Times Of Swaziland: COPYRIGHT ACT CRACKDOWN ON BOOK LENDERS

COPYRIGHT ACT CRACKDOWN ON BOOK LENDERS
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Mxolisi Dlamini on 19/12/2024 08:16:00


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.