Book piracy which is the unauthorized reproduction and sale of books is a very rampart practice in Uganda. This problem has led to some publishing houses quitting the Uganda book market and authors going without royalty payments for years.
In 2014 the Uganda Publishers Association (UPA) and URRO set up an anti-piracy programme whose goal is to rid the book market of book piracy. Accordingly URRO Copyright Inspectors working with the Police have conducted raids on bookshops, printers, warehouses, homes, schools and similar places where piracy takes place. Some of the culprits have been arraigned before courts of law.
There is positive feedback from the market including increased sales for legitimate copies of titles that were in the past the most pirated. In addition, bookshops that initially had big collections of pirated books were cooperating with URRO to ensure their transition to legitimate business.
The market also responded by requesting URRO to provide a means for buyers to authenticate genuine books from pirate copies. Accordingly, the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) which is the government agency responsible for Copyright, notified the public of the introduction of a URRO hologram – a sticker with unique security features embedded, to be used on all books in the Uganda market. The hologram was officially launched by Hon. Gen Kahinda Otafiire the Minister of Justice at celebrations to mark World Intellectual Property Day on 26th April 2016.
URRO is the organization responsible for issuing holograms to publishers and book distributors at a cost. The price of the hologram includes manufacturing and shipment cost, with a mark-up to fund public awareness, market surveillance by copyright inspectors and in some cases litigation.
Both publishers and book distributors are required to attach authorizations to distribute such works in Uganda to their applications for holograms. It is publishers and book distributors that are responsible for buying the hologram from URRO. Self published authors too can buy holograms from URRO but have to attach the necessary documents that help to verify their ownership of the work.
URRO hologram offers much needed protection for works against book piracy. In addition to the security features embedded in the design, Copyright inspectors working with the Intellectual Property Police ensure that only genuine works are traded in the book market.
By applying for a hologram you help to defeat piracy of books in Uganda and turn the Uganda book market into an attractive destination for publishing capital.
To apply for holograms.
Contact Mr. Charles Batambuze:
Call: +256 782 897716, +256 704 885
Email: cbatambuze@gmail.com