INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION IN UGANDA : COPYRIGHTS

Uganda's legal framework safeguards intellectual property rights, providing a foundation for businesses to protect their innovations and creative works. To maximize protection, businesses should prioritize registering relevant intellectual property rights early in their operations, both domestically and in any target markets. This includes copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets.

The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) offers a streamlined process for registering intellectual property. While enforcement mechanisms exist through the court system, challenges remain. Uganda has signed but not yet ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) Patent Law Treaty. It's also not listed on the U.S. Trade Representative's Special 301 report or the notorious market report.

In a positive development, Uganda adopted the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization's (ARIPO) protocol on regional voluntary registration of copyrights and related rights in 2021. This aims to benefit African creators by facilitating cross-border protection.

Trademark: A trademark means a sign or mark or combination of signs or marks capable of being represented graphically and capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of another undertaking. A sign or mark includes any word, symbol, design, slogan, logo, sound, smell, colour, brand label, name, signature, letter, numeral or any combination of these capable of being represented graphically.

Patents: Patents are granted for inventions. An invention is a solution to a specific problem in the field of technology. It may relate to a product or a process. For an invention to qualify for patentability, it must meet the following three conditions; Novelty (new), Involve an inventive step (non obvious) and industrially applicable. Upon registration, the patent owner acquires the following rights such as exclusivity, enforcement of infringement, produce and sale.

Copyrights: Copyright is the exclusive right to do and to authorise others to do certain acts in relation to literary, dramatic and musical works, artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts, cable programmes and published editions of works. The right of protection to the work is only applicable where the work is original and is reduced in material form.

The author of copyright in a protected work enjoys exclusive rights known as economic rights. These exclusive rights include rights to: reproduction, distribution right, rent or lend the work, perform the work in public.

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are intended to convey general information only and not to provide legal advice or opinions.