Parliament has passed two Bills that players believe will be crucial in developing the creative industry.
The two Bills are Companies Registration and Intellectual Property Centre Bill No. 1 of 2025 that will facilitate the creation of the Companies, Registrations and Intellectual Property Centre (IP Centre). The creation of the IP Centre will change how copyright is managed.
The other is Copyright (Amendment)Bill No. 2 of 2025 which has amended the Copyright Act. Following the amendment, Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) will no longer handle the administration and enforcement of the copyright laws as the responsibility will now move to the new IP Centre.
This means Cosoma will continue with its core function as a collective management organisation while focusing on promoting and protecting interests of creators and collecting and distributing royalties to creators.
Cosoma will also retain its mandate of registering copyright works for collective management purposes and licensing activities related to copyright.
Reacting to the development, Department of Arts director Humphrey Mpondaminga said the development aligns with the National Intellectual Property Policy which government approved a few years ago.
He said the passing of the Bills will ensure that antipiracy activities are covered in terms of government funding for enforcement programmes. He said this will have a positive impact because there will be better implementation of antipiracy programmes under the IP Centre.
Mpondaminga said: “Copyright is one form of intellectual property and it will be enforced under the IP Centre alongside other intellectual property issues such as patents, trademarks and industrial designs.
“On the other hand, Cosoma is projected to have streamlined functions, specifically collection and management of royalties. This will bring organisational efficiency for Cosoma as they will now handle fewer strategic programmes that are also funded.”
On her part, Cosoma communications officer Catherine Mitungwi said with copyright duties transitioning to the office of the registrar, the copyright laws will have to realigned to the present policies once the Bill has been assented to by the president.
“The move will help the creatives as it will allow them to know more about copyright issues so they can effectively follow them through. As Cosoma, we will stick to our mandate as a collective management organisation,” she said.
