The Role of Collective Management Organizations in Copyright Law Enforcement in the Music Industry: A Comparative Study of Zimbabwe and Malawi

Abstract

Intellectual property is still a relatively unknown subject around the world, particularly in developing countries. This can also be attributed to the scantily literature limited only to institutions like WIPO and CMO’s. However the importance of IP is emerging in the shift from an information society which has led to the need of IP reforms particularly dealing with copyright systems. WIPO has been instrumental in highlighting the importance of the development of mechanisms that help developing countries benefit from their creative industries. Zimbabwe is one such developing country that is rich in arts and culture and is a member state of WIPO. However the country is not fully benefiting from the creative sector like countries such as Malawi. The music industry in Zimbabwe shows great promise in being a contributor to the economy, however it is facing great challenges especially piracy. This has called for an analysis of the collective management systems in this case Zimbabwe Music Rights Association in comparison to the Malawian system. The comparative study endeavoured to fully understand the copyright laws and their management vis a vis Malawi. A qualitative and quantitative analysis was employed. The main findings show that mechanisms in place are adequate. However, their management and implementation are lacking. The results also confirm that IP knowledge is very low across all stakeholders. There is need for holistic approach which includes the full implementation of laws and education of IP, which is of paramount importance towards growth of the industry.