Zambia signs ARIPO Kampala Protocol on Voluntary Registration of Copyright and Related Rights.
What is the Kampala Protocol?
The Kampala Protocol is a protocol that seeks help promote creators from African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) Member States and Africa’s creative industry by ensuring that they benefit from their creative works.
What are the objectives of the Kampala Protocol?
The objectives of the Kampala Protocol are to: establish, manage, facilitate and coordinate a system for voluntary registration and notification of copyright and related rights; uphold common principles regarding voluntary registration and notification of copyright and related rights;
provide copyright holders means of presumption to authorship and ownership of rights; and to ensure that creative industries contribute to the socio-economic development of countries. How can creatives in Zambia benefit from signing up to the Kampala Protocol?
According the ARIPO this will enable creatives and corporate businesses to approach financial institutions for loans, collaterals or engage in foreign direct investors or enter partnership or use different means to commercialize the property such as licensing, merchandising or selling.
We urge all creatives to take advantage and register their work with the Registrar of the Patents and Companies Registration Agency as this will enable respective authors to have registration certificates that can be prima facie evidence of owning that property (Copyright and Related Rights works, recordings and productions) in the event of a legal challenge.