The Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) has laid strategies to overcome challenges in the Copyright sector.
In a statement on Wednesday, November 8, KECOBO Chairman Joshua Kutuny, said the Board will engage with relevant stakeholders to address the challenges experienced by the organization.
Further, Kutuny said KECOBO will launch robust capacity building programs to musicians, content creators, publishers, authors, Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) and other stakeholders.
According to the Chairman, this will ensure the individuals named can understand the importance of copyright protection laws and policies.
“They will acquire skills for creation of quality content, protection, and monetization of this content for improved livelihoods,” Kutuny stated.
“This will go a long way in establishing programs to support emerging and build the careers of artists, content creators, songwriters, and others,” said Kutuny.
Besides, he said the board resolved to strengthen mechanisms for both KECOBO and CMOs to ensure there is prudent utilization of resources and eradicate corruption and mismanagement to ensure good governance.
“The Board has resolved to work with relevant stakeholders to adopt new technologies to enhance the mechanisms for collection and distribution of royalties and monitoring use of music and other content, in a bid to encourage transparency and enhancement of revenue collection,” he said.
Additionally, Kutuny noted that KECOBO will leverage on building strong partnerships with global and local like-minded partners to achieve its mandate.
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Copyright Treaties & Licenses
Also, the board will ensure ratification of desired copyright treaties that will be beneficial to Kenyan creatives and to the economy.
In addition, Kutuny said the board and the ministry will speed up the process enactment of the Proposed Copyright Amendment Bill 2023 to ensure there is adequate legislative support for the industry.
KECOBO issued provisional licenses to the 3 CMOs, Kenya Association of Music Producers, Performers Rights Society of Kenya, and Music Copyright Society of Kenya effective today for a period of six (6) months.
“Within that period of time, the CMOs are expected to comply with provisions of the MOU they signed with the government and comply with provisions of the CMO Regulations 2020,” directed KECOBO.
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Kutuny Outlines Milestones
The chairman noted that one of the achievements of KECOBO is the launch of the National Rights Registry.
This is an online copyright registration system that enables rights holders to register and obtain certificates of registration virtually.
According to KECOBO, this has improved copyright registration from about 3,000 to above 50,000 currently.
“The implementation of the Blank Tape Levy from September 2023, which will revolutionize collection and distribution of royalties to artist in the creative industry is another milestone,” he noted.
Furthermore, the board takes pride for publication of Music Tariffs in June 2023, to guide and enhance collection of royalties for users of musical works.
Also, KECOBO celebrates the conduct of forensic audit on Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) and Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK).
