Copyright protection is vested in the work once it is in a concrete form without need for registration. This position is observed worldwide. The Kenya Copyright Board is however, required under the Copyright Act to maintain a data bank of authors and their works by registering copyright works

This registration is voluntary. Non registration does not deny authors any rights under the Copyright Act.

Importance of registration of Copyright works
  • Acts as a public record of authors/owners.
  • The certificate of registration acts as evidence of ownership of copyright in a court of law in case of a dispute.
  • The certificate of registration may in future be used as collateral in a bank or any other lending institution in case one wants to borrow funds.
  • It makes it easy to commercialize copyright i.e. in case of licensing or assignment.
  • It makes it easy for IP auditors to identify the different IP rights owned by a corporate

 

How do you Register your Copyright ?

 

  • Go to nrr.copyright.go.ke using your desktop computer, laptop or your smartphone;
  • Create an account and then upload your work. You can either create an individual account or a corporate account.
  • Receive a validation code
  • Enter the code and complete the account creation process
  • Log in and proceed with the registration.

 

Ownership of copyright

 

The first ownership of a copyright work vests in the person who creates it. However, copyright like any other moveable property can be transferred through sale, licenses and testamentary disposition. Under the Copyright Law;

  1. In the case of two authors, the two shall be known as the joint authors of the work.
  2. In the case of works created for hire or works created under a contract of employment, unless otherwise stated in a contract, the employer or the person who commissioned the work shall be the owner of the work.
  3. In the case of a film, the principal director and the film producer are joint authors and first owners of the copyright (and the economic rights). Similar provisions to those referred to above, apply where the director is employed by someone.
  4. In the case of a sound recording the author and first owner of copyright is the record producer, in the case of a broadcast, the broadcaster; and in the case of a published edition, the publisher.
  5. Copyright in material produced by a government department belongs to the Government.

 

How long copyright protection lasts

 

The length of time a copyright work is protected will depend on the category or type of work.

Literary, musical or artistic work other than photographs

Copyright in the above works lasts for the period of the life of the author plus fifty years.

Audio-visual works and photographs

Fifty years from the end of the year in which the work was either made, first made available to the public, or first published, whichever date is the latest.

Sound recordings

Fifty years after the end of the year in which the recording was made.

Broadcasts

Fifty years after the end of the year in which the broadcast took place.
NB: Once the term of protection of copyright expires, the work falls into the public domain.

You can register your copyright here