Unless the Intellectual Property Protocol and its Annexes within the African Continental Free Trade Area succeed in establishing a unified framework, the IP landscape across Africa will remain fragmented and siloed. This is demonstrated by the existence of two separate regional IP organizations operating along the Francophone/Anglophone divide – the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) and the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) – alongside the national laws of ARIPO Member States, and to some extent OAPI, as well as eight subregional economic communities and countries that are not members of either organization. Therefore, the framework for the doctrine of exhaustion in Africa is a patchwork and somewhat disjointed, much like the overall IP landscape. The chapter examines the complex norms governing copyright in Africa and argues that, until the Intellectual Property Protocol (which introduces a regional exhaustion framework) and its Annex on copyright are rectified and properly enforced, upcycling remains a neutral concept within copyright circles. This situation could generate uncertainty for upcycling initiatives or present an opportunity to revalue waste in ways that support the circular economy across Africa.