The Copyright Office of Ghana has issued a stern warning to television stations across the country, cautioning them against broadcasting copyrighted material without proper authorisation.

In a statement released on 11 June, the Office’s National Anti-Piracy Committee said it had identified a growing trend of TV stations airing movies, television shows, sports broadcasts and other creative works illegally sourced from streaming platforms.

“This practice constitutes copyright infringement and is a criminal offence under the Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690), as amended,” the statement read.

The Committee said such actions breach both domestic and international copyright laws, depriving rights holders and content creators of fair compensation and undermining the country’s creative industry.

TV stations have been instructed to cease airing any unauthorised content with immediate effect. Broadcasters have also been directed to obtain the appropriate licences from rights holders or approved agencies and to maintain detailed records of their content acquisition agreements.

The Office says it will ramp up enforcement and surveillance efforts in collaboration with law enforcement agencies in a bid to tackle piracy.

“We urge all broadcasters to respect intellectual property rights and contribute to the growth of Ghana’s creative economy by complying with the law,” the statement added.

The move follows mounting pressure from stakeholders in the entertainment industry, who have raised concerns about widespread copyright violations by broadcasters.

Source:TheDotNews