Copying for Private Use as a Safety Valve for Copyright Infringement under the Cameroon Copyright Law

Abstract

That copyright infringement in Cameroon is alarming is and is not new. This article sets out to expose how copying for personal or private use as permitted under the copyright law of Cameroon constitutes a gateway for copyright infringement and its consequences. Apart from other factors that account for such infringement, the 2000 copyright law indirectly promotes copyright infringement. Specifically, the article assumes that the exception of personal use provides a gateway to copyright infringement which constitutes a serious problem for copyright holders and the society. One further finds that this short coming in the law has deprived authors of artistic, literary or musical work. T he findings were arrived at by making an analysis of primary and secondary data on this topic. The article recommends the need for a reconsideration of the motives that underpin Section 29(1)(c) of the 2000 copyright law of Cameroon that operates to deprive copyright holders of their rights. A cursory look at the provision shows that it serves as a safety valve for copyright infringement in Cameroon.