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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Who is Kopiken?
Kopiken is Kenya's Reproduction Rights Organization (RRO). A reproduction rights organization is a collecting society which licenses the reproduction of copyright-protected materials against payment of fees whenever it is impractical for rights holders (authors and publishers of publications) to license and collect fees individually.
- What is copyright?
Copyright, which simply means the right to copy, is a collective term for a bundle of economic and moral rights granted by law to creators of original 'works of the mind' in literature, drama, art and music.
- What is protected by copyright?
Literary, musical, artistic and audio-visual works, and sound recordings and broadcasts are eligible for copyright protection.
- What are the rights of the copyright holder?
Copyright is the means by which creators benefit from their intellectual property - the work they have created - and is essential to human creativity. Through copyright, creators receive financial reward for their efforts and recognition of the importance of their intellectual property to the development of society. Without protection and financial reward, there would be little incentive for creators to produce new works.
- Who is eligible to join Kopiken?
Kopiken membership is by association rather than by individuals. Therefore to become a member of Kopiken, one must be a member of an association that affiliates itself with Kopiken.
- Which works belong to the public domain?
Works whose terms of protection have expired, those whose authors have renounced their rights and foreign works which do not enjoy protection in Kenya are considered to be in the public domain.
- What is fair use?
Fair use includes dealing for the purposes of scientific research, private use, criticism or review, or the reporting of current events subject to acknowledgment of the source.
- What is copyright infringement?
Copying of all or part of a work without the permission of the copyright holder or without a license is an infringement of copyright unless there is a statutory exception to such use of the work. Infringement of copyright is similar to theft of tangible property.
- What if all I copy is from foreign authors/publishers?
As a member of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations, Kopiken has entered into bilateral agreements that have authorized her to collect fees internationally, hence covers foreign publications as well.
- Who needs a license?
If your institution carries out large scale photocopying of publications or you are an owner of a photocopying bureau, you need to take up a license from Kopiken as what you are doing is illegal.
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