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Writing Rights: Copyright’S Visual Bias And African American Music, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
Writing Rights: Copyright’S Visual Bias And African American Music, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
Copyright was first applied to words and was initially visual in orientation. Since the earliest copyright laws, copyright subject matter has progressively expanded from granting rights to protect written expression to other artistic arenas. Copyright law has, however, consistently undervalued the art of performance while favoring the written expression of music, which has had a profound impact on African American based musical forms, now a dominant basis for popular music. This paper examines the privilege of sight in copyright and the numerous ways in which copyright law systematically disfavors performance and suggests two possible explanations. First, copyright law seems to …
The Rise Of Nollywood: Creators, Entrepreneurs, And Pirates, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
The Rise Of Nollywood: Creators, Entrepreneurs, And Pirates, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
The rise of Nollywood illustrates the revolutionary potential of digital technologies in Africa. Nollywood, or the Nigerian video film industry, reflects technology leapfrogging that is increasingly prominent in Africa today. Such leapfrogging, however, may raise significant issues with respect to legal and other institutions. Film production had largely ceased in Nigeria by the end of the 1980s. Despite this absence, in the early 1990s, Nigeria started on a path that has led it to become the top producer of digital video films in the world. Nigeria is, however, an unlikely locale for the development of a major film industry. In …