Intellectual Property: benefit or burden for Africa?

Abstract

This paper highlights some of the issues affecting access to knowledge in South Africa and other Afrian countries, as well as the implications of international intellectual property agreements, focusing mainly on copyright. It will show that the majority of these countries are struggling to meet th very basic requirement of internatinonal intellectual proeprty agreements, yet some of them are being pressured by developed countries to adopt even stricter intellectual property regimes through the Intellectual Property Chapter or 'TRIPs-Plus' in Free Trade Agreements. The paper highlights the impact of some of the TRIPS-Plus provisions on education, libraries, and people with sensory-disabilities, as well as public health and development in general.