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Mwazvita Madondo

Beaven Tapureta
The 2014 Zimbabwe International Book Fair may have slipped into the past but it is no secret that it still echoes today with voices of concerned book people who, out of deep love for what used to be Africa’s biggest book festival, have been open with their opinions and suggestions on what things ought to be with the organisers. However, the post-ZIBF debate must as well out of deep love for our yearly book gala recognise some of the 2014 ZIBF silver linings which investigated other certain writers’ concerns such as copyright law.

I have worked with various unpublished Zimbabwean writers fearful of publishers and describe them as thieves of their manuscripts who employ experienced writers to turn an unknown writer’s manuscript into a “masterpiece”. Improving on the unknown writer’s immature work, the hired “credible writer” thus changes the setting, the names of characters, plot, etc. and a book is published in his name. Alone, the aspiring writer unwittingly reflects on what one American essayist said: Society loves but names, and not creators (Ralph Waldo Emerson). The unpublished writer, once beaming with his “great-great idea” and yet sees no protection or profit out there, imagines this publishing nightmare and eventually gives up or resort to vanity press.

There are also other aspiring writers who have even misunderstood the word “copyright” and in their literal lexicon, the word “copyright” means they have every right to actually copy/plagiarise yet the “right to copy” in copyright terms is the right to a written matter, here designated as ‘copy’.

Lack of copyright knowledge which constitutes the legal aspect of writing normally causes this wild figment of the imagination common with starting writers who may not know that professional publishers are also bound by the law to respect anyone’s intellectual property, whether that intellectual property is published or not.

While a budding writer’s fear of “theft of ideas” cannot be totally ignored, established writers alike have reason to also know what the law says about their intellectual creations.

The 2014 ZIBF Writers’ Workshop had two of its six presentations devoted to copyright as viewed from the publisher’s perspective. The presentations, delivered primarily in Shona language to celebrate the Book Fair’s main theme, brought writers face to face with “the publisher”, whom the unknown writer so imagines as a big-big swindler, to hear how manuscripts are handled by any publishing house which abides by the Law.

Copyright, according to Wikipedia, is a legal right created by the law of a country, that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to its use and distribution, usually for a limited time, with the intention of enabling the creator (e.g. the photographer of a photograph or the author of a book) to receive compensation for their intellectual effort. And Zimbabwe, like other countries, has a functioning Copyright Law.

In his paper titled “What Writers Need to Know and Do to Protect Their Interests”, Blazio Tafireyi, the chief executive officer of Zimbabwe Publishing House (ZPH) which is one of the long-standing local publishers, said a writer needs protection immediately from the conception of an idea until it is published.

He told writers that ideas are important and writers should not go about advertising their ideas to any person because in these days of fast-developing ICT, people can easily make money out of other people’s creativity.

When the idea has been transformed into a product (in a writer’s case a manuscript/typescript), the need for protection continues, said Tafireyi.
“You need to be protected as you approach a publisher because if you don’t or if you work with a publisher who’s not familiar with copyright law, you also risk having your work splashed all over the internet before you are compensated accordingly,” Tafireyi said.

It is true that writers sometimes do not always write to make money, as said by established writer Aaron Chiundura Moyo and other writers who attended the workshop.  There are certain times that they want to donate their work for free.

Even in this case, Tafireyi said, a writer needs to be acknowledged as the original creator.

As publishing is a business, Tafireyi expressed worry that Zimbabwean writers are ignorant of copyright law. He laid bare the risks involved in not protecting oneself against some unscrupulous publishers whose main objective is to make money at the expense of uninformed writers.

“Our writers don’t know copyright law. They come to us without even an iota of knowledge on how to protect themselves. Now, if you totally don’t know how to protect yourself, as a businessperson the publisher can take advantage of you,” said Tafireyi.

According to the general publishing process, the writer-publisher relationship gradually develops and is confirmed when both parties have reached the contract signing stage. At this moment the book will have been accepted by the publisher.

Tafireyi said if one looks at all writers’ contracts being used by local publishers they are nearly the same yet each contract invites its own scrutinisation independent of previous or future contracts.

There are cases of writers who have felt “cheated” after signing a contract with a publisher and this feeling, according to Tafireyi, is common with writers who do not carefully read and understand their contracts before signing them.

“This has happened in my office with writers whose manuscripts we would have accepted to publish. I show him/her the contract and without reading it over and over again, they quickly sign it. Authors, you are not reading your contracts but when things go wrong you come to blame us,” said Tafireyi.

He advised writers that they are allowed to take a copy of the contract home to read and think about its conditions over a period of time or to look for a legal advisor who will explain every detail so that copyright protection is guaranteed.

When signing a contract, said Tafireyi, writers must understand issues such as the right to reproduce, modify, distribute, serial rights, translation rights and the right to have one’s work as an electronic book (e-book).

Protection of a writer after he/she has been published was also taken care of by Mwazvita P. Madondo of Consultus Publishing Services (CPS) in her paper “Copyright Knowledge for Mother Tongue Writers”.

Madondo, an editor with 27 years’ experience, mainly dealt with copyright, fair use and fair dealing.

She said getting permission to use other people’s works is very important as it avoids the costs of being sued for copyright infringement.

“Publishers are middle persons between the writer and the users of his/her work. When someone wants to reproduce a certain amount of published material, for instance in a textbook, the publisher negotiates on behalf of the writer. Self-published writers negotiate on their own,” said Madondo who went on to explain terms such as plagiarism, copyright infringement, and ‘public domain’ in copyright matters.

She said plagiarism, that is, copying someone else’s work and presenting it as yours, damages one’s reputation and should be avoided.

The 2014 ZIBF Writers Workshop was held on August 2, the last day of the Book Fair, at the City Presbyterian Church in Harare.