The African Copyright and Access to Knowledge (ACA2K) Project : a brief overview

Abstract

This paper provides a brief overview of the African Copyright & Access to Knowledge Project (ACA2K) which was established in 2007 and which is funded by the International Development Centre (IDRC) in Canada and the Shuttleworth Foundation in South Africa. This project is probing the relationship between national copyright environments and access to knowledge in eight African countries. The paper describes the background and context of the project; why those countries were selected; the conceptual framework within which the project is conducting its research, and the methodology applied. It discusses some preliminary research findings and provides some recommendations of future activities of the ACA2K project.