Revisiting Intellectual Property Rights in African Contexts: A Cultural Democracy Imperative

Abstract

Abstract From his in-depth study on cultural industries in Ghana and Burkina Faso, Christiaan De Beukelaer (2012) observed that the surge in digital piracy, normally regarded as a violation of intellectual property rights, had actually created new possibilities for increased distribution and consumption networks for the African music industry. Joe Karaganis (2011) further argues that digital piracy should not be regarded as a ‘crime’ but ‘a global pricing problem’. The high prices that are charged for media products such as music, film and video games do not match the low incomes of most consumers in less developed countries. This article argues for a revisiting of intellectual property rights (IPR) in contemporary African contexts, with particular focus on the question of ‘digital piracy’. If the shift toward cultural democracy is meant to promote cultural capabilities for everyone to create and express their own possibilities, then new approaches to intellectual property rights are needed.