0.8 Traditional knowledge  (Page 10/24)

Annex vii in the 1977 bangui agreement

The most notable difference between the 1977 and the 1999 Agreements is the removal of direct protection of folklore from the copyright section. Annex VII of the 1977 Agreement obliged member states to declare use of folklore to a national agency and to pay fees for such use. The fees collected were directed, in part, to cultural and social purposes. This section was criticized for its vagueness because most people were not sure how broadly to interpret the scope of “use of elements borrowed from folklore” (1977 Agreement, Annex VII, Chapter 1, Article 8, para. 5). Additionally, the older version of the Bangui Agreement imposed a fine for any use “of folklore work or a work that has entered the public domain” without prior declaration to the appropriate national agency (1977 Agreement, Annex VII, Chapter 1, Article 38, para. 2). The older system can be described as one in which folklore automatically belongs to the public domain and folklore users simply pay the public domain for the use to be authorized. Alternatively, this older system can be characterized as one in which folklore is owned and regulated by the state because, as declared in the original Agreement, the state has an indefeasible right with respect to folklore and “folklore is by its origin part of national heritage” (1977 Agreement, Annex VII, Chapter 1, Article 8, para. 1). The tension between these two interpretations ultimately created confusion regarding who owned TCEs. Protection of folklore and cultural heritage was then moved from the copyright section of the 1977 Agreement to the section discussing provisions common to copyright and neighboring rights in the 1999 Agreement. As discussed below, this new placement did not eliminate confusion and ambiguity.

Annex vii in the 1999 bangui agreement

The 1999 Bangui Agreement continues earlier attempts to protect folklore and cultural heritage. Under the new system, users of folklore must receive prior authorization. The objectives of the system are to protect (Chapter 2), to safeguard (Chapter 3), and to promote (Chapter 4) cultural heritage. “Cultural heritage” is defined as a composition of “all those material or immaterial human productions that are characteristic of a nation over time and space. Such productions relate to (i) folklore, (ii) sites and monuments; [and] (iii) ensembles” (Article 67, paras. 1-2). The definitions of “folklore” (Article 68) and “monuments” (Article 70) are very detailed. Additionally, the definitions of “sites” and “ensembles” can be found in Articles 69 and 71, respectively.

Prohibited acts are listed in Article 73. They include deformation, export, misappropriation, and unlawful transfer. Article 74 states three main exceptions to these prohibitions: "use for teaching," "use as illustration of the original work of an author on condition that the scope of such use remains compatible with honest practice," and "borrowings for the creation of an original work from one or more authors."