Stakeholders in Construction and Design Flag Risks in New Copyright Bill

Kenya's creative and technical sectors are locked in a heated debate following the introduction of the Copyright Amendment Bill 2024, which seeks to modernize laws around digital content. For the construction industry, the stakes are high, as the bill currently lacks clarity on how artificial intelligence (AI) interacts with architectural designs and engineering models.

The proposed legislation comes at a time when Kenyan firms are increasingly adopting generative AI to produce 3D visualizations and project renders. However, industry experts warn that the bill fails to define who controls a person’s likeness or a firm’s unique design aesthetic once a photo or digital scan is processed through AI tools.

Architects and engineers often rely on copyright to protect their intellectual property (IP) throughout the lifecycle of a project. The ambiguity in the new bill creates a loophole where AI models could be trained on proprietary blueprints or site photographs without the original creator's consent. This has raised fears that local design innovation could be diluted by unregulated machine learning.

The Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) has been at the center of these discussions, as it attempts to balance the needs of traditional creators with the rapid expansion of the digital economy. In the context of infrastructure, this balance is critical for protecting BIM (Building Information Modeling) data, which is essential for modern project management.

Legal analysts point out that the bill does not explicitly address the "right of publicity," which is a growing concern for construction marketers who use site workers or lead engineers in promotional media. Without clear definitions, firms may find themselves in legal disputes over the unauthorized use of staff likenesses in AI-generated marketing materials.

The bill also touches on the responsibility of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), which could impact how architectural firms share large-scale design files online. If a design is infringed upon, the process for takedown notices and liability remains a point of contention among stakeholders who want more robust protections for digital assets.

Furthermore, the lack of a clear framework for AI-generated works means that if an architect uses AI to refine a structural concept, it remains unclear whether that output can be legally copyrighted. This uncertainty could deter investment in next-generation design technologies within the Nairobi construction hub, and beyond.

Public participation sessions have seen a surge in feedback from various professional bodies. These groups are advocating for amendments that specifically recognize the complexity of digital authorship in a world where human creativity is increasingly augmented by software.

As the bill moves through the legislative process, the construction and engineering fraternity is calling for a more nuanced approach. They argue that for Kenya to remain a leader in regional infrastructure development, its laws must protect the man-hours invested in original design work from being harvested by unregulated AI systems.

The outcome of this legislative push will likely set a precedent for how IP is handled in the wider East African construction market, although much depends on whether the final draft can bridge the gap between technological advancement and traditional property rights.