KAMPALA – Uganda’s Attorney General (AG) Kiryowa Kiwanuka has urged Copyright and Related Rights Experts from the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) Member States to advocate for the voluntary registration of copyright works, arguing that the move will help in gauging a country’s innovation and creativity activities.
“Most importantly for the author, voluntary registration serves as authentic evidence of copyright protection which can be used not only in courts of law, but in contractual agreements such as licensing agreements. These, and many other benefits, prove that voluntary registration, even though not mandatory, is necessary in enforcing copyright protection. It is something we desire for our citizens to enable them to confidently maximize the full benefits that are attached to their intellectual property rights,” he said.
The Attorney General had on Friday officiated at the ARIPO Diplomatic Conference for the adoption of a draft protocol on voluntary registration and notification of copyright and related rights that is taking place at the Speke Resort Munyonyo.
The 7-day conference will see Copyright Experts and the ARIPO potential Member States and cooperating partners review the draft Protocol that took into account the inputs of the Member States and cooperating partners.
The ARIPO 20 Member States are Botswana, The Kingdom of Eswatini, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, The Kingdom of Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Mr Kiwanuka said that in order to benefit Internet Protocol stakeholders, Uganda in 2020 launched the National Intellectual Property Policy in September 2020.
In addition to this, he revealed that Uganda implemented the National Development Plan III (NDP III) as a channel to increase household income and improve the quality of life of Ugandans.
“As most of us know, Copyright is a right granted to authors and owners of literary, musical and artistic works, among others such as software. The protection granted under copyright is for the lifetime of the author and 50years after their death.”
“The nature of copyright protection is not dependent on registration, but rather is automatic upon publishing of the work. As such, registration of copyright works is a rare practice amongst authors and owners of the same not only due to the lack of knowledge in this area, but the laxity from authors to register already protected work,” added the AG.
Welcoming the delegates to the experts meeting, URSB Registrar General, Ms. Mercy Kainobwisho said that copyright law seeks to protect the rights of authors and owners in their literary, artistic, musical or dramatic works, among others.
She says such works have to be a product of one’s labor, skill and effort to be considered as original and therefore capable of copyright protection.
“Considering the gist of this conference, it should be noted that copyright protection is not dependent upon registration. Protection is automatic once the work is reduced into material form. Registration, therefore, does not confer protection upon one’s work, but rather enforces it. In this regard, I envision a landowner with a beautiful bungalow on it, but without a fence around it,” she said.
“The bungalow in this scenario depicts the works capable of copyright protection by an author or owner. Leaving this beautiful bungalow without a fence or security means exposing it to all sorts of attacks from predators,” she added.
The Registrar General said that the same applies to copyrightable works, which, when left without protection, are exposed to predators that threaten the rights of the author or owner.
“The wall fence around the house means that the owner is proactive and vigilant about his/her security and that of his property. In the same way, registration of copyright signifies that the author or owner is proactive and vigilant about protecting his/her rights. It is for this reason that voluntary registration of copyrightable works is encouraged as it acts as the wall fence around the copyrightable works.”
Ms. Kainobwisho says copyright protection is not subject to formalities such as registration.
“However, at URSB, we have been encouraging voluntary registration of copyrights and the law dictates regulations to be followed when doing the same. The purpose for this registration is to give the author or owner of such works security over the same, especially when it comes to proving evidence of authorship or ownership. Such benefits of registration are extremely vital especially vital in the digital environment we are all part of, which is characterized by the rebroadcasting of copyrightable works. A national registry of copyrighted works is also beneficial for any country especially in determining the level of creativity of its citizens and determining any interventions that may need to be made regarding the protection of such works,” she said.
She noted that at URSB, the voluntary registration of copyrightable works costs an applicant UGX 50,000 (about USD 13).
On the first day of the conference, the participants have also benefited from presentations on the experience and successes of the voluntary registration system in Hungary and Spain.
These presentations were made by Dr Peter Labody, Director of the Copyright Department at the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office and Ms Raquel Xalabarder, Professor of Intellectual Property at the University of Catalunya, respectively.
The reviewed and improved draft Protocol will be presented to the 11th Extraordinary Session of the Administrative Council for endorsement from 23rd to 26th August 2021. Afterward, the final draft Protocol will be presented to the Council of Ministers during the Diplomatic Conference on 27th and 28th for adoption.
The Protocol will establish a Regional Voluntary Registration of Copyright and Related Rights and create and maintain a Regional Database for Copyright and Related Rights. The system will integrate with that of the respective Member States. It will also play a significant role in capacity building for the Member States, enhancing the National Copyright Offices’ institutional infrastructures, facilitating, and encouraging shaping of the Member States’ Copyright and Related Rights landscape while observing the international standards. It will provide an effective presumption as to authorship and/ or ownership; it can facilitate commercialization, more creativity, expansion of markets, and the enforcement of rights.
The Experts Meeting is supported by the Intellectual Property Rights & Innovation in Africa project (AfrIPI) whose objective is to facilitate economic growth in Africa.
The AfrIPI project aims to promote, enhance and protect Intellectual Property Rights across Africa, in support of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which entered into force in May 2019 and unleashed the potential of integrating the economies of the 54 countries that signed the Agreement and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
AfrIPI will also strengthen intellectual property protection in Africa and raise awareness of the importance and value of intellectual property (such as geographical indications, patents or trademarks) among African micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), the productive sector and society. The project is funded by the European Union and will be accomplished by 2025.
Background
The 40th Session of the Administrative Council that took place in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 5th to 7th December 2016, identified the need to adopt a Protocol on voluntary registration of Copyright and Related Rights under the ARIPO framework and hence approved a roadmap for the establishment of voluntary copyright registration and notification system at ARIPO.
The roadmap required ARIPO to undertake a Feasibility Study and develop a Policy Framework for the registration and notification system in the Member States. The Feasibility Study and Policy Framework were adopted by the 41st Session of the Administrative Council held in Lilongwe, Malawi, from 20th to 22nd November 2017. During this session, the Council also adopted the recommendation to develop a Legal Framework to implement the voluntary registration of Copyright and Related Rights and approved the roadmap.
At the 17th Session of the Council of Ministers that took place in Charlesville, Margibi County, Republic of Liberia, from 21st to 22nd November 2019, the Council gave approval for the Legal Framework on the establishment of regional voluntary copyright registration and notification system to be formulated into a Draft Protocol for adoption at a Diplomatic Conference that was to be held in Kampala, Uganda in July 2020. However, the Conference was re-scheduled due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
Further to the decision of the Council of Ministers, the ARIPO Secretariat reformulated the Legal Framework into a Draft Protocol taking into account the inputs of the Member States and cooperating Partners.
The ARIPO 20 Member States are Botswana, The Kingdom of Eswatini, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, The Kingdom of Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
