"Uganda Performing Rights Society (UPRS), a
Collective Management Organization that oversees the administration of
copyrights for its members in Uganda, has cause to smile after a landmark
judgment that was recently passed in the Commercial Division of the High Court
in Uganda.
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| Wikipedia |
UPRS dragged mobile giant MTN to court for
refusal to pay performance royalties to UPRS after sponsoring a show by the UB40
in February 2008. By way of a flashback, in 1987 the UB40 artists had assigned
all their copyright for purposes of effective management to the Performing
Rights Society of United Kingdom (PRS-UK). In the Deed of Assignment, PRS-UK
was granted the management of all copyrights worldwide. In January 2006, PRS-UK
signed a contract of Reciprocal Representation with UPRS. It was by virtue of
this Reciprocal arrangement that UPRS demanded for performance royalties from
MTN prior to the UB40 show in February 2008 in Kampala, Uganda.
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| www.ub40.co.uk |
In its defense, MTN rejected any obligation to
obtain a license from UPRS. It argued that the individual members of UB40
reserved the exclusive rights to contract and deal with their copyrights
without prior authorization of anybody inclusive of PRS-UK and that the Deed of
Assignment did not strip them of this right. It further argued that there was
no copyright infringement in this case considering that MTN contracted directly
with the individual members of UB40 in organizing the concert which effectively
makes UPRS an agent of a disclosed principal.
The Court took into consideration evidence in
testimony from the Senior Corporate Counsel for PRS-UK, Ms. Karen Fishman. She
testified to the effect that in becoming members of PRS-UK, musicians
effectively assign/transfer their performing rights in their copyrights work
throughout the world to PRS-UK. The Collecting Society then has the obligation
of enforcing the copyrights on behalf of the members.
In scrutinizing the Deeds of Assignment, Court
concluded that the UB40 members had indeed assigned all their performing rights
for all parts of the world to PRS-UK making PRS-UK the owner of the assigned
rights with power to enforce them. Citing the preamble to the Agreement on
Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), the
Court further reasoned that the 2006 Copyright legislation in Uganda
(particularly sec. 58) was enacted so as to give effect to the guidelines in
the TRIPS agreement. As such, the reciprocal agreement between PRS-UK and UPRS
effectively conferred the power to enforce the former’s rights to another
collecting society in a foreign jurisdiction.
About the author: Anthony C.K. Kakooza is a Ugandan Expert in intellectual property and cyber law. He practices out of the law firm Sipi Law Associates and teaches intellectual property at the Ugandan Christian University (Mukono). He holds a law degree from Makerere University (Kampala, Uganda) and an LL.M in International Economic Law, majoring in IP, from Warwick University (Coventry, UK). He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Law (J.S.D) in IP and ICT law at the University of Illinois College of Law (USA)
1 comments:
Write commentsthank you for your publication as it is very insightful. However, i have a question on the same, particularly in as far as what the implaications are where an artist delivers his music to say a radio station so that it can promote and also play his or her music. is this radio station infringing on any copyright in the circumstances?
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