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Arts Reporter
Zimbabwe has officially launched the Reprographic Rights Organisation of Zimbabwe (RROZ), a move hailed as a critical step towards curbing rampant piracy in the nation’s book industry.
The formation of RROZ aims to regulate the reproduction and distribution of copyrighted literary works, while ensuring authors and publishers are fairly compensated for their creations.
Speaking at the signing ceremony held at his office yesterday, Chief Registrar of Companies and Deeds, Willy Mushayi, noted the significance of this development for the country’s intellectual property protection efforts.
He said the book industry has suffered heavily from widespread piracy, with unauthorised photocopies of books being sold openly in many areas.
“This is quite new and quite important for the nation because for the past few years we have been battling to make sure that we bring sanity back into our book industry, which had been invaded and decimated by piracy,” said Mushayi.
“We have witnessed it almost on every corner of the street, with people selling books photocopied without the consent of the publishers or the authors.”
Mushayi explained that the RROZ will act as a collective management organisation (CMO), uniting publishers and authors to better regulate the distribution of literary works and protect their rights.
The creation of this body will allow creators to negotiate directly with institutions such as universities, schools, and libraries, which are major consumers of published works.
According to Mushayi, the absence of a unified body to represent authors and publishers has previously led to widespread abuse of intellectual property.
“The law provides that where publishers, authors, and creators come together and form a CMO, it has the power to negotiate on behalf of all creators and publishers. This is the beginning of a good journey,” Mushayi added.
He also underscored the Government’s support for the initiative, highlighting the backing that RROZ will receive from various Government institutions.
“Wherever they go, they have the support of Government, be it at an institution or university,” he said.
The establishment of RROZ marks a turning point in Zimbabwe’s effort to protect its literary industry, with Mushayi expressing optimism that it will help restore order and ensure that authors and publishers can benefit from their works without the threat of piracy.
Meanwhile, RROZ chairperson Masimba Madondo outlined the organisation’s next steps, emphasising the need for global collaboration to ensure Zimbabwe’s standards reflect international best practices.
“The next steps really are to affiliate ourselves with international organisations that assist us in the standards to which we should be working,” Madondo said.
He added that aligning with global copyright bodies would help RROZ enhance its ability to protect the rights of Zimbabwean authors and publishers.
A key part of this effort is the deployment of a management team tasked with conducting grassroots outreach.
The team will work within communities to educate people about the role of RROZ and Collective Management Organisations (CMOs), which manage reprographic and copyright-related rights for creators.
“We have a team on the ground now that will be going into communities and conscientising people about what an RROZ organisation is supposed to do, and what a CMO is,” explained Madondo.
Online Reporter