The Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2025, introduced in April 2025, seeks to modernize Uganda’s intellectual property framework by amending the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, 2006 (Cap. 222). This bill addresses gaps in the 2006 Act caused by technological advancements, global standards, and evolving industry practices. It domesticates several international treaties, enhances protections for digital content, introduces mechanisms for fair remuneration, and streamlines regulatory processes. This article analyzes the bill’s key provisions, compares it with the 2006 Act, argues how it improves the existing law, and offers recommendations for further enhancement. Key terms are defined throughout to aid understanding, drawing from the bill’s definitions where applicable.
OVERVIEW OF THE 2006 ACT
The Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act of 2006 is Uganda’s main law for protecting creative works like books, music, art, and videos. It replaced older rules and gives creators the right to control how their work is copied, sold, or shared. Creators also get credit for their work and can stop others from changing it without permission.
The law protects performers like singers or actors and producers like those who make recordings. It allows “fair use,” meaning people can use small parts of works for school, news, or personal study without asking. A government office called the Registrar handles registrations and records.
If someone breaks the law, you can sue them in the Commercial Court, or they might face fines or jail. Groups called collecting societies help collect money (royalties) from users and pay it to creators.
But the 2006 law has weaknesses. It doesn’t deal well with stealing works online, doesn’t make sure artists get fair ongoing pay, and doesn’t control collecting societies strongly enough. It also ignores important global agreements Uganda has joined. Only one court can handle cases, which limits access, and punishments are too small like a fine of up to UGX 2 million.
KEY TERMS DEFINED UNDER THE AMENDMENT BILL
To contextualize the analysis, here are definitions of core concepts from the bill and the broader copyright context:
Copyright refers to the exclusive legal right granted to creators of original works to control their use and distribution, including reproduction, adaptation, and public performance—in the 2006 Act, it focuses on economic and moral rights, while the bill expands this to include digital exploitation.
Neighbouring Rights are those related to copyright but protecting performers, producers of sound recordings, and broadcasters, with the bill strengthening these by ensuring remuneration for every commercial use.
An Accessible Format Copy is a copy of a work in an alternative manner or form that allows a beneficiary person such as someone who is blind, has a visual impairment or reading disability preventing normal access to printed works, or is physically unable to handle books—to access it as comfortably as a person without such impairment.
An Anonymous Work is one where the author’s identity is unknown. A Bundle of Rights means a collection of rights relating to a particular category of works, used in the bill to regulate collecting societies.
A Caller Ring Back Tone is subscription music, sound, or tone played by a telecommunication operator to the caller. A Copyright Owner is an author entitled to economic rights or a person who acquires them through assignment or transfer.
To Circumvent a Technological Protection Measure involves avoiding, bypassing, removing, deactivating, decrypting, or impairing a technological measure designed to protect copyrighted works.
Expressions of Folklore encompass tangible or intangible forms of traditional culture, including stories, songs, dances, and art productions. Orphan Works are those protected by copyright but whose author or owner cannot be identified or found.
A Service Provider is an entity providing communication services via computer systems or storing/processing data for users. Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) are digital locks or tools to prevent unauthorized access or copying of works.
These definitions align the bill with international treaties like the Marrakesh Treaty (for accessible formats) and World Intellectual Properties Organization (WIPO) treaties (for Technological Protection Measures).
KEY PROVISIONS OF THE 2025 BILL AND COMPARISON WITH THE 2006 ACT
The Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2025, comprises 31 clauses that amend, insert, and repeal sections of the 2006 Act while domesticating international treaties, marking a comprehensive overhaul to address modern challenges in intellectual property.
Beginning with foundational elements, the bill amends section 2 of the 2006 Act, which originally defined basic terms like “author,” “broadcast,” and “performance” but omitted spec