By Fatou Sillah
The National Assembly on Monday ratified the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances, an international agreement aimed at strengthening intellectual property protections for actors, musicians, and other performers whose work appears in audiovisual productions.
The treaty was tabled by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dawda A. Jallow. It extends protections to performers, including actors, singers, musicians, dancers, and others who perform literary or artistic works or expressions of folklore.
The government said ratification would provide stronger and more consistent protections for performers as technological changes reshape how audiovisual content is produced, distributed, and consumed.
“This ratification will support the development of Gambia’s creative sector, better protect Gambian performers, and demonstrate our continued commitment to international standards in the field of intellectual property,” Mr. Jallow said.
The treaty also seeks to balance performers’ rights with the broader public interest, including access to information and the use of protected works for education and research.
The Beijing Treaty addresses protections for performers whose work is incorporated into audiovisual recordings, an area not covered by the 1996 WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
National Assembly members debated the treaty and its potential significance for The Gambia’s creative industry before voting to ratify it.
The ratification brings The Gambia into an international framework designed to give performers greater control over the recording, distribution, and use of their audiovisual performances.
Comments are closed.