By Yosief Abraham Z.,
On its first part publicized publication which would be followed by a second part publication on the upcoming 17 February of 2017 edition, Eritrea’s Justice Ministry announced lawful regulatory proclamations concerning to intellectual property and art package copyrights.
According to the publication on Haddas Ertra, the Ministry elaborates that
“as literary and art products, innovation and creativities are intangible property of the mind, in deed, they are abstract properties of their respective owners and are protected under this law.”
Asserted that the claims of copyrights for art products and intellectual properties are influenced by dynamic factors but mammoth impacts of technological advancements in science and human development, the Ministry accentuated that
“there is no any doubt that such products and claims have to be protected from illegal infringements, intentional breach of the law and tacit encroachment.”
Taking this into account, the Ministry declared that authors’ products, encompassing literati outcomes, articles, sermons, drama and theatrical performances, computers’ program, musical compositions, audio products, photographs, works related to mapping, collected poems and short stories, among others, are protected under the law thus to give an exclusive copyright to the respective owner/owners.
Based on this decree, therefore, the laws clearly elaborated
“the one who is affirmed as owner of the intellectual property or producer of art products has hereby deserved with inviolable and exclusive rights to publish, distribute and follow all legal paths to publicize his/her art products.”
Through this, therefore, only the author/or the inventor has the power to give or reject any offers, sign or deny any contractual agreements and accept or refute any translation requests.
In addition to this, the newly revised and expanded laws and their consequential articles declared art products and inventions—after registered—are like the tangible properties and are transferable to notified legatees after the death of their respective owner, inventor, producer or author.
It is clearly indicated that the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works demand countries have first to implement their laws concerning art products and intellectual properties effectively as prerequisite to join the ‘Berne Union.’ Centered to this, therefore, the Justice Ministry announced that—as the Berne Convention states– all works have been clearly declared with their clear terms and years for applying the copyright privileges.
Reports have been slamming countries like Ethiopia—a country that is not signatory to the Berne Convention which has been effective since 5 December of 1887- has been alleged for producing Eritrean musical products without any copyrights affirmations.
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With effective applications of its local laws, the Justice Ministry of Eritrea expects to pave ways for joining the Universal Copyright Convention of the Geneva and Paris Act (UCC Geneva and UCC Paris) thereby to foster its citizens’ claims of intellectual properties and art products privilege at international arena.
The Ministry asserts that it is going to publicize second part of this vital law on the upcoming 17 February of 2017 publication of “Haddas Ertra,” a state-owned Tigrigna newspaper.
I am going to craft the article then thus to manifest how registration have to be made, timeframe for the copyrights-holders’ and consequential impacts of any intentional and unintentional acts infringements.
Yosief Abraham Z is a freelance-journalist and he can be contact at [email protected] or follow him on twitter @asmeracare.
