OSLO- CEOs of KOPIKEN-the Kenya Reproduction Rights Organisation, NAMRRO- the Namibian Reproduction Rights Organisation and NABOTU/URRO- the Uganda Reproduction Rights Organisation respectively benefitted from a study visit to CLA- the Copyright Licensing Agency (UK) and KOPINOR- the Reproduction Rights Organization of Norway.  The study visit was made possible with funding from WIPO- the World Intellectual Property Organisation. The study exposed the CEOs to the internal workings and systems of CLA and KOPINOR which have a track record of success in the field of collective management for over 25 years. The accumulated experience of the two RROs plus a vibrant creative and publishing sector perhaps explains why the 2 are amongst the world’s wealthiest collecting societies extending immense benefits to their rights holders.

By contrast the creative and publishing industries in Kenya, Namibia and Uganda are still small but promising. Authors and publishers are increasingly becoming aware of the benefits of enforcing their copyright especially in the area of wagging off piracy and illegal reproductions of their works. Rights holders in the 3 countries have accordingly formed or are in the process of forming RROs to facilitate legal reproductions of their works for education and other purposes. KOPIKEN was registered in 1994, has been licensing copy shops since 2007 and commenced university licensing in 2009. NAMRRO was registered in 2006 and is yet to commence licensing of users of copyright protected works. URRO was formed in 2009 and is awaiting an operational license from government for it to commence operations.  The study visit was a sure way of helping the above organizations at different levels of development to improve their understanding of copyright management.

At the CLA headquarters in London, the CEOs were welcomed by Kevin Fitzgerald, the Executive Director. He introduced the CEOs to the structure and governance of CLA that included 2 stakeholders i.e. ALCS- Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society and PLS- Publishers Licensing Society. During the course of the 2 days, the CEOs met with several members of staff of CLA, ALCS and PLS. Each group explained in detail how they went about their daily routines. Some of the outstanding findings from CLA include: that the CLA Board Chairperson is a non-right holder to ensure fairness when dealing with decisions on divisive issues; CLA licenses and collects fees which were passed on to ALCS and PLS for distribution to individual authors and publishers.

The distributions by ALCS and PLS were based on CLA comprehensive statistical survey reports giving an indication of titles of works photocopied or reproduced. The statistical surveys served another purpose, that of helping CLA to determine tariffs to be paid by different categories of users of copyright protected works. Tariff calculations took into account other factors such as number of professional employees and students and were fixed for a period of five years.  In terms of licensing, CLA licenses schools, local governments, public administration, colleges, universities and business enterprises. Companies and businesses still presented an ongoing challenge in terms of penetration. CLA ended the 2 days of hard work by hosting the CEOs to a reception at the Travelers’ Club in London.

Next the CEOs proceeded to Oslo to visit and study the operations of KOPINOR. At KOPINOR the group was welcomed by Yngve Slettholm the Executive Director who went through the structure and governance of KOPINOR. As the CEOs were to find out, KOPINOR is distinctly different from CLA in many ways. First in terms of the copyright legislation, the Norwegian law provided for an extended collective license which grants KOPINOR the leeway to collect royalties for rights holders who are non-members. The non-members retain the right to claim remuneration from KOPINOR out of the fees collected. The extended collective license also indemnifies users of copyright protected materials against prosecution by non-members. The concept of extended collective license is well grounded in the Scandinavia and several countries were reportedly studying the model for replication.

 KOPINOR’s mandates were drawn from a number of author/creators and publishers organizations that form its membership. It has a board and a distribution board with clear mandates. KOPINOR licenses education institutions, local governments, public administration, businesses and churches to reproduce copyright protected works. Royalty distributions are based on partial statistical surveys and actual distributions are made to member associations. The member associations use the funds to promote research and more creative activities. The CEOs were informed that KOPINOR had a development fund as well as IFRRO which supports the development of collective management organizations especially in Africa. Once again the 2 days of hard work ended in style as John-Willy Rudolph hosted the CEOs to dinner at his home.

At the end of the week, the CEOs left for their respective countries highly motivated to ensure change within their organizations.