BY NATHAN GUMA
Sub-Saharan Africa’s explosive creative sector is losing hundreds of millions of dollars in uncollected revenue due to inadequate legal frameworks and rampant piracy, according to Katherine Hiner, the Intellectual Property (IP) Attaché for Sub-Saharan Africa with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
This comes at a time when the sector is experiencing explosive growth and unprecedented global demand.
To assist African creatives, the United States has been running the IP for Growth initiative, a year-long program that showcases how robust IP protection and enforcement empower the creative economy across Africa.
Citing data from the Music Economy Development Initiative during a workshop under the IP for Growth Program held in Johannesburg, Hiner said that in Kenya and Nigeria alone, $286 million in recorded revenue is left uncollected each year.
Hiner urged African governments to view the creative economy through a commercial lens, saying that capturing the full value of the digital age requires a fundamental shift in state policy.
“Music isn’t just a mood or a vibe. It is a business,” Hiner said.
According to Hiner, unlocking the continent’s creative potential depends on “two key ingredients.”
“We need those strong, consistent laws that are going to cross the borders,” she said, noting that the digital marketplace requires “up-to-date IP laws on the books and the political will to fully implement them.”
She advocated for the ratification and domestic implementation of the WIPO Internet Treaties, the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
The treaties protect Technical Protection Measures (TPMs) and Rights Management Information (RMI), which are essential for securing revenues from digital streaming and downloads.
She also stressed the need for transparent and accountable Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) to manage licensing on behalf of artists.
Lessons from the U.S.
To illustrate the economic power of robust IP protection, Hiner pointed to 2024 U.S. data showing that IP-intensive industries generated $11.4 trillion, accounting for 44% of private-sector GDP and supporting 65.8 million jobs.
U.S. workers in copyright-intensive fields also enjoy a 130% earnings premium over those in non-IP sectors.
“That’s not a marginal difference,” Hiner said. “That’s transformational.”
Piracy
The attaché also took aim at piracy, warning that the practice funds broader criminal networks.
“Piracy presents a major threat to the creative industry, and yet many still believe it’s a victimless crime,” Hiner said. “It’s not just wrong, it’s dangerous.”
She cited a recent joint operation by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations unit that dismantled 1,000 pirate websites during the World Cup to choke off funds flowing to organised crime.
While legal overhauls take time, Hiner highlighted operational breakthroughs such as the Accelerated Patent Grant (APG) Agreement signed with Ghana in July, the first such agreement between the U.S. and an African country.
The APG streamlines patent reviews for understaffed offices by allowing Ghana to grant patents based on pre-existing U.S. approvals.
Looking ahead, Hiner said she plans to bring these regional insights to a WIPO global summit in Geneva in December.
“There’s more discussions ahead and more work to be done,” she said, “but we’re just really inspired by the talent and initiative of the creatives in the African space.”
