IATF 2025: Panel in Algiers Highlights Intellectual Property Challenges in Digital Era

Intellectual property protection and musical creation in the digital era, along with the future of creative industries, were the focus of a panel discussion held Sunday in Algiers alongside the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025), which runs until September 10 at the Exhibition Palace.

Organized as part of the African Creative Days “CANEX 2025” program, the session titled “Music and intellectual property in Africa: from protection to prosperity” provided a platform for sharing experiences and discussing the future of Africa’s creative industries.

Speaking at the event, the representative of the National Office of Copyright and Neighboring Rights (ONDA), Mehdi Dilmi,  discussed various challenges in collective copyright management across Africa, particularly regarding administration and disputes with foreign copyright management organizations.

According to Dilmi, ONDA’s deputy director general, protecting music creators’ rights in the artificial intelligence (AI) era requires first “establishing legal protection mechanisms to combat violations of composers’ and music creators’ works across various digital platforms.” He advocated for developing legislation to ensure legal use of musical works while strictly respecting copyright.

For her part, the representative of the South African Digital Rights Management Agency (CAPASSO), Lerato Matsoso, emphasized the necessity of adopting laws and measures with a view to guaranteeing a “healthy exploitation of musical content” through notably the granting of licenses to different operators, notably digital platforms dedicated to the broadcasting of musical content.