Cosoma laments porous copyright legislation
Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) has bemoaned substandard regulation on protection of intellectual property rights as fueling the proliferation of counterfeit and pirated products on the market.
Cosoma Executive Director, Dora Makwinja said in an interview that despite the society making amendments to its Act of 1989 in 2011, the bill has not been assented to in parliament years after it was submitted.
However, she disclosed that the society is engaging policy makers in different organisations and implementing partners to push for the review and assertion to the new copyright policy in the country.
She said that the revised policy endorses stiffer regulation and penalties to enforcement and adherence to the provisions of the policy and copyright acts.
“We are working on implementing a new copyright policy that will be enforced so that rights of inventive, creative and innovative works are well guided within the laws of the country,” said Makwinja.
She added that financial contribution towards the implementation of the initiative is further crippling operations of the society as it is rendered as lacking the commitment to alleviate the challenges in the creative sector.
But Minister of Justice, Samuel Tembenu speaking at the opening of a seminar on intellectual property issues yesterday in Lilongwe said that his ministry will monitor and ensure an adequate legal framework for the implementation of protecting right of creative works.
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