GRi Arts & Culture 18 – 03 - 2003
Three billion cedis grant to rehabilitate National Theatre
Ho (Volta Region) 18 March 2003-
B.K. Bosumprah, the Copyright Administrator, has assured creative property
owners that the proposed Copyright Bill before Parliament was expected to
provide a penal regime which would stop the flagrant infringement of
copyrights.
He was speaking at a seminar in
Ho organised by the Copyright Office in collaboration with Copyright Society of
Ghana (COSGA) and the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA).
It is aimed at educating
Copyright owners on their rights and users on their responsibilities. Bosumprah
said the maximum penalty of one million cedis for copyright infringement was
not deterrent enough.
''The Copyright Office will
ensure that the Copyright law is implemented to the letter for the maximum benefit
of the right holders.'' Bosumprah said the new law, which would replace PNDC
Law 110 passed in 1985, would reflect the current challenges and advantages to
the sector and push forward changes in Information Technology (IT).
The Copyright Administrator said
the current law did not foresee and could not cope with the rapid development
in Information Technology (IT), Internet and other forms of communication and
technology that affected copyright.
He said the Copyright Office in
collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and
others would organise a 3-day seminar in April on the administration of Mechanical
Rights, Performers Rights and Reprographic Rights.
J. A. Lakai
Acting Executive Director of the Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA), said under
the Copyright Law of Ghana ''you may not perform or allow to be performed in
public any copyright music without the permission of the copyright owner.''
Ben Nyadzi,
Senior Folklore Officer and Head of Administration, Copyright Office,
He explained that Copyright
Office was a government agency solely responsible for the implementation of the
Copyright Law while COSGA was set up by law to negotiate, collect and distribute
royalties to music right holders for the public performance of their works.
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The grant would be used to
rehabilitate the sound and lighting systems of the theatre. Mrs Kazuko Asai, Japanese Ambassador to
Mrs Asai
praised Ghanaians for their love for their traditional music and dance and said
her little experience at the
Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Foreign
Affairs Minister, who signed for
He said the government
recognised the importance of culture and was, therefore, committed to protect
and develop it. Owusu-Agyemang said the national theatre at present had become
a place not only for cultural and entertainment activities but also a place for
hosting public forums and lectures. Any form of assistance to rehabilitate it
was, therefore, greatly welcomed.
Professor George Hagan, Chairman
of the National Commission on Culture, announced that preparations were underway
to rehabilitate cultural facilities in the regions and districts to make
cultural values meaningful and acceptable and called for assistance in that
regard.
Prof. Hagan said culture was the
soul of a people and development, adding that promotion of traditional values should
not be compromised. "The basis of our country's development lies in the
promotion of its culture," he added.
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