Juliet Asante
The National Film Authority (NFA) has issued a directive to all television channels in Ghana, requiring them to seek permission from copyright owners before broadcasting any films on their platforms.
This action was taken in response to multiple complaints concerning unlicensed movie airing by certain terrestrial channels and media outlets in Ghana that the NFA received from international film distributors.
According to the NFA, broadcasting movies without authorisation violates their exclusive rights and constitutes copyright infringement, which attracts both civil and criminal liabilities.
The directive is in accordance with the authority’s statutory function of ensuring compliance with laws regulating copyright within the Ghanaian film industry as set out in section 3(e)(iv) of the Development and Classification of Film Act 2016 (Act 935).
The NFA’s directive aims to protect the intellectual property rights of copyright owners and ensure that the Ghanaian film industry operates within a legal and regulated framework.
In a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of the National Film Authority (NFA), Juliet Yaa Asantewaa Asante, said, “All terrestrial channel owners or media houses conduct assessments of all movies or films currently being broadcasted or aired on their respective channels and verifications carried out to ensure that requisite authorisations to broadcast particular movies or films have been obtained from the creators/copyright owners concerned.”
It indicated extensively that where the assessment reveals the absence of the requisite authorisation to broadcast a particular movie or film, terrestrial channel owners or media houses concerned are required to immediately cease broadcasting/airing the said movie or film until the requisite authorisation is obtained.
The NFA is a government agency mandated to enforce the legal framework for the production, regulation, nurturing and development of the Ghanaian film industry, and for the distribution, exhibition and marketing of films and related matters.
It was set up by the Government of Ghana under the Development and Classification of Film Act 935 to regulate and streamline the ecosystem of film in Ghana.