The emergence of the Internet and the digital world has changed the way people access, produce and share information and knowledge. Yet people in Africa face challenges in accessing scholarly publications, journals and learning materials in general. At the heart of these challenges, and solutions to them, is copyright, the branch of intellectual property rights that covers written and related works. This book gives the reader an understanding of the legal and practical issues posed by copyright for access to learning materials in Africa, and identifies the relevant lessons, best policies and best practices that would broaden and deepen this access.

 

This book is based on the work of the African Copyright and Access to Knowledge (ACA2K) research network, launched in late 2007 as a network of researchers committed to probing the relationship between copyright and learning materials access in eight African countries: Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.
    

Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 The importance of improving African education systems
1.2 Connecting education with perspectives on copyright
1.3 Existing research on copyright and education
1.4 The ACA2K research project
1.5 Research objectives
1.6 Research methods, project design, monitoring
1.7 ACA2K and gender
1.8 Research results

 

Chapter 2: Egypt
2.1 Background
2.2 Doctrinal analysis
2.3 Qualitative analysis
2.4 Conclusions and recommendations

 

Chapter 3: Ghana
3.1 Background
3.2 Doctrinal analysis
3.3 Qualitative analysis
3.4 Conclusions and recommendations

 

Chapter 4: Kenya
4.1 Background
4.2 Doctrinal analysis
4.3 Qualitative analysis
4.4 Gender-specific findings
4.5 Conclusions and recommendations
 
Chapter 5: Morocco
5.1 Background
5.2 Doctrinal analysis
5.3 Qualitative analysis
5.4 Conclusions and recommendations

 

Chapter 6: Mozambique
6.1 Background
6.2 Doctrinal analysis
6.3 Qualitative analysis
6.4 Conclusions and recommendations

 

Chapter 7: Senegal
7.1 Background
7.2 Doctrinal analysis
7.3 Qualitative analysis
7.4 Conclusions and recommendations

 

Chapter 8: South Africa
8.1 Background
8.2 Doctrinal analysis
8.3 Qualitative analysis
8.4 Conclusions and recommendations

 

Chapter 9: Uganda
9.1 Background
9.2 Doctrinal analysis
9.3 Qualitative analysis
9.4 Conclusions and recommendations

 

Chapter 10: Summary and conclusions
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Doctrinal research findings
10.3 Qualitative research findings
10.4 Copyright and education in Africa: the road ahead
 
Afterword

 

Index

Educators, policymakers, publishers, scholars and all who wish to understand some of the key factors at play in the access to knowledge and learning materials in Africa today.

Chris Armstrong is a Research Follow and doctoral student at the Learning Information and Networking Knowledge Centre (LINK) at the University of Witwatersrand, specialising in copyright and broadcasting policy.

Jeremy de Beer is Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law. His expertise is in the area of technology and intellectual property law.

Dick Kawooya is a doctoral student and Adjunct Instructor at the School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Achal Prabhala is a writer and researcher and writer in Bangalore, India. He works on critical investigations of intellectual property in connection to medicines and knowledge.

Tobias Schonwetter teaches Copyright Law to undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Intellectual Property Law & Policy Research Unit at the University of Cape Town. He is a member of the Commonwealth of Learning's Copyright Expert Group, the legal lead of Creative Commons South Africa, the country-lead researcher and research consultant for the African Copyright and Access to Knowledge (ACA2K) project and a legal advisor for the technology law firm Chetty Law in Johannesburg.

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