A delegation of SPA was in Rabat, capital of Morocco, to negotiate with the Moroccan Copyright Society a cooperation agreement that includes, in a prominent way, a reciprocity agreement, training sessions, IT support as well as possible legal support, and also an analysis of the company’s contacts with Google, among others.
The leaders of the two societies spoke about the importance of this partnership project. They also spoke about the contribution that could be made to ensure greater circulation of authors and artists from both countries in the Portuguese and Moroccan markets.
The SPA delegation, in addition to having been with the Director General of the Moroccan Copyright Society, Ismaili Menkari, and the General Secretary of that entity, Dalal Mhamdi Alaoui, had other working meetings with the heads of the organization that covers all the disciplines of cultural creation in the country and that is in an expansion phase.
The leaders of the two societies have been received by Mohamed Ghazali, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Communication, who is responsible for the collective management of copyright in Morocco. This country, which currently has 40 million inhabitants, has some of the most important artistic festivals in Africa, namely in the city of Marrakesh. The president of SPA praised the work of the Moroccan society and explained to the Secretary General of the Ministry how the Private Copy Law in Portugal works.
The director general of the Moroccan society has twice been in Portugal, namely at CISAC’s general assembly on 8 June. SPA, who participates annually in the general assemblies of the CISAC African Committee, this year taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, is studying cooperation projects such as the one that has now been discussed in Rabat in that framework. Both SPA and its Moroccan counterpart believe in the sustainability and scope of this innovative project.
The SPA delegation consisted of José Jorge Letria, the president of the Cooperative, by Paula Cunha, Board Member, and by Cláudia Moreira, one of the heads of the SPA Informatics Department.
The SPA is currently preparing the documents that formalize this joint work plan with that important African country that has longstanding cultural and artistic relations with Portugal.
