Traditional Knowledge Laws: Benin

Subject Matter of Protection

Article 1

"expressions of folklore" means the production of characteristic elements of the traditional artistic heritage developed and perpetuated on the territory of the Republic of Benin by a community or by individuals recognized as meeting the traditional artistic expectations of such community, and includes:
- folk tales, folk poetry and mysteries;
- folk songs and instrumental music;
- folk dancing and entertainments;
- products of folk art, such as drawings, paintings, sculptures, pottery, terracotta, carvings, mosaics, woodwork, metal objects, jewelry, textiles and costumes;

Article 8 

The following shall constitute works of the mind protected by the present Law:
- expressions of folklore and works derived from folklore, subject to such particular provisions as may be established in a special law on protection of the national heritage.

Collections of works of expressions of folklore are also protected as works.
The following shall also be protected as works:
- translations, adaptations, arrangements and other transformations of works and of expressions of folklore;
- collections of works, of expressions of folklore or of simple facts or data, such as encyclopedias, anthologies and databases, whether reproduced in a machine-readable medium or in any other form, which, by reason of the selection, coordination or arrangement of their contents, constitute intellectual creations.

The protection  of the works referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not affect the protection of pre-existing works used in the making of such works.

Beneficiaries or Rightholders

Article 11

Folklore shall belong by its origin to the national heritage.

Scope of Protection

Article 80

Expressions of folklore shall be protected against reproduction, communication to the public by means of performance, broadcast, distribution by cable or other means, adaptation, translation or any other transformation, where such uses are carried out for commercial purposes or outside their traditional or customary context.

Article 81

The acts covered by the preceding Article shall be subject to the prior authorization of the collective management organization, against payment of a royalty, the amount of which shall be determined in accordance with the customary terms in each of the categories of creation considered.

Article 83

In all printed publications, and in connection with any communication to the public of an identifiable expression of folklore, the source of such expression of folklore must be indicated in a manner that is appropriate and compatible with fair practice, by mentioning the community and the geographical place of origin of the expression of folklore used.

Exceptions and Limitations

Article 82

The rights conferred under the present Title shall not apply where the acts in question concern:
-use by a natural person exclusively for personal purposes;
-the use of short extracts for the purpose of reporting  of current events, to the extent justified by the subject of the report;
-use solely for purposes of teaching or scientific research;
-cases in which a work may be used without the consent of the author or of another copyright holder