Change Copyright Law, Urges Okurut

By Juliet Nankinga and Moses BwalatumTHE President’s Press Secretary, Mary Korooro Okurut, has called for a change in the copyright law to protect authors from plagiarism and piracy.Okurut, who is to launch six books next month, said this at the copyright conference under the theme, ‘encouraging creativity through copyright protection’ at Hotel Equatorial, Kampala.She said the 1964 copyright law was obsolete and incompetent because it does not sufficiently protect authors and other artists.“Uganda has had its copyright law since 1964 and since then, it has been a forgotten affair, remaining static, clearly incompetent and irrelevant to the dynamic, revolutionary and fast changing environs of the country,” she said.Okurut said pirating and photocopying peoples’ work undermines creativity and discourages authors. Okurut expressed disappointment on the increasing level of piracy through photocopying of textbooks and novels, making life miserable for the writers.“There is massive photocopying of literature books without giving anything to the author. Photocopying remains the biggest threat to authors of literature books,” she added. Other presenter were Uganda Performing Rights Society general secretary J. Wasula and Martin Okia of Fountain Publishers.EndsMESSED LAW: Okurut (left) addresses participants. Okia looks on