Information and Communications Permanent Secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo today officially opened the communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) workshop on Intellectual Property Rights for broadcasters. The workshop, which mainly hosted broadcasters featured presentaions from the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI), the Kenya Copyright Board and MultiChoice Kenya representatives. The workshop focussed on broadcast  copyright issues as well as awareness of copyright and Intellectual Property matters relating to the upcoming FIFA World Cup."With media convergence, content is quickly emerging as the next frontier for broadcasting business. With such proliferation of content, it is important that the industry acquaints itself with the knowledge on how to handle copyrights”, said Dr Ndemo. “The converged environment especially posed a threat to the security of copyrighted material.” 

The PS said that Section 461(g) of the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act 2009 requires licensed broadcasters to respect copyright and airing rights in respect of any broadcast work or material. However, infringement of copyrights and related rights is quite rampant in the country and Dr Ndemo attributed this to lack of awareness. He said that with the onset of the FIFA 2010 World Cup, malpractices related to copyright infringement were likely to increase as had been the case during past events of similar magnitudes, especially due to exclusive rights related to broadcast of the sporting event. However the need to harness the power of FIFA World Cup, Dr Ndemo said, it was important not to overstep other people’s rights in the process. In his closing remarks, Ndemo said that the government had identified digital content industry as a growth area with high commercial viability.

"Content which had previously been dedicated to specific networks now can be conveyed on different infrastructures and delivery platforms.  There was therefore need to simultaneously protect content while stimulating its development.”