is there a need for an explicit right to research in Africa?
 

Author: 

Desmond Oriakhogba
 

Summary: 

Copyright is the exclusive rights granted to authors by the law that enables them to control access to the information contained in their creative outputs, such as books and published articles, among others. The exercise of copyright by its owners continues to create barriers against African researchers, learners, and teachers in their quest to access information for the attainment of human rights, such as the rights to education, science and culture, freedom of expression and property. Thus, there is an imbalance within the African copyright ecosystem in relation to access to information for research and education, which became more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic as educational and research activities inevitably moved to digital platforms. This book examines international and regional human rights instruments applicable in the African context, and the bills of rights in national constitutions in Africa, in order to develop an explicit human right to research for researchers, learners, and teachers that will match the exclusive rights granted to copyright owners, promote access to information, and ultimately resolve the imbalance in African copyright systems. To this end, the book explores public interest considerations to construct an explicit right to research from the rights to freedom of expression, science and culture, education, and property. It contends that the right to research is implicit in these broad rights, but, given the nature of research, and the access to information needs in Africa, an explicit right to research is important to specifically address the challenges posed by copyright.


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