KOPIKEN puts photocopying Bureaus on notice

In a notice by the “Chairman”, KOPIKEN, which is variously described as “the Reproduction Rights Organization of Kenya and the body mandated by the Kenya Copyright Board to collect royalties on behalf of relevant right holders within Kenya”, has put on notice commercial photocopying bureaus requiring such bureaus to obtain licences for “reproduction of copyright protected material”.

KOPIKEN is also targeting bureaus and shops offering associated services such as scanning, digitizing and “other forms of reproduction.”

The notice sternly warns, “any unauthorized copying will attract civil penalties and criminal sanctions” under section 38 of the Copyright Act.

Comments

The notice is too brief and couched in not a user-friendly language. As way of educating and informing not only the photocopying bureaus but also the common wananchi offering commercial photocopying services, KOPIKEN should have at least expounded the requirements of the law in a user-friendly language.

First, it is not clear how the phrase “within Kenya” ought to be interpreted. It is debatable whether it means that KOPIKEN “collects royalties within Kenya” or that KOPIKEN collects royalties on behalf of “rights holders within Kenya.” By all means the former is true and the question is whether that mandate is restricted to representing right holders who are in Kenya as the later meaning seems to suggest.

Secondly, the notice is not very clear whom exactly KOPIKEN is targeting to licence. In one paragraph, the notice says it is an offence under section 38 of the Copyright Act to carry out photocopying business without a KOPIKEN licence. Yet in another paragraph, the notice seems to specifically target “reproducers of copyright protected materials.” The question is whether anybody offering commercial photocopying services is required to be KOPIKEN licensed or whether the licence only applies to reproducers of copyright protected materials. Ideally, it is possible to operate a photocopying business without reproducing copyright protected materials.

Lastly, though the notice does not say so, presumably, the licence comes at a fee, and KOPIKEN perhaps ought to first visit the Universities, which as reported here were recently classified as the worst offenders in photocopying books.

Is Kenya becoming a “Barbary Coast” for book pirates?

While the world marks intellectual property day tomorrow, 26th April, authors and book publishers in Kenya may not be in the mood to celebrate. High on the heels of a report (reported here and here) that 80% of local and international brands are counterfeited in Kenya and that 97% of local music is pirated; a report in the Daily Nation (print edition) indicates that authors and publishers in Kenya have “little to write home about” due to rampant piracy of books.

It is reported that many authors have been forced to engage in extra jobs to make ends meet. According to the Kenya Publishers Association estimates, the industry loses about Ksh. 6 billion annually through piracy and copyright infringement, with universities being the worst offenders in photocopying books.

However it does seem that a ray of hope is on the horizon. While the German and French forces are watching the neighbouring Somali coast for the sea pirates, the Kenya Copyright Board has teamed up with the police force to crackdown on copyright offenders and the effort seems to be bearing fruit.

The team conducted a raid last month and arrested people found printing books illegally. Tellingly the books were The River Between by the renowned Kenyan author Prof Ngugi wa Thiongo and An Enemy Of The People by Henrik Ibsen, both being set books in the secondary school curriculum.

Comment

While the copyright Act is relatively modern having been enacted in 2001, enforcement has been a major problem and only time will tell whether the combined force of the Copyright Board and the police will this time round manage to put up a permanent river between the two arch enemies.

More on Coast of Barbary here