High Court Awards UGX 100m and 30% Royalties to Ugandan Author in Landmark Copyright Case

Kampala, Uganda-The High Court of Uganda’s Commercial Division has delivered a landmark judgment affirming the copyright and moral rights of Ugandan author Annette Najjemba, in a case against publishing giant MK Publishers Limited.

In a decision issued on 2nd October 2025, Hon. Lady Justice Patience T.E. Rubagumya found that MK Publishers had unlawfully altered, reproduced, and sold Najjemba’s children’s stories to the Government of Rwanda without her consent. The stories, originally compiled in her manuscript “Our Folktales”, were later adapted into a series of audio stories under the titles MK Audio Stories for Primary Five and Six.

The Court ruled that the publisher infringed both the copyright and moral rights of the author by changing the characters’ names to suit the Rwandan context and attributing authorship to the publisher instead of Najjemba.

Justice Rubagumya observed that the Defendant “had no valid written licence, assignment or transfer authorizing it to alter or reproduce the literary work,” and emphasized that under Uganda’s Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, a written assignment is mandatory for such dealings.

The Court awarded Najjemba 30% royalty fees on profits from the audio story sales, to accrue interest at 24% per annum from the date the cause of action arose until payment in full. In addition, she was granted UGX 70 million in general damages and UGX 30 million in exemplary damages, both attracting 6% annual interest.

The Judge further issued a permanent injunction restraining MK Publishers, its agents, and employees from any further use or reproduction of Najjemba’s work titled “Our Folktales.”

In her ruling, Justice Rubagumya remarked that the Defendant’s actions—altering and commercializing the author’s stories without credit—demonstrated “a clear violation of both the economic and moral rights of the creator,” underscoring the importance of protecting Ugandan authors from exploitation by commercial publishers.

The case sets a significant precedent in Uganda’s intellectual property jurisprudence, reinforcing the enforceability of authors’ economic and moral rights and the accountability of publishers in cross-border literary projects.