For
the purpose of this project, the important law to know is the telecommunication
code adopted by the government, which lead to the liberalization of the market,
and the privatization of the Sonatel.A regulatory system was mandated, calling for
three parallel and coexisting regimes*:
A monopoly structure
for land-based telephony, telex, telegraph, international access and
packed-based data transmission, up to Dec.31st 2006;
Regulated
competition for networks;
Free competition for
value-added services
This
code will not be of significant importance until 2007, since Sonatel has the monopoly until at least dec.2006.
Intellectual Property
Senegal is a member of the
African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), and therefore adheres to the
“Bangui Agreement” which supersedes the national Senegalese Law.Originally established November 13th, 1962, the Agreement was revised March 2nd, 1977 to achieve the following goals:
to make its provisions consistent with the demands of international
treaties relating to intellectual property, to which the member States are
parties, especially the Agreement on Trade-RelatedAspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(Agreement on TRIPS);
to streamline the procedures for issuing certificates;
to broadenthe base of
objects for protection ; and
to fill up some legal gaps.
The revised Bangui Agreement, like its previous versions, aims to
enhance creativity, protect the inventor’s rights, guarantee investments, and
facilitate technology transfer. It provides a legal framework that remains open
to any development likely to occur in this ever evolving domain.
Piracy
According
to a 2002 Piracy study conducted by the Business Software alliance, the level
of Software Piracy in Africa is lower than the one from the
industrialized countries.It is mostly
due to the low amount of e-transactions in African countries.Senegal is not a threat in terms
of Piracy, the country does not figure on the list.I have not found any legal text dealing with
piracy issues.
Tariffs
Senegal is a member of the West
African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and works towards aligning its
laws, customs tariffs in particular, with those of the Union.The government henceforth applies a zero
tariff to priority products of a social, cultural or scientific nature,
including computer and telematic equipment not manufactured locally.This type of equipment is now taxed at 5%
instead of 26%.A distinction must be
made within the computer category, since peripherals (printers, scanners, etc)
and the electrical equipment that goes with them are subject only to a
reduction of 55% from 61% for the former (peripherals), and of 55% from 73% for
the latter (electrical equipment).Futhermore, it is important to make a note that computer
and telematic equipment manufactured locally is
subject to a 25%.I agree with Mr. Sagna when he asserts that this particular regime is a good
demonstration of the lack of coherence in government policy.
Privacy
There
are no immediate threats in terms of infringement on consumers’ privacy.The number of e-commerce transaction is not
significant enough to raise this kind of issue.However, with the advent of telemedicine, citizens might become wary of
where their personal and confidential information is landing.The International Telecommunications Unions
(ITU), through its Office of Telecommunications Development, began a pilot
project in telemedicine in 1999, designed to link hospitals in Dakar with hospital services
in the Saint-Louis region (http://www.anais.org/SITES/BAM2000/ateliers/a1telsantesubsahara.html).
