Colonial Intellectual Property

Colonial Intellectual Property: The Case of the Congo examines the implementation of the Belgian system of intellectual property in the Congo. For the colonized people, some realms of colonial intellectual property such as patents remained closed for a long time, and other domains opened possibilities for participation, such as copyrights. Based on research in unpublished archives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Belgium, this book is the first to trace the history of intellectual property in the Congo, following a chronological and thematic structure.

The first chapter focuses on the implementation of the patent system in colonial Congo and examines the activity of international entrepreneurs who considered patent-taking as an investment in a coercive colonial regime. Chapter two turns to trademarks, and examines both the sociology of entrepreneurs, and the use of stereotypes in brand images. Chapter three further examines the issue of geographical indications of origins, as well as design registration and the place of the commons. Copyrights are the main theme of chapter four. During the postwar era, a group of Congolese musicians exercised their rights in the management of their intellectual property dues. They worked in partnership with the Kinshasa branch of a Belgian collective management society, until they founded in 1959 the SACO, Societe des Auteurs congolais. Chapter 5 then turns to the decolonization, during which the Democratic Republic of the Congo became an independent voice in the international associations for intellectual property.

This book will appeal to all those interested in the history of colonialism in Africa.