The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) has begun a series of consultations aimed at amending the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Law of 2006. The first of these consultations took place at the Bomah Hotel in Gulu on October 12, 2023, where members of the artistic and creative community in northern Uganda participated.
The primary objective of these consultations is to gather insights and perspectives from the arts and creative community. This input is intended to ensure that any proposed amendments to the law are in line with the interests and needs of those involved in the creative sector.
The meeting in Gulu saw a gathering of various stakeholders from the region, including regional artists, music producers, book authors, audio-visual creators, as well as film, movie, and music industry figures, and promoters. They were joined by other arts-related stakeholders from across northern Uganda.
During this meeting, Mercy K. Kainobwisho, the registrar general of URSB, emphasized the organization’s commitment to conducting similar consultative meetings across the entire country. The goal is to encompass all stakeholder interests when it comes to amending the copyright law.
In this endeavor, URSB will collaborate with various entities, including the justice ministry, the Uganda Law Reform Commission, Uganda Communications Commission, Collective Management Organizations representatives, Uganda Musicians’ Association, the National Cultural Forum, and Uganda National Musicians Federation. These collective efforts aim to organize comprehensive engagements and gather feedback from all relevant parties in the copyright law amendment process.
