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). 

Creation of work under the direction or control of the Government or a prescribed international body, unless agreed otherwise, the copyright in respect of that work shall vest in the Government or international body.

A person shall not produce, reproduce, distribute, broadcast, make available to the public, sale or offer for sale, lease or rent out or make public performances or import for distribution sound recordings or audio visual recordings in Uganda except under a license issued by the owner of the neighbouring rights or a collecting society.

An application for registration of an assignment or transfer shall be in Form 4 specified in Schedule 2 to the Regulations. The application shall state—

• the name and registered address of the author and owner of the copyright or neighbouring rights;

• the name, trade or business and the description of the assignor or transferor of a copyright or neighbouring rights;

• particulars of the instrument, if any, under which the interest is claimed;

• the limitations in the assignment or transfer, and shall address issues on whether or not the assignment is limited to—

(i) some of the assignor's rights;

(ii) a part of the term of copyright; or

(iii) a specified country or geographical area.

The application for registration of a license shall be made in Form 6 specified in Schedule 2 and shall be accompanied by a fee prescribed in Schedule 3 to the Regulations. 

The application for registration of a licence shall—

• state the name, address and nationality of the licensee;

• indicate full particulars of the instrument, if any, under which the interest is claimed;

• be accompanied by a statutory declaration made by the owner of the work stating—

(i)        the particulars of the relationship between the owner and the licensee;

(ii)       whether the licence is a general licence or a specific one;

(iii)      whether a licence is granted for a limited period or not;

(iv) whether the licence is exclusive or non exclusive.

Scope and condition of non-exclusive license (Section 18):

The applicant has, at the time of making the application, sent a notice of the application to the International Copyright Information Centre at the UNESCO, or a national or regional copyright information centre officially designated to that organization by the government of the country where the author or publisher is believed to have his or her principal place of business. 

Where the applicant cannot locate the owner of the rights or the owner’s agent, the applicant has, by registered mail, sent copies of the application to the author or publisher whose name appears on the work and also to the national or regional copyright information centre or in the absence of such a centre, has sent a copy of the application to the International Copyright Information Centre of UNESCO.

Qualifications for registration (Section 58):

The Registrar may register as a collecting society any  society or body which has for its main object the promotion of  the economic and social interest of its members through defending their copyright  and neighbouring right interests and  whose function among others, presented as an international aspect, is to make reciprocal agreements with foreign societies or other bodies of authors or neighbouring rights owners for the issue of authorizations in respect of their members’ works and for the collection and distribution of copyright fees deriving from those works.

Reciprocal protection (Section 81):

A copyright or neighbouring rights owner who is not a citizen or resident of Uganda shall be protected under this Act if the work was first published in a country which is:

- a member of any of the organisations specified in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Act.

- a signatory to any of the international conventions specified in Part II of the Second Schedule to this Act.

These organizations are listed below:

SECOND SCHEDULE (Sections 3 and 81):

PART I—ORGANISATIONS 

- World Intellectual Property Organization  (WIPO) 

- Africa Region Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) 

- The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 

- The World Trade Organization.