AMBR 2017- INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES RAISED

Picture Credit:360nobs

Picture Credit: Pulse 

THE AFRICA MUSIC BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE(AMBR) 2017

On the 11^th of November 2017, The All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMMA) organised a press conference and business roundtable(AMBR) with the theme “Digital Takeover; Shaping the Future of African Music”.

The aim of the event was to enable stakeholders to discuss and chart the way forward with respect to the growth of the African music industry. AMBR is a platform, organised by AFRIMA to engage top music business stakeholders, label owners and music marketers on issues relating to the African music industry.

Highlights relating to discussions on Intellectual Property at the event included the following:

• ·         It was stated that digitization was key and the theme of the event was relevant to generate a debate amongst music professionals in order to define a clear roadmap on how to keep abreast with new information and communication tools. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act content IP is available to protect copyright ownership, however, the digital space gives the space of massive reach as well as massive infringement.

• ·         The speakers emphasized that the knowledge of Intellectual property is relevant for every artiste in the digital age given the huge amount of resources being generated from this space. Thus, it is imperative for every artiste to have a great lawyer or a great legal team.

In these challenging times for our nation, the impact of a strong IP regime as a tool for economic development cannot be overemphasized. An increasing number of developing countries have begun to recognize this fact and have developed IP policies and regimes relevant to encourage innovation by ensuring legal protection of the diverse forms of IP rights. It is hoped that the improved awareness of the importance of IP as well as a continuous adaptation to global economic and technical trends will continue to foster economic growth in Nigeria.