Liberia: COSOL appoints Prince Decker as executive director

The event was attended by key stakeholders including the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Prof Wilson Tarpeh, COSOL’s deputy director, Clifford Robinson Jr, and National Collective Societies of Liberia chairperson Gregory Artus Frank.

Decker, formerly a technical consultant to the director-general of Liberia, has 10 years of experience in the West African country’s intellectual property system. In his new role, he assumes oversight responsibility related to copyright issues for Liberian creatives, including the collection and distribution of royalties.

COSOL’s establishment came after LIPO and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry signed an administrative regulation in late 2019. At the signing, Tarpeh underscored that the new society would be particularly valuable to users, copyright holders and the communities within which the society operates.

"COSOL shall manage the copyright of the authors, promote and safeguard the collective interests of rights holders, issue licences and authorisation uses, negotiate rates and terms of use with users, allow a single point of access for the usage of rights holders’ works, and foster political action in favour of the effective protection of authors’ rights, among other responsibilities,” he said.

The administrative regulation stipulates that 70% of royalties will go to the rights holder, whereas 20% will be used for administrative cost by COSOL. The reamaining 10% will go into a trust fund.

On Monday, speaking during Decker’s induction, Tarpeh warned against the unauthorised use of the works of Liberian creatives, stressing that his ministry and the government as a whole will not relent in the fight against artistic theft to ensure that practitioners within the creative industry are remunerated. 

As COSOL's executive director, Decker is expected to bring to his new mandate knowledge and expertise not only on issues relating to intellectual property but also general law.