The Kenyan lobby group Partners Against Piracy (PAP) is opposing a planned repeal of internet service provider (ISP) provisions in Kenya’s Copyright Act before a parliamentary sitting on January 24.
President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the most recent copyright amendment bill into law in October 2019. Its provisions lay up the legal foundation and incentives for ISPs to strengthen their cooperation in supporting rights holders in their anti-piracy efforts both within and outside the country. For example, copyright holders can ask ISPs to remove flagged content and assist authorities to pursue content pirates, among other things. The law also specifies the role of Kenya’s High Court in dealing with copyright infringements.
The new amendment bill filed by Homa Bay County Gladys Wanga and currently in the public participation stage seeks to exclude sections 35B, 35C, and 35D of the Copyright Act. Wanga noted that the amendment bill was drafted after discussions with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, noting that “the bill’s object is to allow for a fair mechanism for dividing revenue from ringback tunes between artists or copyright holders and telecoms operators.”
The new bill seeks a 52 per cent increase in ringback tones for artists, compared to the current 30 per cent. Despite its opposition to the act’s omission of the clauses mentioned above, the multisectoral PAP coalition states it supports the increase in ringback tune revenue for copyright holders.
PAP convener and PHAT! Music & Entertainment founder Mike Strano told BMA Sources that “the group is only asking that the proposal to repeal the ISP-related clauses in the Copyright Amendment Act 2019 be removed from this bill.”
“The impact on the entire creative industry, not just music, would be an additional US$811 million annually if the current ISP-related provisions in the Copyright Amendment Act 2019 are enforced, including an estimated US$143.3 million in taxes to the government and US$126.2 million to local content creators. This revenue will not only assist the sector recover from the financial damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it will also spur job creation and encourage investment,” Strano added.
According to PAP, repealing sections 35B, 35C, and 35D of the act, rather than reducing crime, could allow fraudulent online activities to continue.
