Uganda’s Parliament has passed sweeping amendments to its copyright law, introducing stricter penalties for infringement, tighter rules on royalty collection and broader protection for creators.
- •The Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was approved on 17 March and now awaits presidential assent before becoming law.
- •The legislation gives the Justice ministry authority to regulate how royalties are collected and distributed and requires payments for the commercial use of sound recordings and audiovisual works, including use in advertising, broadcasting and public performances.
- •Under the amendments, performers and producers will be entitled to equitable remuneration whenever their work is used commercially.
“Once a creative produces work, they have a right to that work. But for one to benefit from the protections provided by the law, you must register a copyright. It will be difficult to tell someone that they are infringing your rights when they did not know they were your works,” said the country's Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka.
Under the new law, royalty payments must be processed through a national payment system framework, while the registrar of copyrights will monitor the use of recordings and report periodically to the government. Collecting societies will also receive expanded powers to collect and distribute royalties to members and rights holders.
Individuals found publishing, broadcasting or reproducing protected works without authorization could face prison terms of up to 10 years, fines of up to 2,500 currency points, or both. Separate penalties are introduced for selling or purchasing equipment intended for producing pirated content, with sentences of up to seven years in prison or substantial fines.
Authorities will no longer be able to order the blocking or removal of infringing content unless the rights holder can present a certificate of copyright registration. The measure is intended to strengthen legal protection for creators while reducing disputes over ownership.
Lawmakers also introduced new rules covering so-called orphan works; creative works whose authors cannot be identified or located. Under the bill, the government may license the use of such works only after an applicant demonstrates that the author cannot be found, and license holders will be required to pay an annual fee. If the author is later identified, the rights will revert to the original creator.
The legislation broadens the scope of protected works to include literary material such as novels, plays, and encyclopedias, as well as translations, adaptations and expressions of folklore. The changes are designed in part to align Uganda’s intellectual-property framework more closely with international copyright treaties including the Berne Convention.
The bill was passed after years of lobbying by creative-industry groups who have argued that weak enforcement and limited royalty collection systems have prevented artists from earning consistent income.
However, a parliamentary committee on legal and parliamentary affairs has warned that the amendments do not yet address the growing role of artificial intelligence in creative work, leaving potential legal questions unresolved as digital tools become more widely used in music, publishing and film.
In Kenya, regulators are moving in a similar direction, though at an earlier stage. The Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) has issued a formal invitation for public comments on a proposed new copyright bill intended to replace or significantly overhaul the current legal framework.
The consultation focuses heavily on the digital economy including stronger protection for online content, tighter enforcement against digital piracy and updated rules for royalty collection. Officials are also seeking input on how to regulate collective management organisations, which collect and distribute payments to musicians, authors and other rights holders.
After the consultation period closes, the regulator is expected to revise the draft legislation and forward it to the attorney-general before it is formally introduced in Parliament, potentially setting the stage for a broader overhaul of copyright law across East Africa.
