Critical Examination of the Effectiveness of the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act 2006 In Protecting Interests of Musical Works in Uganda

ABSTRACT

copyright is the right granted to an individual to such as music. What is protected is the creativity in the choice and arrangement of musical notes. 'therefore, this research is focused on discussing the copyright law in Uganda and its emerging ~gal issue, with in the music industry as a case study and applicability and relevance of the copyright law to Ugandan Artists. This thesis exan1ines the provisions of the copyright and neighboring Rights Act, 2006 that protect music copy right. despite government's efforts in enacting and facilitating the copyright and Neighboring Rights act, 2006, it relevance and enforcement has remained loss due to negative public altitudes and problems in the music industry to propose strategies and ways forward to improve its usage and applicability in its role to protect the artists in Uganda. According to what is going on in the music industry in Uganda, it is evident that there is no adequate awareness by the general public about the copyright laws even within the music 1dustry which is why many musician’s intellectual property rights have seen infringed upon by fellow miists because they me also not aware about the copyright laws. The study therefore recommends that copy right laws alone cannot put an end music 1fringement therefore enforcement bodies and institutions such as the Uganda police, and all stake holders should join the struggle and fight against the music infringement Government agencies should also assign particular officers to deal with copyright issues and cases. The government should also task parliament to devise appropriate measures to improve on the copyright law enforcement and implementation methods in order to enhance its usage effectively. There should be sensitization of the public strengthening the musicians to work together with state holders to ensure that they obtain some payment from the people that ~produce their music.