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{
"id": 849436,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/849436/?format=api",
"text_counter": 475,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13219,
"legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
"slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
},
"content": "I am proud to speak as a proud husband who has a woman behind me and father of a daughter. I hope that in the future years, we will see what has happened in America today replicated in our great country, Kenya. I salute all women. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, today, we are discussing a very important issue. The Constitution that we enacted in 2010 has 264 Articles. Three Articles are dedicated to the issues of intellectual property. What we are debating today is something that has been elevated to the stature of a constitutional matter. I want to read what Article 11(2)(a) provides. This is what the people of Kenya urged the State to do. On issues of culture, it states- ―The State shall- (a) Promote all forms of national and cultural expression through literature, arts, traditional celebrations, science, communication, information, mass media, publications, libraries and other cultural heritage;‖ That is in the Constitution. Another statement in Article 11(2)(c) obligates the State to promote the intellectual property rights of the people of Kenya. That is what the people enacted. If you read further, in Article 40(5) it is a statement urging the State to do something. It states that- ―The state shall support, promote and protect the intellectual property rights of the people of Kenya.‖ Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this is not a simple matter. It is something that Kenyan people need to recognize, that it is of some importance. We, therefore, had to make provisions of it is protection in our Constitution. When you read and define property in Article 260 of the Constitution, intellectual property is one of the properties that is recognized. If you allow me, I will read Article 260 of the Constitution which states- ―Property includes any vested or contingent right to, or interest in, or arising from— (a) land, or permanent fixtures on, or improvements to, land; goods or personal property; (b) goods or personal property; (c) intellectual property; or (d) money, choses in action or negotiable instruments‖ Let us accept that the people we are trying to protect are talented Kenyans who invest time and effort in the production of their goods or services. I recall a certain time when a person who may not be a friend to many, called Miguna Miguna, wrote a book. He invested time in writing that book. The book was launched and within one day, that book was all over the internet. Poor Miguna Miguna did not reap any profits from the writing of that book. You can imagine how unfair we can be to a person with such kind of talent. I am a lawyer by profession, but I have not written a book like he has done. Those brothers and sisters in Kenya who can invest time to write books or produce songs need The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}