Colonial Intellectual Property: The Case of Congo

Colonial Intellectual Property: The Case of the Congo examines the implementation of the Belgian system of intellectual property in the Congo. For the colonized people, some realms of colonial intellectual property such as patents remained closed for a long time, and other domains opened possibilities for participation, such as copyrights. Based on research in unpublished archives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Belgium, this book is the first to trace the history of intellectual property in the Congo, following a chronological and thematic structure.

Chapter 1 focuses on the implementation of the patent system in colonial Congo and examines the activity of international entrepreneurs who considered patent-taking as an investment in a coercive colonial regime. Chapter 2 turns to trademarks, and examines both the sociology of entrepreneurs, and the use of stereotypes in brand images. Chapter 3 further examines the issue of geographical indications of origins, as well as design registration and the place of the commons. Copyrights are the main theme of Chapter 4. During the postwar era, a group of Congolese musicians exercised their rights in the management of their intellectual property dues. They worked in partnership with the Kinshasa branch of a Belgian collective management society, until they founded in 1959 the SACO, Société des Auteurs congolais. Chapter 5 then turns to the decolonization, during which the Democratic Republic of the Congo became an independent voice in the international associations for intellectual property.

This book will appeal to all those interested in the history of colonialism in Africa.

Véronique Pouillard is Professor of International History in the Department of Archeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo. She is working on firms and innovation through history. She has published Paris to New York. The Transatlantic Fashion Industry in the Twentieth Century (2021). Her articles have been published in many journals including Business History, Journalism Studies, New Global Studies, and Resources Policy.