Opinion: rethinking PFPAD: reflections from the third general session, for the African diaspora

by | Feb 15, 2026 | JCLA, JCLA V12 I2 2025

Opinion: rethinking PFPAD: reflections from the third general session, for the African diaspora

Author: Chinaza K. Asiegbu

ISSN: 2521-2605
Affiliations: J.D. 2025, Harvard Law School; Graduate Associate, Centre for History and Economics, Harvard University; Fellow, Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School
Source: Journal of Comparative Law in Africa, Volume 12 Issue 2, p. 246–272
https://doi.org/10.47348/JCLA/v12/i2a9

Abstract

Emerging from a legacy of United Nations interventions on racism dating back to 1950, the Permanent Forum for People of African Descent (PFPAD) is a freshly minted mechanism, established in 2021. Despite its promise, and perhaps because of its novelty, PFPAD risks undermining the well-founded hopes invested in it: namely, due to a lack of a clear mission. Drawing on participant observation at the Third General Session, this article presents a critical legal and institutional analysis, arguing that the Forum remains caught in a cycle of performative politics, elite disconnection, and institutional inertia – epitomised by the ratification of a Second International Decade for People of African Descent. The analysis further identifies a diaspora gap, analysing the counter-productive dissociation between African and African-descendant identities which sidelines the continent and fractures pan-African solidarity. To realise its potential, the article contends, PFPAD must pivot from symbolism to substance by prioritising a single, concrete legal objective: the completion of the Declaration on the Human Rights of People of African Descent. This process is currently hampered by a procedural disconnect between the drafting Intergovernmental Working Group and the Forum’s public general sessions. Finally, the article advances a three-part blueprint for the PFPAD to build public value: 1) reconceptualising reparations as sustainable capacity-building rather than a onetime payout; 2) grounding PFPAD’s work in local action, including relocating its sessions to Africa and the Caribbean; and 3) leveraging comparative regional legal models, from CARICOM to the AfCFTA, to create a self-reliant, legally fortified, and truly unified global African diaspora.

Whose Work is it Anyway? Artificial Intelligence, Copyright and Authorship: A Brief Consideration of AI’s Impact on Copyright

by | Feb 14, 2026 | SAIPLJ, SAIPLJ 2025

Whose Work is it Anyway? Artificial Intelligence, Copyright and Authorship: A Brief Consideration of AI’s Impact on Copyright

Author Ciresh Singh

ISSN: 2521-2591
Affiliations: Associate Professor, University of South Africa
Source: South African Intellectual Property Law Journal, 2025, p. 1-24
https://doi.org/10.47348/SAIPL/v13/i1a1

Abstract

As we enter the Fifth Industrial Revolution, the exponential growth of technology has infiltrated all aspects of human life. From an intellectual property (IP) perspective, technology and artificial intelligence (AI) is now being used to produce various works, such as literary, artistic and musical items. IP has always been an umbrella term to describe products of the ‘human intellect’. It is thus debatable whether a work created with AI, as opposed to ‘human intelligence’ is subject to IP protection. In South Africa, for copyright to subsist in a work, it must be original, exist in a material form, and be ‘authored’ by the ‘qualified person’ or published in South Africa or a Berne Convention State. The question arises who is the author of a work produced from AI? Is it a human, or is it a computer program, and is such a work deserving of copyright protection? Several courts in the United States of America have considered this question and have held that works created by AI are not subject to copyright, as it lacks ‘human authorship’. Similarly, the United States Copyright Office has rejected copyright applications for works created by AI. Across the pond, the United Kingdom has taken a different view and has adopted the approach of protecting works derived from AI.
In South Africa, the position is unclear, and our courts have yet to consider the issue of whether copyright subsists in an AI-generated work. As the use of AI grows domestically and internationally, clear rules need to be established to govern this sector of IP, in particular, to what extent, if any, works produced from AI derive copyright. Accordingly, laws may need to be developed to appropriately determine the amount of human input and intellect required to qualify the user of an AI-generated product as the author of such a work, and the scope of protection for such works. The time may have arrived for IP laws, or the law in general, to be re-examined and developed to regulate, incentivise and protect future AI innovations and creations.

Copyright in the Nigerian Digital Environment and the Infringement of Musical Works on Social Media: A Case Study of YouTube

by | Feb 14, 2026 | SAIPLJ, SAIPLJ 2025

Copyright in the Nigerian Digital Environment and the Infringement of Musical Works on Social Media: A Case Study of YouTube

Authors Ifeoma Ann Oluwasemilore and Ifeoluwa Hannah Solarin

ISSN: 2521-2591
Affiliations: Associate Professor, Department of Commercial and Industrial Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Nigeria; Researcher, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Nigeria
Source: South African Intellectual Property Law Journal, 2025, p. 25-49
https://doi.org/10.47348/SAIPL/v13/i1a2

Abstract

This paper investigates the extent to which copyright law protects musical works in Nigeria’s online environment, with a specific focus on YouTube. Utilising a doctrinal qualitative research method, it draws data from both primary and secondary legal sources. The research pinpoints weaknesses in the Nigerian Copyright Act of 2022 concerning digital infringement of musical works. A major finding is that the Act closely mirrors the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) without adequately considering the distinctive features of Nigeria’s music industry and digital copyright challenges. The study argues for amendments to the Act’s provisions on online content to better reflect the realities of the digital landscape and the local music sector, calling for targeted legal reforms.

Governing Green Innovation at the Margins: The Role of Intellectual Property in Egypt’s Sustainable Transition

by | Feb 14, 2026 | SAIPLJ, SAIPLJ 2025

Governing Green Innovation at the Margins: The Role of Intellectual Property in Egypt’s Sustainable Transition

Author Khadiga Hassan

ISSN: 2521-2591
Affiliations: Research Associate, Access to Knowledge for Development Center (A2K4D), Onsi Sawiris School of Business, American University in Cairo (AUC), Egypt
Source: South African Intellectual Property Law Journal, 2025, p. 50-72
https://doi.org/10.47348/SAIPL/v13/i1a3

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between intellectual property (IP) and green innovation in Egypt, a nexus that remains underexplored in African IP scholarship despite its relevance for a sustainable transition. The study aimed to evaluate the extent to which the current IP system can incentivise the development and diffusion of green technologies in Egypt. Drawing on policy analysis, an expert interview and a biotechnology case study, it assesses how IP structures shape the scaling of clean technology ventures. The findings indicate that weak enforcement, institutional fragmentation and the absence of targeted green patent mechanisms limit the incentive function of IP for environmentally beneficial innovation. The analysis also shows that complementary IP tools, such as utility models and trademarks, can support technology diffusion in resource-constrained contexts. The study concludes that context-appropriate IP reform, integrated with broader innovation and financing strategies, is essential for enabling Egypt’s sustainable transition and offers lessons for other African jurisdictions.

Compulsory Patent Licensing and the South African Patents Act: Navigating the Challenges and Exploring Reform Options

by | Feb 14, 2026 | SAIPLJ, SAIPLJ 2025

Compulsory Patent Licensing and the South African Patents Act: Navigating the Challenges and Exploring Reform Options

Author JAD Peÿper

ISSN: 2521-2591
Affiliations: Director in Legal Services, University of South Africa
Source: South African Intellectual Property Law Journal, 2025, p. 73-91
https://doi.org/10.47348/SAIPL/v13/i1a4

Abstract

This article critically examines the practical failure of South Africa’s compulsory patent licensing regime to address abuses of patent rights under s 56 of the Patents Act 57 of 1978. Despite the statutory grounds for relief, compulsory licensing has remained largely inaccessible in practice, with every reported application since 1978 proving unsuccessful. The article identifies the key structural and procedural barriers that deter or defeat applicants, including excessive evidentiary burdens on ‘interested persons’, the absence of working-disclosure obligations on patentees, the treatment of essential commercial information as confidential, and the rigid requirement that all matters be heard before the Commissioner of Patents. It further shows how judicial interpretation has raised the threshold for relief by requiring proof of public harm even where the Patents Act appears to provide per se grounds of abuse, thereby weakening compulsory licensing as a corrective tool. The article ultimately proposes targeted legislative and procedural reforms aimed at restoring compulsory patent licensing as a viable mechanism for curbing patent abuse, improving transparency and evidentiary access, and aligning the patent system with its public interest function. While TRIPS flexibilities provide contextual support for domestic reform, they are not the central focus of this analysis.