Zimbabwe and other African countries need stronger intellectual property laws and better enforcement to ensure artists benefit from the rapidly growing digital creative economy, a senior United States intellectual property official has said.
Katherine Hiner, the US Intellectual Property Attaché for Sub-Saharan Africa, said weak copyright enforcement, limited public awareness and poor revenue collection were preventing African artists from earning the full value of their work.
Speaking during a US Department of State digital briefing on Wednesday, Hiner said Africa’s music industry was expanding rapidly, driven by global demand for African music.
“The creative economy is growing and changing rapidly, and there’s an insatiable appetite for African music worldwide. It’s a sector with the potential to drive economic growth,” she said.
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Hiner said Sub-Saharan Africa’s music markets had recorded double-digit growth for five consecutive years, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
But much of the potential revenue was being lost through weak copyright collection and enforcement.
“The talent and demand is there, element one, but the value is slipping through the gap,” she said.
She cited figures from the Music Economy Development Initiative showing that Kenya and Nigeria lose about US$286m in recorded revenue annually through uncollected earnings.
Hiner identified three priorities for African countries: improving transparency in revenue collection, educating artists and the public about intellectual property rights, and strengthening agencies responsible for tackling piracy.
She said collective management organisations could also help artists manage their rights and collect royalties.
“The ability for artists to enforce their rights effectively is really crucial, and so having a copyright in your work means little if there’s no practical means of enforcing your rights,” she said.
Asked about Zimbabwe’s growing use of TikTok, YouTube and Spotify, Hiner said the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) was focused on bringing governments, creators, industry players and law enforcement together to strengthen intellectual property systems.
She said the USPTO currently had no ongoing partnership with the Zimbabwe Intellectual Property Office (ZIPO), but was open to cooperation.
“We don’t have any ongoing partnerships right now with ZIPO, but we are always really eager to hear from the offices and the stakeholders in each country,” she said.
Hiner also encouraged African countries to ratify and implement international copyright agreements, including the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, which she said were increasingly important as music consumption shifted towards streaming and digital downloads.
She warned that piracy remained a serious threat to the creative economy.
“Piracy presents a major threat to the creative industry, and yet many still believe it’s a victimless crime. It’s not just wrong, it’s dangerous,” she said.
Hiner also said copyright law would play an important role in addressing the growing use of artificial intelligence in creative industries, as governments seek to balance the interests of creators and AI developers.
The IP for Growth initiative is expected to conclude in December with discussions at the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights in Geneva.
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