The Impact of Intellectual Property on the Use of Computer Software in Teaching in Sierra Leone

Abstract

Although the discipline of Intellectual Property is significantly institutionalised and contributes immensely to the development of western democracies, it is relatively novel in countries struggling with the harsh realities of socio economic growth as evident in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially within the West Africa Sub Region. This report lengthily deliberates on the level of awareness of students and teachers of intellectual property law and its relation with computer software in higher institutions of learning. The report therefore investigates the impact that intellectual property has on the use of computer software in teaching in colleges and technical institutions in Sierra Leone. It specifically focuses on the careful use of computer software tools such as power point, computer aided instructions, and simulation, among others, by teachers to make learning simple and qualitative for the improvement in students’ understanding. A further motive behind this report is the need to explore the extent of the knowledge that college lecturers and students have about intellectual property as it relates to computer software in Sierra Leone. According to the results obtained from field research in the various sites, majority of the respondents (53.7%), mostly male, are in their early twenties. However, they are also found out to be married. The outcome of the report further reaffirms the view that computer software is a very useful instrument in aiding the process of teaching and learning in higher educational institutions, as revealed by 93.7% of the respondents, with 37.5% students admitting that they now assume a leading role in the learning process. Although, as revealed in the report, a large number of the respondents, 87.5%, admitted of their knowledge about intellectual property law, half of the respondents, 50%, became aware of it only during the close of 2011 when Parliament finally moved to repeal the Copyright Act. Whatever the nuance may be, it is clear that intellectual proper law does have impact on the use of computer software. This impact is dispensed through the learning experience of the students and the teachers’ instructional dispensation. It was also revealed by 93.5% of the respondents that computer software is more protected under copyright than patent laws. Despite the fact that computer software seriously affects the teaching and learning process of users in higher institutions in Sierra Leone, there have been a number of bottlenecks which tend to derail such experience. As revealed in the report, the problems involve threat from power failure, and lack of easy understanding of the software, among others. At any rate, however, the report shows that intellectual property law and computer software are two sides of the same coin.