Namibia: Taxing Hard Drives, Sparing the Net

Namibia’s draft copyright and related rights protection bill proposes a major change in how local artists are compensated.

The government wants to create a safety net for creators by introducing a levy on physical equipment and services used to copy data, including phones, laptops, memory sticks and copy shops.

This is the stage at which the public needs to engage. Once the bill reaches the parliament, opportunities to correct its shortcomings become far more limited.

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