Book review: Decolonising Intellectual Property Law: An Afrocentric Approach

Itanyi, Nkem ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2124-2642 (2026) Book review: Decolonising Intellectual Property Law: An Afrocentric Approach. SouthViews.

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Abstract

This paper examines Decolonising Intellectual Property Law: An Afrocentric Approach as a transformative intervention in global intellectual property (IP) discussions. Drawing on the book’s central claim that contemporary IP frameworks were designed for Western priorities and subsequently imposed on Africa through colonial legal transplantation, the paper evaluates how Eurocentric assumptions about creativity, ownership, and individual authorship have displaced African systems of communal knowledge governance. It highlights the need to rethink the justification of copyright in light of the UN2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Additionally, it critiques the inadequacy of Western copyright systems in protecting Nigerian storytelling and film production, spanning oral traditions to Nollywood. It discusses how colonial doctrines have undermined the capacity of customary law to safeguard traditional knowledge. Finally, the paper situates the book within current international negotiations on genetic resources and traditional knowledge, arguing that while new treaties mark progress, the deeper restructuring proposed here—across copyright, patents, traditional medicine, and culturally situated dispute resolution—remains essential for equitable IP law and knowledge sovereignty in the Global South.

Item Type:	Other
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	26 Jun 2026 13:50
Last Modified:	26 Jun 2026 13:50
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/103510
DOI:

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