[2019] KEHC 5004 (KLR)

[2019] KEHC 5004 (KLR)

The court held that while the Copyright Act establishes a Competent Authority to resolve certain disputes, its jurisdiction is expressly limited to disputes involving the Kenya Copyright Board and collecting societies, or to licensing issues as set out in section 48(2) of the Act. The applicants' grievance concerned...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2019] KEHC 5004 (KLR)
Parties
Applicant: Kenya National Chamber of Commerce & Industry-Machakos Branch; Applicant: Machakos Bar & Hotel Owners Welfare; Respondent: Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK); Respondent: Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP); Respondent: Performer’s Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK)
Court
High Court
Court Station
High Court at Machakos
Jurisdiction
Kenya
Case Number
Judicial Review Application 282 of 2019
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review Application / Ruling on Preliminary Objection
Outcome
preliminary objection dismissed
Judges
GV Odunga
Legal Topics
Judicial Review, Copyright Licensing, Collective Management Organizations, Exhaustion of Statutory Remedies, Jurisdiction of High Court
Source Language
en
Administrative Law Intellectual Property Judicial Review Copyright Licensing Collective Management Organizations Exhaustion of Statutory Remedies Jurisdiction of High Court

Source-derived case record

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Kenya National Chamber of Commerce & Industry-Machakos Branch

Applicant

Machakos Bar & Hotel Owners Welfare

Applicant

Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK)

Respondent

Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP)

Respondent

Performer’s Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK)

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review Application / Ruling on Preliminary Objection

  1. 1 Whether the High Court has jurisdiction to entertain the judicial review proceedings in light of the statutory remedy under section 48 of the Copyright Act.
  2. 2 Whether the applicants were required to exhaust alternative remedies before approaching the High Court.
  3. 3 Whether the dispute regarding the imposition of un-gazetted tariffs falls within the jurisdiction of the Competent Authority under the Copyright Act.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that while the Copyright Act establishes a Competent Authority to resolve certain disputes, its jurisdiction is expressly limited to disputes involving the Kenya Copyright Board and collecting societies, or to licensing issues as set out in section 48(2) of the Act. The applicants' grievance concerned the imposition of un-gazetted tariffs by collecting societies, which is not a matter within the Competent Authority's statutory jurisdiction. The court found that the statutory remedy was not applicable to the dispute at hand, and therefore the High Court's jurisdiction was not ousted. The preliminary objection was dismissed, and the applicants were awarded costs. The court...

Court Disposition

preliminary objection dismissed

Orders

  • The preliminary objection is dismissed with costs to the ex parte applicants.
  • Costs to be taxed in the usual manner.