PHOTO | FILE Registrar General Bernice Gachegu (right) chats with Kenya Copyright Board chairman Tom Mshindi during the national validation stakeholders seminar on traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions at Red Court hotel on May 08 2013. The Board has made commendable steps in its bid to protect intellectual property especially in the music industry. NATION MEDIA GROUP
In Summary
In 2008, the World Intellectual Property Organisations, in collaboration with the Kenya Copyright Board (Kecobo), carried out a survey of the economic importance of copyright-based industries in Kenya. The results were amazing.
In the last five years, Kecobo has conducted numerous enforcement activities and prosecuted copyright infringement cases. It has trained more than 600 police officers on copyright issues and investigation of copyright infringement.
The Board currently has 40 staff members, five of whom are legal counsel, and 11 copyright inspectors attached from the National Police Service.
By Tom Mshindi
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Many people are clueless about protection of copyright and the benefits of a vibrant copyright industry. Yet, societal progress is driven by the knowledge economy through the realisation of intellectual property rights and specifically copyright and related rights.
In 2008, the World Intellectual Property Organisations, in collaboration with the Kenya Copyright Board (Kecobo), carried out a survey of the economic importance of copyright-based industries in Kenya. The results were amazing.
The copyright based industries, including the core copyright-based industries such as music, film, software, book publishing and advertising; the interdependent copyright-based industries such as the manufacture of television sets, computer hardware, recording equipment, mobile phones, tablets, photocopiers etc; partial copyright-based industries such as fashion, jewellery, furniture etc and the non-dedicated support industries such as mobile telephony and the Internet, transport and general wholesale and retailing all contributed more than 5.3 per cent of the GDP.
This is significant, and if the industries are well nurtured and protected, their contribution could be well over 10 per cent in the next six years. From the same study, the copyright-based industries contributed 3.3 per cent to employment in Kenya.
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
The Jubilee government has come out as a strong supporter of the creative industry. For its rhetoric to trigger desired outcomes, it must strive to nurture, facilitate and protect the creative/copyright industries.
The unauthorised use of copyright protected works, aka “copyright piracy” adversely affects rights holders and the general economy. Creative authors who include software developers, authors, book publishers, film producers, music composers, performing artists, visual artists, fashion designers, architects, interior designers, poets, etc, are hard hit by copyright pirates.
Everyone across the value chain suffers. In music, for example, victims include the composers, authors, publishers, producers, performers, the creative authors who do the covers and the videos, the sound engineers, studio owners, retailers, premium service providers, television stations and Internet service providers.
Apart from the weak regulatory and enforcement structures, another key challenge is the lack or limited knowledge on copyright and related rights among the rights holders, users, law enforcement agencies and the general public. Ignorant rights holders are easy targets of predatory third parties.
There has been some progress in addressing these issues in Kenya but plenty remains to be done. The Kenya Copyright Board, a state corporation within the Office of the Attorney-General, celebrates five years happy to have made progress, but pleading for a lot more support to execute its onerous mandate of enforcing copyright and related rights.
ACHIEVEMENTS
In the last five years, Kecobo has conducted numerous enforcement activities and prosecuted copyright infringement cases. It has trained more than 600 police officers on copyright issues and investigation of copyright infringement.
It has also run awareness campaigns for rights holders and users of copyright protected works. The introduction of the anti-piracy security device (a hologram and bar code affixed to legitimate music and films sold in Kenya) has reduced levels of unauthorised commercial use of copyright, especially of local productions.
Kecobo has brought some order within the copyright industries, especially music. Before it intervened, the Music Copyright Society of Kenya used to collect Sh9 million annually. In the last three years, collections have increased to more than Sh260 million yearly.
The Board also helped set up the Kenya Association of Music Producers and the Performer’s Rights Society of Kenya. These ensure that other rights holders within the music industry, such as performers and producers, also benefit from the use of the music by third parties.
Kecobo has also licensed Kopiken — a collective management organisation representing the owners of rights within the book publishing industry. Through it, users such as libraries and research institutions can get licences to reproduce works to a certain extent within the limits of copyright law.
The Board currently has 40 staff members, five of whom are legal counsel, and 11 copyright inspectors attached from the National Police Service.
To celebrate these milestones and reflect on the many challenges still ahead, Kecobo will hold an open day at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre tomorrow. It will be an opportunity to create national awareness on copyright matters and related rights.
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