Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Business and Intellectual Property Authority (Bipa) will host a stakeholders’ conference on the draft copyright and related rights bill tomorrow.
According to a statement issued by Bipa spokesperson Ockert Jansen, the virtual and on-site conference aims to validate stakeholder input gathered earlier this year to the draft copyright and related rights bill.
The conference will run from 08h30 to 16h00, and interested parties are advised to follow Bipa on Facebook to register on the Microsoft Teams link for virtual participation.
“Given the bill’s potential impact on various sectors in the country, this national conference aims to bring together civil societies, the creative industry, non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, cultural and traditional authorities, manufacturing companies, the business sector, and law-enforcement agencies with the aim of collecting constructive feedback on the content of the bill,” the statement reads.
The outcome of this session will help to inform any necessary additions before the bill is tabled in the National Assembly, Jansen says. “The national conference is a necessary platform to give rationale behind repealing the current Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Protection Act,1994 (Act No. 6 of 1994), as well as sharing new changes in the draft bill that have been incorporated during the various stakeholder engagement sessions,” says Bipa intellectual property executive Ainna Kaundu.
“The amendments to the bill were to ensure that the new law speaks to our current needs as a country, and is aligned with international best practice frameworks on copyright and related rights,” she says.
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