PRESS STATEMENT ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE COPYRIGHT ACT

Our attention has been drawn to an insidious and outrageous maneuver by the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) which has sneaked some amendments with far reaching implications on copyright administration into the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendment) Bill, 2022.

It shall be recalled that only two months ago, the President signed into law the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which raised the Skiza Tunes revenue share from 16% to 52% in favour of musicians. It’s therefore totally unacceptable, for the Kenya Copyright Board to propose further amendments to the Copyright Act within two months and under the guise of Miscellaneous Amendments, while in essence, the proposed amendments would fundamentally undermine the administration of copyright in Kenya.

MCSK together with other registered Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) namely the Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) and Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK), have examined the Copyright provisions of the said Bill and found them untenable and will therefore reject the said amendments as they are in breach of the constitution and international conventions to which Kenya is a signatory.

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