This archive report was first published on 2 September 2021.
On August 23, 2021, the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) revoked the licenses of three royalty collecting societies, sparking a heated debate over the distribution of royalties to Kenyan artists.
KECOBO accused the Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP), Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK), and Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) of distributing only Ksh41 million to artists, despite collecting Ksh114 million for the period ended July 2021.
According to KECOBO, the three collective management organizations (CMOs) were required to distribute 70 percent of the collected royalties, but instead distributed only 35.9 percent.
However, the High Court later intervened, issuing a stay order on August 24, 2021, pending the hearing of the case.
Justice Weldon Korir ordered: "Pending the hearing and determination of the applicant's cross-petition herein interim conservatory orders do issue staying and/or suspending the implementation of the petitioner's decision of revoking KAMP-PRISK-MCSK licenses contained in the letter dated 23rd August 2021 and public notice dated 24th August 2021."
With the stay order in place, the three CMOs have stated that they will continue executing their mandate as provided under the Copyright Act 2001.
"In light of this, users of copyrightable works are reminded to comply with Copyright Act 2001 Laws of Kenya by paying for the copyright and related rights licenses before or prior to using or exploiting any of these rights administered by the duly assigned collective management organizations," the CMOs stated.
