In Uganda, collecting societies are catered for under Part VII of the Copyright and neighbouring Act, 2006 and this mainly deals with their registration as well as conditions and cancellation of this registration, qualifications to perform the tasks bestowed upon collective societies among others.

A collecting society, also known as a copyright collecting agency or copyright collective is a body created by copyright law or private agreement which engages in collective rights management. Collecting societies have the authority to license copyrighted works and collect royalties as part of compulsory licensing or individual licences negotiated on behalf of its members. Collecting societies collect royalty payments from users of copyrighted works and distribute royalties to copyright owners.

Ref: Copyright and Neighbouring Act, 2006 (Laws of Uganda)

This Act applies to any work, including work, created or published before the commencement of this Act, which has not yet fallen into the public domain where the work is: 

• created by a citizen of Uganda or a person resident in Uganda

• first published in Uganda, irrespective of the nationality or residence of the author

• created by a person who is a national of or resident in a country referred to in section 81 (reciprocal protection)

• first published in a country referred to in section 81(reciprocal protection) 

Employed authors and works for Government or international bodies (Section 8). 

Copyright law in Uganda is currently governed by;

• The Copyright and Neighbouring Act, 2006 which repealed and replaced the Copyright Act, Cap 215 of 1964.  

• The Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Regulations, 2010.

Application of the Act (Section 3)

The Act applies to any work, including work created or published before the commencement of the Act, which has not yet fallen into the public domain where the work is created by a citizen of Uganda or a person resident in Uganda; first published in Uganda, irrespective of the nationality or residence of the author; created by a person who is a national of or resident in a country referred to in section 81 (reciprocal protection) or; first published in a country referred to in section 81 (reciprocal protection).

What is Copyright?
The Copyright Act 1964, Cap 81, Laws of Uganda, defines copyright to mean, "copyright under this Act". "Copyright is the exclusive right of printing or otherwise multiplying copies of interalia a published work; the right of preventing others from doing so.

The infringement of this right is called piracy": Osborn's Concise Law Dictionary, 6th Edition, by Sweet & Maxwell,1981. Copyright gives the owner of copyright power to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies, to distribute copies of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease or lending; to broadcast or perform the whole or a substantial part of the copyrighted work in public in the case of audio-visual works in it's original form or in any form recognisably derived from the original.