This archive report was first published on 22 November 2019.
On November 8, 2019, MultiChoice Kenya, a Pay-TV service provider, filed a landmark lawsuit against Safaricom and Jamii Telecom, accusing them of copyright infringement.
According to the lawsuit, Safaricom and Jamii offer pirated streams from their SuperSport channels, which MultiChoice claims is a breach of their rights and causes irreparable economic loss.
“Section 35B of the Copyright Act obligates an Internet service provider to take down any infringing content within 48 hours of being served with a takedown notice,” MultiChoice stated in court papers.
On October 29, 2019, MultiChoice sent a takedown notice to Safaricom and Jamii Telecom, which they allegedly ignored.
The lawsuit comes at a time when Safaricom and local ISPs have been accused of challenging the constitutionality of sections 35B, 35C, and 35D of the Copyright Act 2019.
