Editor, RE: “Rwandan films to enter Chinese market under new deal” (The New Times, September 28). This is a good initiative but I have some concerns: One, are our local movie makers well conversant with IP laws? Have they copyrighted their content? Chances are their materials could easily be pirated with no legal protection in place and the Chinese are very good at rapidly copying and commercialising others (especially African cultures which are cash cows in the Western market). Two, did the cooperation agreement make sure it was fool-proof in the above-mentioned and protecting Rwanda’s cultural artifact/ideas/stories...? Was there adequate mechanism in place for local producers/artistes to have recourse in case their IP address is violated? It is not strange to see one’s image, for instance, appear in a Chinese-branded item selling in Mali. Kigali Girl
