Protecting Expressions of Folklore in Tanzania

Assessing the Suitability of Copyright Law

Abstract

This article examines the suitability of copyright law in protecting expressions of folklore in Tanzania. The pertinent question is why protection of expressions of folklore matters? To address the question, it is worth to note that expressions of folklore have intrinsic social, cultural and spiritual value in addition to economic, scientific, intellectual and educational value. Traditional cultures are not static, but are diverse frameworks for innovation and creativity that both benefit indigenous and local communities and have the potential to benefit society in general. In that regard, efforts have been made both at regional and international level to protect the expressions of folklore against misappropriation or prejudicial actions. Initially, expressions of folklore were protected under copyright law and other laws like trade mark. However, data collected and analyzed by using doctrinal and comparative legal research indicates that Copyright law is no longer good to protect expressions of folklore. This is because expressions of folklore have unique characteristics such as passing from one generation to another and being used according to customary law. Therefore, the copyright law that protects works within specific time is not suitable to protect expressions of folklore. It is further noted that several countries including some East African Community States have abolished the system of protecting expressions of folklore under the copyright law and other laws like trade mark and industrial design laws. Instead, expressions of folklore are being protected under a unique regime i.e., sui generis law which embrace the unique characteristics of expressions of folklore. This is elucidated by countries such as Kenya and Zambia. The contribution indicates that, to date Tanzania is still protecting expressions of folklore under the copyright law. Finally, the author recommends Tanzania to have a specific law for protecting expressions of folklore.