Mao touts copyright tracking app, reasons for the push

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Four months after the Copyright (Amendment) Bill left the committee stage, creatives have been drumming their fingers, awaiting its second reading, which finally came on Thursday, March 12, 2026.

It is worth noting that the bill moved by Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao was read for the first time on May 13, 2025. In accordance with Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure, it was transmitted to the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee, chaired by Bukhooli North lawmaker Stephen Bakka Mugabi (NRM), for scrutiny.

Legislative process

For context, the first reading is when a member introduces a Bill, which is then referred to the relevant committee for scrutiny.

After engaging with stakeholders, the committee returns it to the House for the second reading, where MPs debate its principles and decide whether to reject it or allow it to proceed. If it passes this stage, the Bill is read for a third time and subsequently passed.

Copyright tracking gadget

While debate on the law was adjourned to next week on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, the real story lies in the promises Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao made on the floor. Including one of a state-of-the-art copyright tracking system that will see to it that musicians, authors and their ilk benefit from their sweat.

“Our engineers have already created an app which will ensure that every bar, discotheque, radio station, and television station can track each time any work of art, particularly music and films are played,” Mao hinted.

Adding that the bill also provides for organisations, which shall collect this data and ensure that musicians receive a portion of royalties they are entitled to.

“This equipment was demonstrated to us at the Ministry of Justice and I believe at the earliest opportunity it can also be demonstrated to members of parliament. It has been demonstrated to the musicians themselves and they are satisfied,” he explained .

“The musicians have been turned into beggars; we saw what happened during Covid. Because they don’t get rewarded. Now, it is the policy of the Government to ensure that these creative people are rewarded,” he added.

Questions abound

This is not the first time a mysterious software has found itself in the fray. The last time, about a year ago, when Edrissa Musuuza aka Eddy Kenzo, mentioned it, the subject created a huge storm on X (formerly Twitter).

With many users, including one using an X (formerly, Twitter) handle @pyeparfaisal, questioning who would foot implementation costs. He further predicted that if such system sees the light of the day, bars, which are the biggest consumers of locally produced music, might either pass on the costs to clients or avoid playing local music altogether.

However, Kenzo who is the President of the Uganda National Musicians Federation (UNMF), was not having any of this. In response, he said they could leverage on Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) and other agencies’ expertise to have the job done.

“@UCC_Official is already Monitoring the communications of the country so it is cheaper and effective to just expand the ability of UCC to Monitor the music users. Also, to give you some information, Hardware monitoring devices are not similar to sound exchange,” Kenzo responded on March 4, 2025.

“Sound exchange Monitors content used digitally not in bars, restaurants, clubs, hotel etc. The devices that will be installed in these locations are to help send data to the system to help UPRS (Uganda Performing Rights Society) know whose musical works played the most times; hence fair distribution of royalties,” he further argued.

Intriguingly, the copyright tracking app is not mentioned anywhere in the committee report presented by Bakka. It will be interesting to see how it works and what it does when the House reconvenes on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.