For years, Uganda’s creative industry has been under siege — not from lack of talent, but from piracy. Songs, films and designs are routinely copied, shared and sold without permission, robbing creators of income and recognition.
Now, government agencies, industry leaders and artists themselves say they’ve had enough. They’re banding together to push for stronger protection of intellectual property — and to convince Ugandans that creativity has real economic value.
On the latest episode of The Ugandan Podcast — a series produced by the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance in partnership with MultiChoice Uganda — officials and industry figures spoke candidly about the urgent need to protect creative work.
Shirley Gladys Nakyejwe, an Intellectual Property Management Specialist at the Ministry, said the goal is to build a system that actually works for creators.
“Our mandate is to create an enabling environment for creators,” she said. “We are working with different agencies such as URSB and other government bodies to ensure that there is awareness, but also to facilitate innovators with registration and management processes.”
Uganda already has a national intellectual property policy, but Nakyejwe said the ministry has been simplifying and adapting it for people in the creative industries.
“We developed the IP guidelines because as a ministry our mandate is to ensure that the IP ecosystem thrives,” she explained. “We are working with regional innovation hubs and public universities across the country to educate creators and innovators about the various types of ownership in regards to intellectual property.”
For many artists, the weakest link is registration — a simple step that often determines whether they can legally claim their work.
“If you just put your work out there, it will be utilized by others for free,” Nakyejwe warned. “But if you have a registration certificate, then you can provide it as evidence that you are the owner and you have exclusive rights to who and how it can be utilized.”
The Ministry has rolled out an IP toolkit, available both online and in print, to make that process easier. It’s also organizing “intellectual property clinics” — community events where creators meet lawyers, regulators and educators to learn about copyright and related rights.
Even so, Nakyejwe admitted that awareness remains painfully low. “Many creators do not know the worth of what they are producing,” she said.
At the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), which oversees copyright and patents, officials are trying to change that.
“Intellectual Property are creations owned from the mind,” said Elizabeth Nabasirye from URSB’s Copyright and Neighboring Rights Department. “URSB is the government agency that is charged with the duty of registering Intellectual Property. We provide the framework for registration, advise government and institutions and regulate collective management organizations that enforce rights on behalf of creators.”
Earlier this year, URSB launched a dedicated copyright department after growing concerns from musicians and filmmakers who said their work was being stolen and resold without consent.
“Copyright has always been there though many creatives were unaware of it,” Nabasirye said. “Yes, you get automatic copyright when you create your work, but please go ahead and register it.”
She described the registration process as quick and affordable — costing 50,000 Ugandan shillings, or about $14. Creators submit their work to URSB, which publishes a notice in the Uganda Gazette for 60 days. If no objections are filed, a certificate of registration is issued.
From the entertainment industry, Swangz Avenue’s manager, Benon Mugumbya, offered a rare moment of introspection.
“I have to come clean and say that a lot of us stakeholders in the creative sector have facilitated piracy knowingly and unknowingly,” he said. “In the early days, we creatives were the enablers of piracy and violating copyright simply because the goals were different. But now as we progress and invest to build proper businesses in the entertainment industry, we need to fight these vices.”
Mugumbya also pointed to the high cost of internet data as a hidden barrier that limits digital content sales.
“It is a good thing now that a lot of our content is consumed online, but the cost of internet is high which limits consumption,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Uganda National Musicians Federation (UNMF) is focusing on awareness rather than enforcement.
“The best UNMF can do is sensitizing and mobilizing our people and telling them what they create can mean for them in the future and financially,” said Martin Muhumuza, the federation’s research and development director. “We are providing a platform where creatives can come together to share ideas.”
The discussions underscored that Uganda’s battle with piracy is not just legal — it’s cultural. Changing attitudes toward ownership, officials said, is just as important as enforcing the law.
Protecting intellectual property, they argued, isn’t about bureaucracy. It’s about respect — ensuring that when Ugandan creators make something original, they can own it, defend it, and earn from it.
If that happens, Uganda’s creative economy could finally start paying back its creators — not just in applause, but in livelihoods.
