Whereas scholarly books published by North American and European presses are (at present) rarely available to readers in Africa; and whereas Europe- and America-based scholars of Africa have an interest and obligation to widen Africans’ access to their work, ASA and ASAUK endorse the following “statement of guiding principles for the sale of rights in African territories.”
In any territory within the continent of Africa for which the Publisher may sell or assign a license for publication of the Work, the following principles shall apply:
i. The Publisher shall provide to the African publisher PDFs of the Work at a mutually agreed price, which price shall be consistent with the economic costs of the African publisher.
ii. The Author may suggest or recommend an African publisher but shall not have the right to act as agent for the Publisher or for an African publisher. The final decision about the specific African publisher(s) to which to sell or assign a license remain with the Publisher.
iii. In the case of such a sale or assignment, the Author shall relinquish royalties on those copies sold in the specified African territories.
iv. The Publisher shall grant to the Author or to an African publisher, as advised by the Author, the first option for translations of the Work within the specified African territories.
v. Mindful of the differing commercial realities among countries, the Publisher shall endeavor to sell or assign a license for publication of the Work to a range of publishers within the African continent.