Copyright is the exclusive right, given to the creator of a work, to reproduce the work, usually for a limited time. It’s granted by law to authors of literary works; producers of audio-visual works and films; performers; architects; broadcasters and other creators of literary, musical, artistic, audio-visual, sound recordings and broadcasts. Copyright protects the original expression of an idea that has been reduced to a tangible form and this includes transcript copies and copies made in the digital environment, from being copied without authority.

Copyright does not protect the idea/concept but the expression of the idea. This is because one cannot have a monopoly over an idea. It also does not protect symbols, titles, short phrases or factual information that may be contained in a copyright work. The Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) is the institution tasked with the registration of copyright in Kenya.

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Works protected by copyright

Copyright applies to any medium. This means that you must not reproduce copyright protected work in another medium without permission. This includes, publishing photographs on the internet, making a sound recording of a book, a painting of a photograph and so on. Examples of works protected by copyright, include:

Literary works, including novels, instruction manuals, computer programs, song lyrics, newspaper articles and some types of database
Dramatic works, including dance or mime
Musical works

Artistic works, including paintings, engravings, photographs, sculptures, collages, architecture, technical drawings, diagrams, maps and logos
Layouts or typographical arrangements used to publish a work, for a book for instance
Recordings of a work, including sound and film

Broadcasts of a work
Ownership of copyright

Authorship and ownership of copyright

The first ownership of a copyright work vests in the person who creates it. However, copyright like any other moveable property can be transferred through sale, licenses and testamentary disposition. Under the Copyright Law;

In the case of a film, the principal director and the film producer are joint authors and first owners of the copyright (and the economic rights). Similar provisions to those referred to above, apply where the director is employed by someone
In the case of a sound recording the author and first owner of copyright is the record producer
In case of literary work, it’s the person who wrote the work. This also is true for software, which is treated as a literary work

In case of a photograph/video, the person who took it, i.e photographer or videographer, takes the ownership of its copyright
In the case of a broadcast, the broadcaster
In the case of a published edition, the publisher

In the case of musical works, the composer
In the case of cinematographic work, the producer
In the case of computer-generated work, the person who caused the work to be generated

In the case of two authors, the two shall be known as the joint authors of the work
In the case of works created for hire or works created under a contract of employment, unless otherwise stated in a contract, the employer or the person who commissioned the work shall be the owner of the work
Copyright in material produced by a Government department belongs to the Government

Rights under copyright (Benefits of copyrights)

a. Economic rights

These are the rights to:

Reproduce in any material form including digital and transient forms
Adapt or translate
Distribute to the public by way of sale, rent, lease, hire, loan, importation

Broadcast whole or part of the work
Communicate the work to the public
Perform the work in public

Any unauthorized exercise of these rights is infringement of copyright. The law provides for criminal sanction and civil remedies to the rights holder in the case of copyright infringement.

b. Related rights

These are rights that accrue from existing copyright protected works. They cannot exist on their own.

Rights of producers of sound recordings
Broadcaster’s rights
Performers’ rights

c. Moral rights

This entitles the author to claim authorship of the work and object to distortion, mutilation, modification or other derogatory action prejudicial to his/her honour or reputation. These rights are independent of the economic rights and are non-transferable at all. Moral rights are inalienable and the author will retain them even after the transfer of economic rights.

Lifespan of copyrights

The length of time a copyright work is protected will depend upon the category or type of work.

Literary, musical or artistic work other than photographs – Copyright lasts for the period of the life of the author plus fifty years
Audio-visual works and photographs – Fifty years from the end of the year in which the work was either made, first made available to the public, or first published, whichever date is the latest
Sound recordings – Fifty years after the end of the year in which the recording was made

Broadcasts – Fifty years after the end of the year in which the broadcast took place

Note: Once the term of protection of copyright expires, the work falls into the public domain.

Copyright infringement

Copyright owners generally have the right to authorize or prohibit any of the following things in relation to their works;

Copying the work in any way. For example, photocopying, reproducing a printed page by handwriting, typing or scanning into a computer, or making a copy of recorded music
Issuing copies of the work to the public
Renting or lending copies of the work to the public. However, some lending of copyright works falls within the Public Lending Right Scheme External Link, and this lending does not infringe copyright

Performing, showing or playing the work in public. Obvious examples are performing plays and music, playing sound recordings and showing films or videos in public. Letting a broadcast be seen or heard in public also involves performance of music and other copyright material contained in the broadcast
Broadcasting the work or other communication to the public by electronic transmission. This includes putting copyright material on the internet or using it in an on-demand service where members of the public choose the time that the work is sent to them
Making an adaptation of the work, such as by translating a literary or dramatic work, transcribing a musical work and converting a computer program into a different computer language or code

Copyright is infringed when any of the above acts are done without permission, whether directly or indirectly and whether the whole or a substantial part of a work is used, unless what is done falls within the scope of exceptions to copyright permitting certain minor uses.

Copyright enforcement

Copyright is essentially a private right so decisions about how to enforce your right, that is what to do when your copyright work is used without your permission, are generally for you to take.

To prove copyright infringement, there has to be substantial replication of the original copyright to be able to make a claim. That means you need to have proof that the idea was yours first

If your copyright is infringed follow it up legally, avoid ranting in public or social media, as it may lead to a defamation law suit, which waters down your copyright claim
Deliberate infringement of copyright on a commercial scale may be a criminal offence

Transfer of copyright

An author may licence or transfer his rights, wholly or in part, the same way physical property is dealt with. All assignments or licences must be in writing as required by the Copyright Act. These results in ownership being held by a person who is not the author. A person who creates a work during employment or commission may own the copyright if there is agreement to that effect.

Requirements for copyright registration

The Kenya Copyright Board registers copyright works of musical, audio visual, literary and artistic nature.

The work must be of original authorship
The work should also be in tangible format, including digital format

Two copies of the work should be submitted with the application form
The application forms should be duly filled and commissioned by a Commissioner for Oaths
The application form should be submitted with registration fee of Ksh 1000 per work. (The payment should be made at the Kenya Commercial Bank and the deposit slip remitted to KECOBO, or via Mpesa)

A certificate shall be issued where the application is successful

How to register for copyright

To register your work for copyright, follow these steps.

a. e-Copyright registration

Go to KECOBO online copyright registration portal
Login using your username and password. If you don’t have an account or otherwise have registered copyright works with KECOBO before, you will have to create an account from the login screen
Click on ‘Register Copyright’ link

Complete the online form, all the 9 steps, by filling in the appropriate details. You can refer to the side notes if you get stuck or use the detailed step-by-step manual available from the online registration portal
Attach your copyright works in step 8 of 9. In case you cannot attach your copyright works due to its nature e.g. large size, you will need to print out your CR1 Form available on step 9 of 9 after you submit your application, and deliver the said work together with the printed form to KECOBO offices
Pay the prescribed registration fee and include the correct payment reference on step 9 of 9 in case you paid via Mpesa

You will receive a provisional copyright registration certificate once your application is successful in your email. You can pick the hard copy certificate from KECOBO offices

b. Manual registration

Obtain the registration form from Kenya Copyright Board offices

Fill the required details. If you are registering a copyright as an authorized agent, on behalf of another person, then you will need to produce an authority letter authorizing you to act as an agent, and also your National ID
The registration form must be commissioned by a Commissioner for Oaths
You will also need to attach two copies of your work. The work must be in tangible form, including digital format

Pay the prescribed registration fee
You will have to present the Bank Deposit Slip or M-Pesa transaction message at the KECOBO reception, and be issue with a receipt of registration
Allow at least 5-7days for rigorous process of verification of the copyright works by KECOBO’s Legal Department