COPYRIGHT ACT CRACKDOWN ON BOOK LENDERS

MBABANE - Eswatini Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Society (ESWACOS) Executive Director Mmeli Hlanze, says lending and photocopying books is a copyright infringement.

For this reason, they are urging offenders to cease such activities so that publishers can sell and provide services to the local education system. This statement was made by Hlanze during the ‘Booksellers Breakfast Meeting’ hosted on Tuesday at The George Hotel in Manzini. “A lot of what we have been doing in the past 12 months is engaging stakeholders and raising awareness. We are yet to engage them even more. We have met with the Ministry of Education to inform him about the challenges we face concerning our schools. As time goes on, we anticipate that copyright infringement will come to an end. This will create an opportunity for publishers to sell books and provide services to the education sector.’’

Infringement

‘‘This will also invigorate our economy,” Hlanze said. He further discouraged those who lend and photocopy books, stating that no one ends up buying books from local publishers. “When we talk about infringement, it includes the fact that in schools books are photocopied, scanned, and lent. According to the Copyright Act, this is not permitted. It is not allowed to photocopy and lend books among pupils. We must remember that we are trying to protect the economic interests of copyright owners. If we continue to lend books, who will end up buying them? No one will purchase the books,” he added.The Eswatini Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Society (ESWACOS) is an umbrella Collective Management Organisation (CMO) in Eswatini dedicated to safeguarding and advancing the economic interests of copyright holders across various creative industries.

Registration

ESWACOS operates under the mandate granted through the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, Act No. 4 of 2018, which establishes ESWACOS as the sole organisation responsible for the administration of copyright and neighbouring rights in Eswatini. Their mission is to generate substantial economic value for rights holders, both domestically and internationally, through comprehensive registration and licensing of their works. They are responsible for the collection and distribution of royalties, ensuring that creators receive fair compensation for the use of their works.

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