Boy hasn’t January gotten off to quite the start!
In just 75 days of January we’ve seen: Chris Brown sue Warner Bros for $500M for alleged defamation over a new docuseries that he feels portrays him as a serial rapist; Kelly Rowland stop Nelly from performing their hit song ‘Dilemma’ at Trump’s inauguration and Tanzania’s Music Board attempt to regulate the release of new music in Tanzania by Tanzanian artists.
Closer home, the President, joined by his Cabinet Secretaries, resolved to:
- Dissolve certain state corporations e.g. KFCB;
- Revert the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund to its related Ministry; and,
- Merge a host of government agencies for purposes of overlapping functions, among them being the Anti-Counterfeit Authority, Kenya Industrial Property Institute and Kenya Copyright Board.
What might these changes mean for us artists?
KECOBO, KIPI & ACA Merger
KECOBO, KIPI & ACA Merger
For years, KECOBO handled copyright, KIPI managed trademarks and patents, and the Anti-Counterfeit Authority focused on fighting counterfeit goods. With the merger of these bodies into a central Intellectual Property body, we can also hope that the desired outcomes are:
- A one-stop shop for intellectual property protection where creatives shall now be able to register their trademarks, copyrights, and patents in one place.
- Faster processing and better coordination of applications for copyrights, trademarks, and patents.
- Stronger enforcement against infringement where combining efforts with the anti-counterfeit authority may lead to better protection against piracy and counterfeiting.
On the flipside, such a move isn’t without its own concerns and possible downsides which may include added bureaucracy where delays may be the order of the day if processes aren’t streamlined efficiently as well as the unclear implementation on how the new agency will work, which will cause confusion.
It is worth noting however, that our southern neighbours in South Africa also have a unified IP system and maybe instead of re-inventing our own wheel, perhaps we can borrow what works from their current system as we look towards forming our own unified agency? Let’s think about it for a second. One, IP searches in South Africa are FREE. Perhaps we could introduce something similar to make it easier for creatives to check if their works are viable for protection and lessening the financial burden? Secondly, their office is fully digitized, allowing for a much easier and efficient way of registering IP. Wouldn’t it be the milestone of the decade if one didn’t have to travel to Nairobi to successfully file a patent or trademark?
What about the dissolution of the Kenya Film Classification Board?
Dissolution of KFCB
KFCB has long been the regulatory body responsible for classifying and approving films in Kenya. While the details of its dissolution are still unfolding, we could possibly, optimistically, hope that with this dissolution there shall be less bureaucracy in getting film approvals, lower licensing requirements and costs, more creative freedom and a stronger regenerated focus on building capacity within the film industry rather than policing it.
These are all cautionary desires. So, as we wait on directives on which agencies shall take over this function, we shall remain in a state of uncertainty, inadvertently causing delays for filmmakers hoping to shoot films post-dissolution.
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While these changes bring both opportunities and risks, if handled well, they could mark a new era for Kenya’s creative industry. The key is ensuring that the government implements these reforms in a way that empowers creatives and gives room for true, unbridled, growth of the industry.
