes improve not by promises of perfection but by daily routines, clear limits and warmed connection. One homework slot kept, one instruction chunked, one calm repair after blurting-these small wins shift the family climate and let the child be seen beyond the label.
Resource
• CPAC (award-winning Mental Health and Counselling Facility): 0559850604 / 0551428486
Source: REV. COUNSELLOR PRINCE OFFEI’s insights on special needs support, relationships, and mental health in Ghana. He is a leading mental health professional, lecturer, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, renowned author, and marriage counsellor at COUNSELLOR PRINCE & ASSOCIATES CONSULT (CPAC COUNSELLOR TRAINING INSTITUTE) – 0551428486 /0559850604.
WEBSITES:
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/author
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/website
After two weeks of hectic activity up north, I drove to the Tamale airport, parked the car at the Civil Aviation car park as usual, paid the usual parking fee and boarded the plane for Accra.
Over the last two weeks, I had shuffled between three sites where work was close to completion.
One was a seed warehouse, where farmers would come and pick up good quality maize, sorghum and other planting material.
The other was a health facility for new mothers, where they were given basic training on good nutrition and small scale business.
And the third was a set of big boreholes for three farming communities.
The projects usually ran on schedule, but a good deal of time was spent building rapport with the local people, to ensure that they would be well patronised and maintained.
It was great to be working in a situation where one’s work was well appreciated. But it certainly involved a lot of work, and proactivity. And I made sure that I recorded updates online before going to bed in the evening.
When the plane took off, my mind shifted to issues in Accra, the big city. The young guys at my office had done some good work. They had secured five or six houses on a row in a good part of the city, and were close to securing the last.
When we got this property, unusually, Abena greeted them casually, and appeared to be comfortable in the guy’s company.
I was quite disappointed to hear that, because until the last few weeks, it seemed as if Abena and I were heading in a good direction. Apart from the affection I had for her, I liked her family. I decided to take it easy, and allow things to fall in whatever direction.
Normally I would take a taxi to her house from the airport, and pick her up to my place. This time I went to my sisters’ joint, where they sat by me while I enjoyed a drink and a good meal.
“So Little Brother,” Sister Beesiwa said, “what is it we are hearing about our wife-to-be?”
“When did you conclude that she was your wife-to-be? And what have you heard? I’ve only heard a couple of whispers. Ebo and Nana Kwame called to say that they have seen her in the company of—”
“Well said Little Brother,” Sister Baaba said. “By the way, Nana Kwame called an hour ago to ask if you had arrived because he could not reach you. Someone had told him that Jennifer had boasted to someone that she had connected Abena to a wealthy guy who would take care of her.”
I was beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.
“In that case,” Sister Beesiwa said, “you should be glad that Abena is out of your way. She is easily swayed. Anyone who would make a relationship decision based on a friend’s instigation lacks good sense. I hope the guy is as wealthy as they say?”
“Who gets wealthy running a supermarket chain in Ghana?” Sister Baaba said. “Our supermarkets sell mostly imported products. Look at the foreign exchange rate. And remember that Ghanaians buy second-hand shoes and clothes. Supermarkets are not good business here. Perhaps they are showing off that they are wealthy, but in reality they are not doing so well.”
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.”
She said that David Forson was only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her. And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. We would be able to sell all five houses to one big corporate customer, and we had already spoken to a property dealer who was trying to find a buyer in order to get a good commission.
That was going to be my biggest break. I had asked the boys to look for a large tract of land on the outskirts of the city where we could develop our own set of buildings, blocks of storey houses and upscale apartments. Things were going according to plan, and I was quietly excited. However, things were not going so well regarding my relationship with Abena.
My buddies Ebo and Nana Kwame had called to say that they met Abena and her friend Jennifer enjoying lunch with a guy, and Ebo believed that Jennifer was ‘promoting’ an affair between Jennifer and the guy. They were of the view that the promotion seemed to be going in the guy’s favour, because only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her.
And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“As I’ve already said, I will stop by her place, but I will mind my own business from now. Hey, let’s talk family. How are our parents? And my brothers-in-law? And my nephews and nieces? Why don’t we meet on Sunday? I’m going to drop my bags at my place, and go to see Mama and Dad.”
