Zambia's Copyright and Related Rights Bill 2026, What Creators & Businesses Must Do Now

The copyright bill Zambia stakeholders have been anticipating is now in play: the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) published a call for public comments on the Copyright and Related Rights Bill on 12 January 2026, with an extended consultation window to accommodate broader participation. The draft bill proposes to repeal and replace the Copyright and Performance Rights Act (Cap 406 of the Laws of Zambia) with a modernised framework covering digital rights, expanded exceptions, clearer enforcement mechanisms, and updated terms of copyright protection. This guide provides the practical, step-by-step actions that creators, publishers, platforms, SMEs, and in-house counsel need to take, both during the consultation period and in preparation for the operational changes the new law will bring.

Quick Action Checklist: What Creators and Businesses Must Do NOW

Before diving into the legal detail, here are the immediate steps every rights-owner and business operating in Zambia should take in response to the PACRA copyright consultation:

• Download and read the draft bill. Obtain the full text from PACRA’s official notice page and identify the provisions that directly affect your works, licences, or business model.
• Submit written comments to PACRA before the consultation deadline closes. Even a concise, focused submission on one or two key provisions counts, see the sample comment language below.
• Audit your existing copyright assets. Compile a register of all works you own, license, or distribute in Zambia, literary, musical, audiovisual, software, and database content.
• Review current licence agreements and assignments. Flag clauses that reference the Copyright and Performance Rights Act by name or section number; these will require updating once the new law commences.
• Check your copyright registration status. If you rely on voluntary copyright registration in Zambia for evidentiary purposes, confirm your registrations are current and consider filing any outstanding applications now.
• Evaluate your notice-and-takedown procedures. Platforms and intermediaries should assess whether their current content removal processes align with the draft bill’s proposed safe-harbour and liability provisions.
• Brief your board or management team. Summarise the key copyright changes Zambia is proposing and flag the budget or operational implications, licensing costs, compliance staff, enforcement budgets.
• Engage qualified IP counsel. A Zambia-based intellectual property practitioner can help you draft consultation submissions, redline contracts, and prepare an enforcement strategy ahead of enactment.

What the Copyright Bill Zambia Changes: A Legal Summary

The Copyright and Related Rights Bill represents the most significant overhaul of copyright protection in Zambia since the Copyright and Performance Rights Act was enacted. Industry observers expect the reform to bring Zambian law closer to international treaty standards while addressing gaps exposed by digital distribution, online piracy, and collective management challenges. Below are the key areas of change.

Key Substantive Changes

• Broader subject matter. The draft bill expands the categories of protected works to explicitly cover digital content, databases, and computer programs, closing ambiguities that existed under the current Act’s framework.
• Related (neighbouring) rights. The bill introduces a dedicated regime for performers, producers of sound recordings, and broadcasting organisations, granting each category distinct economic rights that sit alongside traditional author’s copyright.
• Moral rights clarification. The draft strengthens the moral rights of authors, including the right of attribution and the right of integrity, and limits the extent to which these rights can be waived by contract.
• Collective management organisations (CMOs). The bill proposes a regulatory framework for licensing and oversight of CMOs, including transparency obligations, governance standards, and dispute-resolution mechanisms.
• Technological protection measures (TPMs). Circumvention of digital locks and removal of rights-management information would attract specific civil and criminal liability under the proposed provisions.
• Intermediary and ISP liability. The draft introduces safe-harbour provisions for internet service providers and online platforms that comply with prescribed notice-and-takedown procedures, a significant development for copyright enforcement in Zambia.

Exceptions and Permitted Uses

The draft bill proposes to expand and clarify the current, relatively narrow set of exceptions. Early indications suggest the following categories receive dedicated treatment:

• Education and research. Licensed educational institutions, libraries, and archives would benefit from clearer fair-dealing provisions, subject to conditions on volume, purpose, and attribution.
• Private copying. The bill addresses personal, non-commercial reproduction, potentially introducing a remuneration-right model through levy schemes administered by CMOs.
• Quotation and criticism. Explicit provisions for quotation, commentary, and news reporting align with international norms and provide greater certainty for journalists and publishers.
• Persons with disabilities. Access-oriented exceptions for visually impaired persons and other persons with disabilities reflect Zambia’s commitments under the Marrakesh Treaty framework.

The practical implication for rights-owners is that licensing strategies must account for these wider permitted uses. Blanket licence fees and royalty projections should be adjusted to reflect the works that will fall outside the scope of exclusive rights.

Term and Scope of Copyright Protection

Under the existing Copyright and Performance Rights Act, copyright protection in Zambia generally lasts for the life of the author plus fifty years. The draft bill proposes to retain the life-plus-fifty baseline for literary, musical, and artistic works, while introducing specific terms for related rights:

• Performers’ rights: proposed protection for fifty years from the date of the performance or, if the performance is recorded, fifty years from publication of the recording.
• Sound recordings: fifty years from the date of first publication.
• Broadcasts: twenty-five years from the date of first transmission.

Industry observers expect that these standardised terms will simplify clearance and licensing for cross-border content deals, particularly for music, film, and broadcasting businesses operating across the Southern African Development Community.

Copyright Changes Zambia: Current Law vs Draft Bill

The following comparison table highlights the major differences between the Copyright and Performance Rights Act currently in force and the proposed Copyright and Related Rights Bill. Stakeholders should use this table to identify which provisions affect their operations and to prioritise their consultation submissions and compliance preparations.

The likely practical effect will be that businesses relying on the current Act’s relatively permissive environment, particularly digital platforms and content aggregators, will face new compliance obligations. Conversely, individual creators and performers gain stronger rights and more transparent collective management structures.

How to Respond to PACRA’s Copyright Consultation

PACRA’s call for comments is the single most important opportunity for stakeholders to shape the final text of the Zambia copyright bill before it proceeds to Parliament. Below is a step-by-step guide to participating effectively.

Who Should Submit Comments

The consultation is open to all interested parties, but the following groups have the most at stake and should prioritise their submissions:

• Individual creators, authors, musicians, visual artists, software developers, photographers, and filmmakers.
• Collective management organisations (CMOs), ZAMCOPS, and any other body collecting or distributing royalties in Zambia.
• Publishers and media houses, print, broadcast, and digital publishers operating in or licensing content into Zambia.
• Technology platforms and ISPs, social media companies, hosting providers, e-commerce platforms, and telecommunications operators.
• Universities and research institutions, major consumers of copyrighted content under educational exceptions.
• Brand owners and commercial enterprises, businesses that commission, licence, or distribute copyrighted works in their operations.

How to Structure a Submission

Effective consultation comments are concise, reference specific provisions of the draft bill, and propose concrete alternative wording where the submitter disagrees with the current text. Below is a sample comment template that rights-owners and businesses can adapt:

Sample comment for brand owners and commercial enterprises (adapt as needed):

“We, [Organisation Name], welcome the opportunity to comment on the Copyright and Related Rights Bill as published by PACRA. We operate in [sector] and hold / license copyright works including [categories]. We wish to comment on the following provisions:

1. [Clause reference], Ownership of commissioned works: We support the clarification of ownership rules for commissioned works but recommend that the provision expressly permit contractual variation, allowing commissioning parties and creators to agree on ownership allocation suited to their commercial context.

2. [Clause reference], Notice-and-takedown procedures: We request that the prescribed timeframes for compliance be reasonable (we suggest no fewer than 48 hours for initial assessment) and that counter-notice mechanisms be included to protect against abusive takedown requests.

3. [Clause reference], Transitional provisions: We recommend that a minimum 12-month transition period be provided following enactment, during which existing licences and agreements remain valid and enforceable under their current terms.

We are willing to participate in any further stakeholder engagement and can be contacted at [details].”

Where and How to File

Submissions should be directed to PACRA in the format specified in the official consultation notice. Check the PACRA notice page for the current deadline (note the extended consultation window), the designated email address or postal address for submissions, and any formatting requirements. Keep a date-stamped copy of your submission for your records, it may become relevant in any future regulatory or judicial proceeding concerning the interpretation of the enacted provisions.

Practical Business and Licensing Changes to Start Now

Regardless of the final text, the direction of the copyright bill Zambia is proposing is clear enough for businesses to begin operational preparations. Waiting until enactment will leave insufficient time to update contracts, retrain staff, and adjust compliance systems.

Licensing and Contract Checklist

Review all existing copyright licence agreements and assignments for the following issues:

• Statutory references. Replace references to the “Copyright and Performance Rights Act” with transitional language, e.g., “the copyright legislation in force in Zambia from time to time”, to avoid contracts that cite a repealed statute.
• Moral rights clauses. If your agreements contain blanket moral-rights waivers, assess whether these will remain enforceable under the bill’s strengthened moral-rights provisions. Industry observers expect that broad waivers may face challenge.
• Assignment formalities. Confirm that all assignments are in writing and signed, as the draft bill is expected to maintain, and may tighten, the formality requirements for transfers of copyright.
• Payment and royalty triggers. If the bill introduces new remuneration rights (e.g., private-copying levies), existing royalty-split clauses may need updating to reflect additional revenue streams.
• Termination and reversion. Check whether your agreements address what happens if the underlying law changes materially, consider adding a regulatory-change termination trigger.

Platforms and Intermediaries

Digital platforms, hosting providers, and ISPs should begin building or updating their notice-and-takedown processes now. The draft bill’s safe-harbour provisions are expected to require a designated agent for receiving infringement notices, prescribed response timeframes, a counter-notice mechanism, and record-keeping of all notices received and actions taken. Early adoption of these processes, even before enactment, demonstrates good faith and creates an operational track record that may prove valuable if copyright enforcement disputes arise.

SMEs and Publishers

Small and medium enterprises that create, commission, or use copyrighted content should conduct a basic IP asset audit. This means cataloguing all original works, verifying ownership through contracts and employment agreements, confirming that copyright registration in Zambia is current where applicable, and identifying any works that may fall into the expanded exceptions regime (reducing the need for, or value of, licensing income). Publishers should pay particular attention to educational and library exceptions, which may affect reprint licensing revenue.

Copyright Enforcement Zambia: Remedies and Litigation Risks Under the Draft Bill

Remedies and Penalties

The draft bill proposes to strengthen the enforcement toolkit available to rights-holders. In addition to the civil remedies already available under the existing Act, injunctions, damages, and account of profits, the bill introduces or clarifies several measures:

• Statutory damages. A framework for pre-set damage awards where actual loss is difficult to prove, reducing the evidentiary burden on rights-holders in piracy cases.
• Criminal sanctions for TPM circumvention. Deliberate circumvention of technological protection measures and removal of rights-management information would attract specific criminal penalties.
• Border measures. Customs authorities may be empowered to detain suspected infringing goods at the border, a significant development for physical goods and imported media.

Evidence and Interim Relief

Rights-holders should begin building evidentiary foundations now. Under the proposed regime, early preservation of evidence, screenshots, transaction records, metadata, notarised copies of original works, will be critical. Interim relief applications (injunctions and preservation orders) are expected to remain available through the High Court, and the draft bill may clarify the procedural requirements for obtaining such orders in digital copyright cases.

Enforcement Action Matrix

Timeline and Transitional Steps

The legislative journey from draft bill to enacted law involves several stages. Stakeholders should track each milestone and take the corresponding preparatory action.

Because several key dates remain to be determined, the recommended approach is to monitor PACRA’s notices page and the National Assembly’s schedule on an ongoing basis and to treat the consultation period as the primary action window.

Conclusion

The copyright bill Zambia is currently consulting on marks a generational shift in the country’s intellectual property landscape. Creators gain stronger rights and more transparent collective management; businesses face new compliance obligations around digital content, ISP liability, and enforcement exposure. The window to influence the final text, through PACRA’s public consultation, is open now. Every rights-owner, platform, publisher, and enterprise should be taking concrete steps: submitting comments, auditing IP assets, redlining contracts, and building enforcement-ready evidence files. Delay is the greatest risk. The organisations that prepare during the consultation period will be best positioned to operate confidently from the day the new law commences.

Sources

1. PACRA, Notice: Call for comments on the Copyright & Related Rights Bill
2. PACRA, Draft Copyright and Related Rights Bill (PDF)
3. Parliament of Zambia, Copyright and Performance Rights Act
4. Parliament of Zambia, Copyright and Performance Rights Act (PDF)
5. IFRRO, Zambia’s Copyright Bill 2025: A Timely Reform
6. KnowledgeGov, Joint Submission on Zambia’s 2025 Copyright Bill
7. NATLEX / ILO, Copyright and Performance Rights Act (statutory publication)