UCC Vows Tough Action Against Piracy in Uganda’s Creative Industry

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has vowed to crack down on piracy in the country’s film and creative industry, warning that the vice is robbing filmmakers, actors and technical crews of their rightful earnings while denying the country jobs and economic growth.

Speaking at the Uganda Film Festival in Kampala on Friday, UCC Executive Director Nyombi Thembo said intellectual property protection is central to building a commercially viable creative economy, and singled out piracy as one of the biggest threats standing in the way.

“Commercialisation, as all of us know, cannot succeed without protecting intellectual property. Piracy remains one of the greatest threats facing Uganda’s creative economy,” Thembo said.

He said every pirated copy of a film represents lost income not just for the producer, but for everyone who worked on it.

“Every illegal copy of a film is money taken away from the producer, the actor, the editor, the writer, the sound engineer, the investor, and ultimately the Ugandan economy. So, a pirate does not only rob from the filmmaker, but he robs opportunities of the country. They rob the opportunities of our young people,” he said.

Thembo did not spare consumers of pirated content either, describing buyers of pirated material as complicit in the harm caused to the industry.

“Piracy cannot survive without the buyers. Buyers of the pirated material, you are worse than the pirates themselves. Let us all say no to piracy, because they are robbing our future. They are robbing away our jobs,” he said.

He assured filmmakers and industry players that the Commission will escalate its response to the problem.

“At the UCC side, you are going to see us taking very strong measures to counter piracy,” Thembo said.

According to Thembo, a successful film should continue generating revenue long after production wraps, through multiple income streams.

“A successful film should generate income long after the cameras stop rolling. It should earn from cinema exhibition, television licensing, streaming platforms, international distribution, airline entertainment, educational licensing, advertising partnerships, merchandising, international festivals, and digital platforms,” he said.

He added that creators need to shift their mindset from simply making films to building sustainable enterprises around their work, describing intellectual property protection as the foundation on which that shift depends.

Thembo also addressed recurring questions about why a telecommunications regulator is involved in film and entertainment, arguing that content is as critical to the sector as the infrastructure UCC regulates.

“Hardware is useless without software… without content, your phone will be useless. Without content, your TV screen will be useless. Without content, spectrum would be useless,” he said.

He explained that under the Uganda Communications Act, the Commission’s mandate extends beyond licensing broadcasters to regulating broadcasting and audio-visual content, promoting local content, and supporting communication as a driver of social, cultural and economic development.

“Our responsibility, therefore, goes beyond licensing broadcasters. It extends to creating an enabling environment where Ugandan stories are created, protected, distributed, and commercialised in ways that benefit both the creators and the nation,” he said.

He said UCC’s support to filmmakers through the Uganda Film Festival, regional film competitions, content development programmes, skills training and production infrastructure is a fulfilment of its statutory mandate to develop Uganda’s communications and creative industry, not merely a spend on entertainment.

Thembo said the Commission’s long-term ambition goes beyond increasing film output to building a complete creative ecosystem.

“We want to build a complete creative ecosystem, one that supports skills development, film financing, production facilities, regional production hubs, distribution networks, digital platforms, intellectual property management, international market access… and sustainable employment,” he said.