The new chairman of the Kenya Copyright Board (Kecobo), Joshua Kutuny, has reinstated the operating licences of Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) that were cancelled by the High Court last week.
Judge Hedwig Imbosa Ong'udi found Kecobo executive director Edward Sigei guilty of issuing the licences to the three CMOs - Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK), Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) and Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) - without a board in place.
The judge accused Mr Sigei of circumventing the functions of the board, which is mandated by the Copyright Act to, among other things, issue operating licences to the CMOs.
The judge therefore issued a permanent injunction restraining the executive director from issuing renewal certificates to the CMOs until Kecobo lawfully constitutes a board.
On Wednesday, the former Cherangany MP, who was appointed by President William Ruto through a gazette notice dated October 27, 2023, reinstated the operating licences of the three CMOs, but on provisional terms.
“The board was informed of the recent High Court decision on Constitutional petition No E161 in which the court nullified the CMO licenses earlier issued by the management. To ensure the operationalisation of CMOs and smooth collecting and distributing of royalties the Board hereby under Section 46 3(A) of the Copyright Act issue provisional licenses to the three CMOs KAMP, PRISK and MCSK effectively today for a period of six months. Within that period of time, the CMOs are expected to comply with provisions of the MoU they signed with the government and comply with provisions of the CMO regulation 2020,” Mr Kutuny said in a statement.
Until Mr Kutuny's appointment, Kecobo had been operating without a board.
According to Section 6 of the Copyright Act, a duly constituted board of Kecobo will consist of a chairperson appointed by the President, the Principal Secretary in National Treasury or a designated representative, the Principal Secretary in charge of Culture and heritage or a designated representative, the Principal Secretary in charge of Information and Communication Technology or a designated representative, the Attorney General or a designated representative, three persons nominated by each of the associations recognised by the Government as representing stakeholders in the music, film and publishing industries, and the Executive Director.
