AN OVERVIEW OF COPYRIGHT LAWS , REGULATIONS AND REGISTRATION IN UGANDA

Abstract

The structure and regulating laws of copyright in Uganda demystified for the general public and the copyright owners or authors (creators) for an amicable relationship. In addition the penalty for infringement on copyright laws clearly addressed as well as the remedies that can be claimed. This is fundamental in protection of copyright as the infringer is aware of the consequences of their actions and the creator or author is also notified of their rights.

The intellectual property rights have not been clearly uncloaked for the general public until recent times when authors and the public are getting to know their rights and consequences of their actions respectively. This paper gives an overview of the copyright laws in Uganda.

The process of copyright registration in Uganda has been laid down for anyone who wishes at some point in time to copyright their work. Exceptions to the infringement vice i.e. ways to use copyrighted work in a manner accepted under law is discussed to aid those who may need such clarity. The duration of copyright protection in life, and even after death of the original creator. Requirements for copyright protection and where to register the copyright from have also been highlighted the paper.

Keywords : Copyright, Infringement, Requirements, Rights, Works.

Introduction

A copyright is a collection of rights (or protection granted) to someone who creates an original work of authorship such as a literary work, song, movie or software. These rights include the right to reproduce the work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies, and to perform and display the work publicly. Copyright law grants authors, artists and other creators protection for their literary and artistic creations, generally referred to as “works”. Artistic works are defined in section 1 of the Copyrights Act (cap 215). The creators have a right to choose how their works are availed to the public. (1)

According to Harlsbury`s laws of England 4th edition vol.9(2) page 10 paragraph 3, a copyright is defined as;

“A copyright is the exclusive right to do, and to authorize others to do…certain acts in relation to literary, dramatic and musical works, in relation to artistic works and in relation to sound recordings, films, broadcasts, cable programmes and published editions of works…”

In Uganda, the law on copyright is embodied in the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2006 The Act seeks to provide the protection of literary, scientific, and artistic intellectual works and their neighbouring rights, and to provide for other related matters. (2)

The main aim of copyright is to impel and reward creators, through the provision of rights to their created property, to create new works and to make those works available to the public for enjoyment. Also by granting these exclusive rights to creators, which allow them to protect their creative works against theft, they receive the benefit of economic rewards and the public receives the benefit of the creative works that might not otherwise be created or disseminated.

Whereas copyright law is intended to enrich the general population through access to creative works, it should be noted that it imposes no obligation upon creators to make their copyrighted works available.

It should also be noted that copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. (3)  Refer to case of British Northrop Ltd v Texteam Blackburn Ltd [1974] RPC 57 at 68

Background and development of copyright law.

The first advanced copyright law was in Great Britain. As a result of religious wars which spurred circulation of pamphlets, and was followed by banning of writings of heresy, sedition, and treason. This censorship birthed copyright. All printers and writers had to include their name on their creation as the law demanded. This was in order for the king to track the disobedient writers and not other-words give credit to writers. In 1566 a royal charter was established limiting number of publishers as key strategy to regulate writings. Since then, copyright law expanded and the TRIPs agreement was thus signed, a global treaty on intellectual property, in 1994, May 2000. (4)

Several laws and treaties have been signed for this purpose such as; WTO article XVI.4, Paris convention (5), Bernes convention (6), WIPO Copyright treaty (7), among others that Uganda also became obligated to acknowledge.

The copyright act started operation in Uganda on January 1953 based on the United Kingdom version of the act. However these laws left a lot to be desired such as infringement upon Ugandan foreign writers, who have been robbed highly contrary to article 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda which states;

“No person shall be compulsorily deprived of property or any interest in or right over property of any description…”

Hence depriving them of their property and works` rights because of poor law enforcement. (8) The first act to regulate copyright in Uganda was the Copyright act of 1964.

The current law regulating copyright laws is the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act (2006), the copyright act [1964], and the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Regulations (2010). It provides for protection of literary, scientific and artistic intellectual works and their neighbouring rights; also provides for other related matters.

Rights of the creators or authors

Sections 9 -10 of the act covers types of rights of creators i.e. economic and moral rights. Economic rights (section 9) include those to publish, produce or reproduce work, to commercially sell or rent original copies of the work.

Moral rights (section 10) on the other hand include; claim authorship of a work and to object distortion, mutilation or modification of the work. However it should be noted that moral rights are recognized independently of the author`s economic rights and they continue even in case of transfer of economic right. More to this, after the expiration of economic rights, the author ordinarily no longer has the right to object to reproduction, sale, or making of the derivative work (9).

Section 11 of the 2006 copyright and neighbouring rights act stipulates for co-author`s rights; 

  “Where work is created by more than one person and no particular part of the work is identified to have been made by each person, such that the work is indistinguishable, all the authors shall be co-owners of the economic rights and the moral rights relating to that work and the co-owners shall have equal rights in that work.”

Works that can be copyrighted

This is provided for in the Copyright Act (1964) section 3(1). Under the categories of works that can be copyrighted are numerous examples. The kind of works protected by copyright include, but not limited to; literary and artistic works such as; novels, poems, plays, newspapers, adverts, films, musical compositions, choreography, cinematography, paintings, lithographs, drawings, photographs, sculptures and architecture, maps, technical drawings and Computer software, programs and databases. (10) (11)

Requirements for a work to be copyrighted

A creative work is automatically protected by copyright after creation. Works are protected irrespective of their merit but must not infringe another person’s work. There are three basic requirements that a work must meet to be protected by copyright. The work must be:

• Original: To be original, a work must merely be independently created. In other words, it cannot be copied from another. There is no requirement that the work be novel (as in patent law), unique, imaginative or inventive. A work need only demonstrate a very small amount of creativity in order to meet the originality requirement. Very few creations fail to satisfy the minimum creativity requirement. This was mentioned in the case of C.A Systems Ltd v Kalamazoo Ltd [1974] E.A 21 where court held that protection under copyright law is only available if originality is proved.

• A Work of Authorship: To qualify as a work of authorship for the purposes of copyright protection, a work must be a product of creative expression that falls under a category of copyrightable subject matter. Copyrightable subject matter includes a wide range of works, including literary works, musical works, motion pictures and other audiovisual works, derivative works, compilations, and many others.

• Fixed: To meet the fixation requirement a work must be fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Protection attaches automatically to an eligible work the moment the work is fixed. A work is considered to be fixed so long as it is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration. (1)

How to file for registration of Copyright in Uganda

1. An application for registration is made to the Registrar of Copyright  and an application fee of UGX. 50,000  paid. A copy of the work for which protection  is sought must be attached e.g. Books, CD, DVD.

2. The application is then published in the Uganda Gazette for 60 days.

3. If no objection is made to the registration of the said right, a certificate  of registration will be issued to the applicant. No fee is charged for registration certificate (10)

How long does copyright protection last?

1.  For Natural persons, Copyright is protected for the lifetime of the author and 50 years after his death.

2.  For Corporations/ Companies, Copyrights is protected for 50 years after the date of the 1st publication.

3.  Anonymous work or works of unknown authors, 50 years after.

4.  Computer programs; 50 years after the program becomes available to the public. (10)

Copyright Infringement

Infringement is mentioned in section 13 of the 1964 Act with its remedies and also section 46 of 2006 CANR Act.

According to section 46 of the Act (12), copyright infringement applies to any use of copyrighted work without the permission of the author unless it falls into legal exception or is otherwise excused.

Copyright infringement is the use of a copyrighted work without the permission of the owner. It can occur both intentionally or unintentionally when one uses such copyrighted work without giving credit to the creator. We can categorize it into two; primary and secondary infringement.

Primary infringement refers to actual copying, while secondary infringement refers to unauthorized dealings e.g. selling, importing among others. In secondary infringement there is awareness of by the infringer while in primary infringement there isn’t.

When does Copyright infringement occur?

This is assented in section 46(1) of the 2006 Act

1. Copies of copyrighted work are made for sale/hire or rent without permission or authority.

2. The copyrighted work is imitated, duplicated or imported into Uganda for private use.

3. Infringing copies are distributed for the purpose of trade and personal gains

4. Public exhibition of infringing copies in a way prejudicial to honor of the owner.

Penalty for infringing a copyright

Under Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2006, a person who commits infringement of copyright commits an offence and is liable on conviction categorically depending on stature of infringement committed.

For reproduction, exhibition, broadcast to public, a fine not exceeding 100 currency points or imprisonment not exceeding four years or both.

And more is detailed in section 47, 50 of the Act.

Refer to case of Atal v Kiruta (13)

Forms of copyright infringement in Uganda

• Photocopying or reproduction of books - this is mostly done when students or people generally borrow books from libraries and make their own copies.

• Scanning books

• Plagiarism - using someone`s work without giving credit

• Peer to peer sharing of downloads

• Piracy - unauthorized reproduction of works

• Commercial printing which amounts to commercial piracy.

Exceptions to copyright infringement

There are ways to avoid copyright infringement laws and unauthorized use of someone else's material, some include:

• Fair use. Copyrighted works, like images and text, may be used on a limited basis if the use satisfies the following factors: purpose, nature of work, amount used, and market effect. Fair use is primarily reserved for works of criticism, quotations, speech, judicial proceedings, comment, reporting, research, and education. For example, you write an article criticizing an article by Mary Nakaye. In your article, you place a paragraph of his text so that you can put context to your criticism. This would likely be considered fair use because it is for purposes of criticism, the work is not for profit, it is fact-based, and you used only a small amount of Mary Nakaye's words. Refer to case of Angella Katatumba v The anti-corruption coalition (14).

• Public domain. Copyrights only last for the life of an author, plus 50 years. Once that term is over, the work is placed in the public domain and may be used in any way. Additionally, authors may affirmatively place their work in the public domain so that others may use the work for their own purposes.

• Creative Commons. Through the creative commons license, authors communicate which rights they are reserving for themselves and indicate what rights you have to use the work. Attribution is always required.

• Direct licensing. The best way to avoid infringement is to seek a license to use any protected music, text, art, or image before you use it. When in doubt about using someone else's intellectual property, drop them a note and have a conversation about it before you move forward (15).

Conclusion

The scope of copyright law and enforcement in Uganda is not that alarming but needs to be extensively administered in order to cut out the vice. This will create a friendly environment for creators and also improve the spirit of creation or innovation, thus benefiting both the audience and the creators. Also the copyright owners should be made aware of their rights so as to know the limits of using their work unauthorized. This was reflected in the case of Angella Katatumba v The Anti - Corruption Coalition Of Uganda, where court awarded damages to the plaintiff in protection of her statutory rights of ownership. More cases have been decided since then, such as; Uganda Performing Rights Society v MTN Uganda Ltd, Al Hajj Nasser Ntege Ssebagala v MTN Uganda Ltd & SMS media Ltd, Sylivia Nabiteeko Katende v Bank of Uganda.

This is essential for public to know their limits in use of copyrighted works and the penalties they may incur. It creates a modicum of peace and respect amongst the viewers and the authors.

Bibliography

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5. WIPO. Paris convention . Paris convention for the protection of industrial property . Paris : s.n., 1883.

6. —. Bernes convention. Bernes convention for the protection of literary and artisitic works. Bernes : s.n., 1886.

7. —. WCT. WIPO Copyright treaty . 1996.

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14. ulii. ulii.org. [Online] 2014. http://ulii.org/ug/judgment/commercial-court-uganda/2014/107.

15. River Braun, J.D. legal zoom. legal zoom. [Online] july 23, 2021. https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/forms-of-copyright-infringement.