Photography by Conrad L.
“How can I copyright my work?”
If you are a blogger, software developer, coder, musician, record producer, music publisher, film producer, actor, live performer, dance group, flash mob troupe, painter, photographer, sketch artist, illustrator, animator, game developer, game publisher, tattoo-artist, fashion designer, literary publisher, poet, playwright…this information is for you!
Copyright of work exists automatically once work is fixated, but registration of copyright gives evidential weight to authorship of works.
The Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) registers copyright works under the following categories; Musical, Audio Visual, Literary and Artistic. Only ORIGINAL musical, literary, artistic, audio visual works, sound recordings and broadcasts shall be eligible for copyright protection. Original authorship in the Copyright sense means that the work must not have been copied from somebody else.
Procedure for Registration of Copyright Works
Step 1
To be accepted for registration, the work must be in tangible form including digital form for example VCD, CD, DVCD.
Let’s be clear, copyright protects the EXPRESSION of ideas and not ideas themselves! Even if you have the most wonderful idea which exists only in your mind, or if you verbally shared your brilliant idea with a bunch of other people without having tangible evidence of it, then you have no right to claim ownership over anything!
Your idea must be fixated either in writing, in a diagram, in an audio-recording, or in an audio-visual recording. The writing/diagram/ illustration can be done on something as simple as a serviette or piece of tissue while the audio recording can be in form of an old vinyl LP or cassette tape, it doesn’t really matter the media so long as you have physical proof of your idea or creation.
For bloggers, your works exist in cyberspace, but your blog page is evidence enough of the date when your work was created. All you need to do is print the blog articles as a compilation of your work.
For tattoo artists, you may compile an album of sketches or photographs of your tattoo designs.
For coders, you may print out the software coding of your work. I know most of you are wondering why your work falls under copyright and not under patent. Quite simple; coding uses computer language and computer language falls under literary works. Computer/ programming language, such as C++ or JAVA, is the combination of a set of numerals 1s and 0s to achieve a specific result or function. That unique combination to achieve a unique result is the original literary form which can be afforded copyright. If the coding is voluminous, you are allowed to register only the first and last pages of your coding.
For musicians, you may register your music as an audio recording and equally as an audio-visual recording if you made a music video for your track.
Step 2
Fill out an application form obtained from the Copyright Office or downloaded from the KECOBO Website. The following particulars shall also be required:- Applicant Details, Copyright Work Details, Authorship/Artist Details and Production/Publication Details.
You should also attach two copies of the works, where applicable, with the application form.
A duly completed application form, fully filled, must be witnessed by a commissioner for oaths and accompanied by the required fees. Witnessing simply means that you require the rubber-stamp and signature of a practicing Advocate who is a commissioner for oaths. It may cost you between 500 Kenya shillings and 1,500 Kenya shillings depending on which side of town the Advocate’s office is situated. The registration fee charged by KECOBO presently is Kenya shillings 1,000 only.
Registration Fee of Ksh. 1000 should be deposited in the Account of Kenya Copyright Board:
Bank Name: KENYA COMMERCIAL BANK
Account Name: KENYA COPYRIGHT BOARD
Account Number: 1104002450
Branch: Kipande House
If you want to register a work on behalf of somebody else as their authorized agent, you shall be required to produce an authority letter authorizing you to act as such agent and a copy of your National ID.
Step 3
On receipt of the application, the office may, after making such enquiry as it may deem fit, enter the particulars of the work in a Copyright Register.
The Copyright Office will then issue a certificate of registration within 7 days from the date of registration.
Presto! You are now a registered copyright owner!
Remember, Copyright lasts for the lifetime of the owner plus 50 years.
Kenya Copyright Board offices are located on 4th Floor, NHIF Building, Ragati Road
Postal Address: P.O. Box 34670-00100, Nairobi
Landline: +254 20 253 3859
Just to differentiate,copyright protects the expression of an idea but Patent protects an invention. Such an invention must be either a product or a process, and for it to be patentable it must meet three (3) requirements: first, it must be novel (new); second, it must have an inventive step; and lastly, it must be industrially applicable.
Patents take a longer period to register- on average 2 years but the rights of Patent commence from the filing date of application and lasts up to twenty (20) years.
To learn more about how Collecting Management Organisations (CMOs) function such as MCSK read this post – Do Kenyan Artists Make Money through Skiza?
Read this post to learn about how to get your music onto Skiza tunes.
Post by Sarah Ochwada- Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, Nairobi- Kenya
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