Court orders Mombasa Bar Owners’ Association to pay KAMP – PRISK licence

Nairobi, 29th November, 2016. A Constitutional Petition filed in 2014 by the Mombasa County Bars, Hotels, Restaurants and Guest Houses Welfare at the High Court in Mombasa against the Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) and the Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK) was dismissed last week in favour of the two collecting Societies (KAMP & PRISK).

The welfare Association body had sought a declaration barring the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) from licensing KAMP & PRISK as collecting Societies representing Producers of Sound Recordings and Performers of Sound Recordings and Audio-Visual works. Further, a declaration that KAMP & PRISK did not have the requisite mandate to collect license fees from commercial users of music and were therefore operating illegally.

The Court in its finding declined to issue the Orders sought by the Petitioners instead affirming that KAMP & PRISK were legally operating and that the regulator, the Kenya Copyright Board, acted well within its mandate while licensing the two Collective Management Organizations (CMOs).The learned Judge further concluded that the regulator’s decision to license KAMP & PRISK was in order as the two (KAMP & PRISK) represent distinct classes of rightsholders in the music industry from those represented by the Music Copyright Society of Kenya(MCSK).

KAMP & PRISK are asking all business owners to comply by obtaining a licence and ensure performers and producers are fairly remunerated for exploitation of their works.