Copyright protection in Africa does not depend on a single title or registry: in the 17 member states of the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), in South Africa and in Nigeria, a work is protected from the moment it is created. What changes from one system to another is who owns the work, how long it lasts, how rights must be transferred and who may license them. This map is for European and Latin American companies licensing software, music, advertising or publishing content into Africa.
Key takeaways
- The 17 OAPI states, South Africa and Nigeria are all in the Berne Convention: no registration is needed.
- OAPI’s Annex VII is a common minimum framework: economic rights last for life plus 50 years and assignments and licences must be in writing on pain of invalidity.
- Under OAPI rules, an assignment that does not state its territory is limited to the country where it was made.
- South Africa still applies its Copyright Act of 1978; the fair use reform was upheld in part by the Constitutional Court on 26 June 2026 but is not yet law.
- In Nigeria, works by private-sector employees belong to the author unless agreed otherwise, and only approved collecting societies may license.
How does copyright protection in Africa work?
Copyright is territorial: each country protects works under its own law. The Berne Convention, administered by WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization), requires member states to protect works from other members without formalities. According to WIPO Lex, South Africa has been bound since 1928, Nigeria since 1993 and every OAPI member state is also a party. A Spanish, Mexican or Brazilian work is therefore protected in these markets without any filing.
Nothing needs to be “extended” to Africa, as with a trademark. What matters is whether your chain of title (author contracts, employee works, distributor licences) holds up under each local law.
OAPI: one copyright framework for 17 states
OAPI groups 17 mostly French-speaking states in West and Central Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo (OAPI). Its founding treaty, the Bangui Agreement, was revised on 14 December 2015 and that Act entered into force on 14 November 2020 (WIPO Lex).
For trademarks and patents, OAPI grants one title for all member states. Copyright is different: under Article 2 of the Bangui Agreement, OAPI only promotes protection, centralises information and encourages national collecting societies. Annex VII sets the rules, as a minimum framework that national laws can build on (Art. 5(2)):
- Protection begins with creation (Annex VII, Art. 3), software included (Art. 4). Economic rights last for life plus 50 years (Art. 26); applied art, 25 years (Art. 30).
- The author is the first owner (Art. 32). For employee and commissioned works, economic rights pass to the employer only to the extent justified by its habitual activities (Art. 35(2)).
- Assignments and licences must be in writing, electronic included, on pain of invalidity (Art. 42).
- If the contract does not state the territory, it is limited to the country where it was made; if it omits the means of exploitation, it covers only what the agreed purpose requires (Art. 43(3)-(4)).
- National collecting societies manage the rights (Art. 69); using works on your premises without their prior authorisation is infringement (Art. 71(6)), punishable with three months to two years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of 1 to 10 million CFA francs (Art. 73).
Disputes go before the courts of each member state, not OAPI (Bangui Agreement, Art. 4): the rules are shared, enforcement is national.
South Africa: the 1978 Act still applies while fair use waits
South Africa’s Copyright Act 98 of 1978 remains the law. No registration is required, although films may optionally be registered under a 1977 Act. Literary, musical and artistic works are protected for the author’s life plus 50 years (s. 3(2)(a)). Exceptions follow a closed fair dealing model: research, private study, personal use, criticism, review and news reporting (s. 12(1)).
Ownership rules favour whoever pays. Works made in the course of employment belong to the employer (s. 21(1)(d)) and, by default, whoever commissions a photograph, portrait, film or sound recording owns it (s. 21(1)(c)). An assignment or exclusive licence has no effect unless it is in writing and signed by or on behalf of the assignor or licensor (s. 22(3)).
The Copyright Amendment Bill, passed in 2019 and resubmitted on 29 February 2024, was referred by the President to the Constitutional Court. In its judgment of 26 June 2026, the Court upheld the open-ended fair use clause (s. 12A) and most new exceptions, but struck down the broad educational exceptions in s. 12D(1)-(5). As the IPKat noted on 23 July 2026, the Bill returns to Parliament and the 1978 Act applies until it is enacted.
Nigeria: author-first ownership and a contested licensing market
Nigeria’s Copyright Act 2022, gazetted in March 2023, is more modern. Copyright starts when the work is created (s. 18) and literary, musical and artistic works last for the author’s life plus 70 years (s. 19). The fair dealing exception lists purposes such as private use, parody, satire, pastiche and caricature, and applies four factors similar to US fair use (s. 20).
The ownership rule is the one foreign groups miss. Copyright vests in the author unless an agreement says otherwise (s. 28(1)); the Act gives works to the employer only for government bodies and certain international organisations (s. 28(2)). A private employee or contractor therefore keeps the copyright unless they assign it, and assignments and exclusive licences must be in writing (s. 30(3)).
Collective licensing is the other risk. Only collective management organisations (CMOs) approved by the Nigerian Copyright Commission may operate (s. 88), and in music the market is contested. On 10 June 2026 the House of Representatives ordered an inquiry into alleged irregularities in copyright administration (National Assembly Library Trust Fund). On 9 July 2026 the Court of Appeal in Lagos dismissed an interlocutory appeal by the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) against the Commission (TheNigeriaLawyer, 26 July 2026). According to the IPKat (30 July 2026), the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) is the approved CMO for musical works and sound recordings.
Copyright protection in Africa compared: OAPI, South Africa, Nigeria and Spain
| Issue | OAPI (Annex VII) | South Africa (Act of 1978) | Nigeria (Act of 2022) | Spain, for reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registration needed | No | No (optional for films) | No | No |
| Term, general rule | Life + 50 years (minimum) | Life + 50 years | Life + 70 years | Life + 70 years |
| Works by private employees | Author owns; rights deemed transferred to the extent of the employer’s habitual activities | Employer owns | Author owns unless agreed otherwise | Presumed assigned for the employer’s habitual activity, absent written agreement |
| Form of assignment | Written, on pain of invalidity | Written and signed | Written | Written |
| Territory not stated | Limited to the country where made | No equivalent rule in the Act | No equivalent rule in the Act | Limited to the country where assigned |
| Exceptions | Closed list, including parody and pastiche | Fair dealing; fair use pending | Fair dealing with four factors | Closed list |
Spain’s column reflects Articles 26, 43, 45 and 51 of the Spanish Copyright Act; a template built on those presumptions may fail in Lagos or Dakar.
What this means for your business
- Map where each work will be exploited: one OAPI state, several, South Africa, Nigeria. The rules on ownership and form apply country by country.
- Audit the chain of title before launch: written, signed assignments from employees, freelancers and agencies, especially for anything created in Nigeria.
- State the territory, the rights and the means of exploitation in every assignment or licence; under OAPI rules, silence restricts the transfer.
- Draft South African licences to work under the 1978 Act and under the reform if enacted.
- Before paying for public performance or broadcasting in Nigeria, check which CMO is approved for that category of works.
To review and document your rights across several African markets at once, our copyright and digital works team can audit the chain of title and adapt your contracts country by country.
Where companies get copyright in Africa wrong
- Assuming the employer owns everything. That works in South Africa, only partly under OAPI and not for private employers in Nigeria. Fixing it after a dispute means renegotiating with the author.
- Signing assignments without territory. A worldwide deal drafted loosely can end up limited to one OAPI country.
- Relying on oral or email exclusivity. All three systems require writing; South Africa also requires a signature.
- Planning on fair use in South Africa. Until Parliament acts, only the narrower fair dealing exceptions apply.
- Paying the wrong collecting society. A licence from an unapproved body in Nigeria does not cover the use and may have to be paid twice.
These gaps appear when each country uses a different adviser and template; centralised coordination keeps one contract policy and one chain-of-title record.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to register copyright in Africa?
No. In the 17 OAPI states, South Africa and Nigeria, protection arises when the work is created, and all of them are parties to the Berne Convention. Registration or deposit schemes, where they exist, serve as evidence rather than as a condition of protection. What you do need is written documentation showing that you own the rights.
Does an OAPI registration cover copyright in all 17 member states?
No. OAPI grants single titles for trademarks, patents and designs, but not for copyright. Annex VII of the Bangui Agreement gives the 17 states a common minimum set of copyright rules, while management and enforcement remain national, through local collective management organisations and the courts of each state.
Is fair use already law in South Africa?
No. On 26 June 2026 the Constitutional Court found the fair use clause in the Copyright Amendment Bill constitutional, but the Bill has not been enacted. Until Parliament completes the process and the President signs it, the fair dealing exceptions of the Copyright Act of 1978 continue to apply.
Can IP Global Guard manage our copyright position across African markets?
Yes. We review the chain of title, adapt assignments and licences to OAPI, South African and Nigerian rules, and coordinate qualified local correspondents for collective licensing and enforcement, all from a single point of contact that also covers your European and Latin American portfolio.
How IP Global Guard can help you protect your works in Africa
Copyright in Africa is won or lost in the contracts. IP Global Guard, the intellectual property services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, works across more than 25 jurisdictions in Europe, Latin America and Africa with one strategy and one billing relationship, and our licensing and IP disputes team handles the contractual and enforcement side.
Tell us which works you plan to exploit, in which African countries and through which partners. We will check the chain of title, flag the gaps under each local law and coordinate the fixes. Send us your African rollout plan.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the law as at its publication date.
Sources
- OAPI, Bangui Agreement as revised on 14 December 2015, English text
- OAPI, official website (17 member states)
- WIPO Lex, Bangui Agreement (2015 Act in force on 14 November 2020)
- WIPO Lex, Berne Convention contracting parties
- WIPO Lex, South Africa, Copyright Act 98 of 1978
- Constitutional Court of South Africa, media summary, CCT 306/24 (26 June 2026)
- IPKat, Chijioke Okorie on the South African judgment (23 July 2026)
- Nigerian Copyright Commission, Copyright Act 2022
- National Assembly Library Trust Fund, Reps probe copyright irregularities (10 June 2026)
- TheNigeriaLawyer, Court of Appeal dismisses COSON’s appeal (26 July 2026)
- IPKat, Seun Lari-Williams on Nigerian copyright licensing (30 July 2026)
- BOE, Spanish Copyright Act (RDL 1/1996)
