Launch of Study Report
The report of the Study on the Economic Contribution of the Copyright Industries in Ghana was launched at a ceremony held at the Swiss Spirit Alisa Hotel in Accra on Wednesday, November 11, 2020.
The launch of the report, which was attended by representatives of various stakeholder institutions, was a welcoming news to players in the copyright fraternity with high expectations that the study report would serve as a major catalyst to draw the much needed attention of policymakers to the copyright sector.
In a keynote address delivered on her behalf by the Solicitor-General, the Hon. Attorney-General and Minister for Justice quoted a portion of the study report as follows:
“An active copyright sector is necessary to generate investment opportunities which will result in higher employment rate and increased levels of income and further lead to poverty alleviation. The overall policy goal must be to retain existing copyright sector employment, improve job security and income of those already in the sector, and address barriers to entry and growth to create room for new entrants and employment expansion. The gains from greater formalisation should be considered, including the benefits of investment to build up skill capital and knowledge of the formal aspects of the music business. Thus, policy must enable and support enterprises and workers in the copyright sector.”
In her welcome address, Ms. Yaa Attfua, the Ag. Copyright Administrator, expressed her excitement for the completion of the study and the final publication of the report. She was hopeful that the document would provide a scientific basis to well inform policymakers in making decisions for the copyright sector which was critical to ultimately improve the fortunes of the sector.
The study which was done with the guidelines of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Guide (2015 Revised Edition) revealed that the contribution of copyright-based industries to the economy continued to grow over the study period, increasing from a share of 3.07 percent of GDP in 2013 to 4.02 percent in 2016. Compared to other sectors of the economy, the copyright sector’s share in GDP was higher than 10 of the 22 sectors of the economy in 2013 and 2014. In 2015 and 2016, the copyright sector was the eighth largest contributor to GDP.
In presenting the findings of the Study to participants, Dr. Magnus Ebo Duncan, the National Consultant highlighted that in terms of employment, the copyright sector accounted for 2.98 percent of the national workforce in 2013. The sector’s importance in terms of job creation increased over the study period, employing 4.77 percent of the national workforce in 2016. The core copyright industry group was the largest employer of the four copyright groups, employing 1.55 percent of the country’s total workforce in 2013, with consistent growth up to 2.48 percent in 2016. Labour productivity was found to be higher in the copyright-based industries than the average for the economy.
The Study, which was funded by the Swiss-Ghana Intellectual Property Project Phase II, was commissioned in 2018 and concluded in 2019.
Useful Links
Click the link below to download the full report of the study.
Click the link below to download an Infographic presentation of the study report
Use the link below to download the Concept Note for the launch of the study