The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, has urged the Attorney General, Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka, to present the Bill amending the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, 2006. Tayebwa expressed frustration with the delays on the government’s part.
Tayebwa mentioned that the Bill was initially proposed and drafted by a private Member, Hon. Hillary Kiyaga (NUP, Mawokota County North), who agreed with the government to merge his amendments with those of the government into one. However, the government has not followed through, causing delays for Kiyaga, whose Bill is ready for the first reading.
While chairing the plenary sitting on Wednesday, 03 April 2024, Tayebwa emphasized the importance of the Bill and urged the Attorney General to push the Prime Minister to prioritize it.
The urgency for the government to table the Bill was also expressed by the Minister of State for Energy and Mineral Development (Minerals), Hon. Phiona Nyamutoro. Nyamutoro highlighted the frustration of Ugandans who are seeking to benefit from their creative work and emphasized the need for amendments.
The Committee of Information, Communication Technology, and National Guidance presented a report on the petition by the Uganda National Musicians Federation regarding amendments to the Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights Act, 2006. The report supported the need to revise charges for caller ring-back tunes (CRBTs) to ensure a fairer distribution of revenue for artists.
The committee found that there were no standard formulas for determining the sharing of revenue from caller ring-back tunes, leading to unfair treatment of artists. Additionally, artists faced challenges in receiving payments due to dealing with middlemen known as aggregators who prefer to work directly with telecom companies and take a larger portion of the revenue.
The committee also addressed the quest for broadcasters to dedicate 90 percent of airtime to Ugandan music, deeming it unreasonable and impractical. Legislators rejected the plea to levy tax on devices used in the reproduction of copyright-protected works and proposed imposing the levy on software capable of transferring, copying, and storing copyrighted content.
The committee recommended the expedited reintroduction of the Local Content Bill for enactment into law, believing it would address the petitioners’ concerns related to local content.
The Attorney General assured the House that the government is actively working on the Copyrights and Neighboring Rights Amendment Bill and pledged to provide updates on the progress.
