Malawian copyright body warns public against piracy

COSOMA senior licensing officer Rosario Kamanga made the warning on Nyanthepa Community Radio Station. Kamanga told Malawi24 that it was against the law for anyone to reproduce copyrighted works without a licence. “For someone to carry out reproduction of copyrighted works, it requires them to have a licence that can enable them conduct the work legally,” he said.

His warning came in the wake of a rise in replicated works in the country. Kamanga said the society was raiding music shops to see if they were selling pirated products. “Those that do it without a licence infringe copyright laws and when caught their equipment is seized and they are persecuted,” he said.

Despite signing into law a new copyright bill in the country last year, Malawi recently witnessed an increase of makeshift outlets that reproduce and sell audio and video content at cheap prices without proper permits. This has negatively affected most musicians, prompting them to stop releasing new material in fear of piracy.

First drafted five years ago, the law was created to curb the unauthorised use of music, which has resulted in substantial revenue losses for the local music industry. The law covers literary, dramatic and musical works, as well as expressions of folklore developed and maintained in Malawi. It also touches on live performances, audiovisual work, broadcasts and typographical arrangements of works published in the country.

Meanwhile, newly introduced Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM) on 3 March introduced a smart music bundle following growing concern that artists were not profiting from downloads. The move was welcomed by most artists who said that it would benefit them.

Founded in 1992, COSOMA was instituted to protect and promote the interests of authors, performers, translators, broadcasters, publishers and producers of sound recordings.