Kenya Copyright Board

The Kenya Copyright Board is comprised of 17 members drawn from both the public and private sectors. From the Private sector, there are seven members representing the software, producers of sound recordings, publishers, film distributors, performers, broadcasting stations and audio visual industry. There are four experts on copyright and related rights and five representatives from the Office of the Attorney General, Commissioner of Police, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Gender, Sports and Culture, and the Ministry of Finance and an Executive Director.

History Of the Kenya Copyright Board

The Kenya Copyright Board was created as a statutory body by the Copyright Act No. 12 of 2001. The first Board was appointed in May 2001. Under the Act, the Board takes over the functions of what was known as the copyright section within the Department of the Registrar General, Office of the Attorney General.

Functions

The Board is mandated to administer and enforce copyright and related rights in Kenya . The Board may thus;

Direct, co ordinate and oversee the implementation of laws, international treaties to which Kenya is party to.

• Licence and supervise the activities of Collective Management Organisations
• Devise and carry out training and sensitisation programs on copyright and related rights in Kenya
• Update copyright legislation
• Maintain an effective database on copyright and related rights in Kenya .

Registration

Requirements

Original musical, literary, artistic, audio visual works sound recordings and broadcasts shall be eligible for copyright protection.

Procedure for Registration of Copyright Works

To be accepted for registration, a work must be original and must be expressed in writing or any other form. Originality in the Copyright sense means that the work must not have copied from somebody else.

.  Application shall be a prescribed form obtained from the Copyright Office

.  The applicant will attach two copies of the works, where applicable

.  The application form must be witnessed by a commissioner for oaths and accompanied by the required fees.

.  The following particulars shall also be required:-

• Name and address of the applicant;
• Physical address of the applicant: and
• Category of works - either artistic, literary, audio visual, musical, sound recording or a broadcast.

.  On receipt of the application, the office may, after making such enquiry as it may deem fit, enter the particulars of the work in a Copyright Register.

Application Forms

Fees

Licensing

Collective Management Organisations

  Requirements

a. Must be a company limited by guarantee

b. Principal objective is the collection and distribution of royalties

c. A non profit making company

d. have regularly audited accounts

Procedure

1. Application shall be in the prescribed form CR. 12

2. The applicant shall attach the following documents

• Certificate of registration of the company
• Certified copy of the company's memorandum and articles of association
• Where applicable, a certified copy of the company's annual return showing the corporate structure of the company during the period of January to December of the year preceding the application
• Where applicable, audited accounts of the company for five years preceding the date of application for registration
• Full list of names and addresses of all members of the society
• Any other information that the Board may require the company to produce.

3. The application should be accompanied by the prescribed fees.

4. The copyright office shall be process the application and the outcome communicated to the applicant.

5. The Copyright Office shall publish the name of the successful applicant in the Kenya Gazette and issue a licensing certificate for one year.

6. The license is renewable annually.

Forms

Fees

Ksh 10 000/=

Use of folklore

Procedure

Fill in the application form and submit with the prescribed fees to the Kenya Copyright Board.

Forms

Form 20

Fees

Ksh. 20 000/=

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

Copyright Protection

Copyright protection arises automatically once a work has been created and it does not depend on registration.

Copyright law, however, protects only the form of expression of ideas and not procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such.

Registration of Copyright Works

The Copyright maintains a data bank on authors and their work by registering copyright works.

The Copyright Register

The copyright register is maintained by the Copyright Office and contains the following particulars:-

.  The number and the title of the copyright work;

.  The name, address and nationality of the copyright holder;

.  The date of application for registration of a copyright work;

.  A licence granted by the copyright holders;

.  A notice of every document effecting a change in address or ownership of the work or purporting to give interest in it as security;

.  If the copyright holder dies, a notice to that effect accompanied by the death certificate; and

.  Any other information required under the Act, or these Regulations or that the Executive Director considers appropriate to be recorded in the Copyright Register.

The Copyright Office will then issue a certificate of registration

Importance of Registration

.  The Register will act as a record of copyright works and anybody can access the records;

.  The register enables the Government to know who the authors are and their works;

.  Authentication device database will be used for implementation of Advocacy.

Terms of Copyright

Copyright protection exists during the life of the owner and 50 years after his or her death

Infringement

Copyright infringement occurs when anyone, other than the Copyright owner or someone authorised by him or her, does an act e.g. reproduction, translation, adaptation or public performance of the work.

Remedies of Infringement Civil Remedies

.  Injunction to stop the infringing action;

.  Damages to compensate the copyright owner for the commercial damages suffered by him or her;

.  The copyright owner can also get an order from the court to seize the infringing materials and other evidence; and

.  An account of the profits earned by the infringers can be ascertained by the court and appropriate compensation given by the copyright owner.

Civil remedies are actionable at the insistence of the copyright owner and the copyright Office has no role to play in a civil suit.

Criminal Remedies

For more information, contact :
Kenya Copyright Board
Office of the Attorney General
Sheria House, 2 nd Floor