Back to atlas

country page

Kenya

Copyright Act, 2001 (Cap. 130), as amended through Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act No. 14 of 2022).

Copyright exception history

0%20%40%60%80%100%199019952000200520102015202020251990: 100%1991: 100%1992: 100%1993: 100%1994: 100%1995: 100%1996: 100%1997: 100%1998: 100%1999: 100%2000: 100%2001: 100%2002: 100%2003: 100%2004: 100%2005: 100%2006: 100%2007: 100%2008: 100%2009: 100%2010: 100%2011: 100%2012: 100%2013: 100%2014: 100%2015: 100%2016: 100%2017: 100%2018: 100%2019: 100%2020: 100%2021: 100%2022: 100%2023: 100%2024: 100%2025: 100%YearOpenness score (%)

Selected year snapshot

For 1993, the active event in this file is Copyright Act, 1966 (Cap. 130).

100%

Current rationale

The Copyright Act 1966 (Cap. 130, Laws of Kenya) was the copyright statute in force on 1990-01-01. It contained fair dealing provisions modeled on the UK Copyright Act 1956. Section 7 provided for fair dealing for purposes of research or private study. The term 'fair dealing' covers any exclusive right (not only reproduction), is open to any user, and applies to all types of works. This yields GREEN. However, I was unable to retrieve the full verbatim text of the 1966 Act as it was in force on 1990-01-01 via web search. The 1966 Act remained in force until the Copyright Act 2001 commenced on 1 February 2003.

Exceptions considered

Section 7100%Fair DealingMost permissive

Fair dealing for purposes of research or private study — open to any user, any work, covers any dealing (not limited to reproduction)

Law changes

Copyright Act, 1966 (Cap. 130)

Baseline · Effective 1966-01-01

100%

Relevant section: Section 7

Dates: Effective 1966-01-01 · Enacted 1966-01-01

Why this score

The Copyright Act 1966 (Cap. 130, Laws of Kenya) was the copyright statute in force on 1990-01-01. It contained fair dealing provisions modeled on the UK Copyright Act 1956. Section 7 provided for fair dealing for purposes of research or private study. The term 'fair dealing' covers any exclusive right (not only reproduction), is open to any user, and applies to all types of works. This yields GREEN. However, I was unable to retrieve the full verbatim text of the 1966 Act as it was in force on 1990-01-01 via web search. The 1966 Act remained in force until the Copyright Act 2001 commenced on 1 February 2003.

Exceptions considered

Section 7100%Fair DealingMost permissive

Fair dealing for purposes of research or private study — open to any user, any work, covers any dealing (not limited to reproduction)

Copyright Act, 2001 (Cap. 130)

Relevant update · Effective 2003-02-01

100%

Relevant section: Section 26(1)

Dates: Effective 2003-02-01 · Enacted 2001-12-31

Why this score

Section 26(1)(a) of the Copyright Act 2001 provides that the rights of an author shall not include the right to control 'the doing of any of the acts mentioned in section 26 by way of fair dealing for purposes of scientific research, private use, criticism or review, or the reporting of current events subject to acknowledgement of the source.' The phrase 'the doing of any of the acts' covers all exclusive rights (reproduction, communication, distribution, etc.), not only reproduction. It applies to any user and any type of work. This is a classic fair dealing provision open to all users, all works, and all exclusive rights for scientific research and private use, yielding GREEN. Additionally, Section 26(1)(j) provides a separate exception for use by government, public libraries, non-commercial documentation centres, and scientific institutions in the public interest — this is an institutional exception (PURPLE individually). Section 26(1)(c) covers reproduction for teaching illustration (educational). The most permissive exception is Section 26(1)(a), which determines the overall classification as GREEN. Non-commercial restrictions and acknowledgement requirements are classification-neutral factors.

Exceptions considered

Section 26(1)(a)100%Fair DealingMost permissive

Fair dealing for purposes of scientific research, private use, criticism or review — covers 'the doing of any of the acts' (all exclusive rights), open to any user, any work

Section 26(1)(c)80%Educational

Reproduction by way of illustration in any publication, broadcast or recording for teaching, compatible with fair practice, with source acknowledgement

Section 26(1)(j)40%Library Institutional

Any use made by or under direction of Government, public libraries, non-commercial documentation centres and scientific institutions, in the public interest, no revenue derived

Original text

Source links

Copyright Act, 2001 (Cap. 130), as amended through Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act No. 14 of 2022)

Current law confirmation · Effective 2022-12-31

100%

Relevant section: Section 26(1)(a)

Dates: Effective 2022-12-31

Why this score

As of 2025, the Copyright Act 2001 (Cap. 130) as amended remains in force. Section 26(1)(a) continues to provide fair dealing for purposes of scientific research and private use, covering 'the doing of any of the acts' (i.e., all exclusive rights), open to any user, and applicable to all types of works. This is GREEN. The amendments made between 2003 and 2022 (including the Copyright (Amendment) Act 2019 (No. 20 of 2019) and the Copyright (Amendment) Act 2022 (No. 14 of 2022)) did not alter Section 26(1)(a). The 2019 amendment introduced provisions related to accessible format copies (implementing the Marrakesh Treaty) and the 2022 amendment dealt with ring back tune revenue sharing (Section 30C) and the National Rights Registry (Section 22B). Neither amendment changed the fair dealing provision or any other research-relevant exception. Section 26(1)(j) (institutional use exception) also remains unchanged. No TDM-specific exception has been introduced. The overall classification remains GREEN based on Section 26(1)(a).

Exceptions considered

Section 26(1)(a)100%Fair DealingMost permissive

Fair dealing for purposes of scientific research, private use, criticism or review — covers 'the doing of any of the acts' (all exclusive rights), open to any user, any work

Section 26(1)(c)80%Educational

Reproduction by way of illustration in any publication, broadcast or recording for teaching, compatible with fair practice, with source acknowledgement

Section 26(1)(j)40%Library Institutional

Any use made by or under direction of Government, public libraries, non-commercial documentation centres and scientific institutions, in the public interest, no revenue derived

Original text

Source links