The Kenya copyright board has issued a statement in regards to the viral meme made by two comedians namely Arap Marindich and Tula.
In a lengthy statement, the Kenya Copyright board stated the Advisory on the use meme and how misuse can lead breaking the law.
The statement said,”This week a series of memes generated from videos made by two comic artists named Arap Marindich and Tula have been trending in various social media platforms offiering comic relief during election campaign period. These memes have been utilized by individuals and corporates therefore raising significant copyright concerns.”
The statement further explained what a meme is and its use, it said,” A meme is an image, video or tet used in social media for humorous or political banter and illustrative of a line of thought on a topic under discussion.
The board also explained the rights of a copyright holder saying, “The copyright holder has the executive right to copy, reproduce, make adaptation, publish and broadcast their work for a fixed period established under the copyright act.”
In addition to that, “a copyright owner can create a meme from his photograph or video in exercise of their rights under copyright. Such memes can be exploited for the benefit of the author through advertising and as non-Fungible Tokens( NFTs).
The statement further that is is intrigement of property if one genrates a meme without authority of the copyright.
“Therefore, a meme generated without the authority of the copyright owner is an infringement on their copyright particularly the exclusive rights to reproduce, copy, adapt and publish since original photograph or video undergoes some alteration and incorporation of a text.” The statement said.
The statement released by the executive director of Kenya copyright board, Edward Sigei also stated that ,” corporate bodes must consider conducting due diligenceon the status of photographs or videos before being tempted to join the fun.”