Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) will no longer handle the administrative aspect of copyrights, including enforcement, once the Copyright (Amendment) Bill of 2025 is assented to by the President.
This is because the proposed law will culminate in the establishment of the Companies, Registrations and Intellectual Property (IP) Centre, marking a significant change in the way intellectual property and business-related activities are managed in the country.
Cosoma says in a statement that the bill necessitated an amendment to the Copyright Act of 2016 to facilitate the creation of the IP Centre. T
he statement further says the new legislation proposes the creation of a semi-autonomous government agency that will have multiple responsibilities, including the administration of intellectual property rights, copyrights inclusive.
“Consequently, Cosoma will no longer handle the administrative aspect of copyrights (administration of the law). “However, it will continue to execute its core mandate as a Collective Management Organisation (CMO), which manages the rights and royalties of creators,” the statement reads.
Cosoma’s new role will be limited to its work as a CMO; that is, focusing on the promotion and protection of the interests of creators and ensuring that their works are protected and are fairly compensated through the collection and distribution of royalties.
The statement further says Cosoma will continue to manage licencing activities related to copyright holders’ works. “Copyright administration, including enforcement, will be transferred from Cosoma to the new agency. This means that the new agency, under the proposed law, will take over the duties that Cosoma previously held as the Copyright Office,” the statement reads. However, the registration of copyright works for purposes of collective management will continue to be done by Cosoma. The statement adds that once the bill has been assented to, there will be a transition period during which the specific details of how the responsibilities will shift from Cosoma to the new agency will be communicated.
The copyright body’s spokesperson Catherine Mitungwi said the development meant creators could expect some changes. “Cosoma will no longer operate as a copyright office but only a collective management organisation,” Mitungwi said. She said Cosoma would solely focus on its core responsibility as a collective management organisation, which includes managing the rights and royalties of creators.
