Managing literary and artistic works in the digital age

March 4, 2024

The National Copyright and Related Rights Office (ONDA) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Algeria Office organized a study day on February 21, 2024, on managing literary and artistic works in the digital age. It was held in hybrid format and brought together almost 50 participants in person and another 30 online.

The Burkinabe and Ivorian copyright offices also followed the discussions online.

ONDA and WIPO bring together experts for a study day on the management of artistic and literary works in the digital world.

The symposium opened with introductory statements by Samir Thaalbi, Director General of ONDA, and Mohamed Saleck Ahmed Ethmane, Director of the WIPO Algeria Office, in which they recalled the issues and challenges facing collective management organizations (CMOs), including ONDA.

Ahmed Serradj, the Director of Standardization and IT at ONDA, outlined the Office’s technological development and highlighted its ability to adapt successfully to technological change, which heralded a promising digital transformation.

Caption: Mohamed Saleck Ahmed Ethmane, Director of the WIPO Algeria Office

Caption: Samir Thaalbi, Director General of ONDA

Michel Allain, a WIPO expert in digital rights management, gave a detailed presentation on the fundamental principles of rights management in the digital context, stressing the importance of compliance with international standards and rules.

Later in the afternoon, participants watched online presentations by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) and the South African collective management and digital rights licensing agency, CAPASSO, which gave them a better understanding of other CMOs’ experiences.

Samuel Sangwa, Regional Director for Africa at CISAC, and Sylvain Piat, that body’s Director of Business, made a presentation on its rights management best practices. CISAC has 225 members in almost 120 countries.

Roland Nzanzu, Head of Licensing at CAPASSO, explained how that organization operates as a pan-African digital licensing hub, encompassing several CMOs on the African continent, and how it manages rights to music distributed by international platforms.

The study day marked a milestone in the digital transformation of ONDA, illustrating its determination to fully leverage new technologies as they continually evolve and to use them to strengthen the protection and promotion of copyright and related rights.

WIPO is fully committed to supporting ONDA as it embarks on its digital transformation, placing all its expertise in this field and the tools it has developed at the Office’s disposal.