UGANDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Timothy Kajja, Nanyonjo Janet Pheobe and Jolly Kibalama, Engoru, Mutebi Advocates
5.6 Assignment of IP Rights There are no limitations on the assignment of IP rights in Uganda. However, an assignee should conduct thorough due diligence to ensure that the rights being acquired originate from the rightful proprietors. Assignment agreements must be in writing, and they A limited number of clubs can afford to extract sports data from athletes. For those that can, the data col - lected from players is used to monitor and profile them, improve performance, and promote players for international transfers. There is also more data available on spectator num - bers and preferences. Clubs and federations use this information to persuade potential sponsors. After a sponsorship deal is agreed, clubs then use the data to drive more value in the sponsor relationship. For example, if the data shows that more fans consume a particular product from the sponsor’s catalogue, that product is made more available during sports events to encourage higher sales. 5.8 Data Protection The Data Protection and Privacy Act, Cap 97 (DPPA), is the primary statute governing data protection and privacy in Uganda. Although the GDPR does not directly apply to Uganda, the provisions of the DPPA largely reflect the principles found in the GDPR. are also registrable. 5.7 Data in Sport The DPPA applies broadly to all entities operating in Uganda, including sports clubs and federations. In addition to national legislation, these sports bodies are also subject to the Data Protection Regulations issued by their respective international federations, such as FIFA. Fundamental principles of data protection and pri - vacy – such as data subject consent, data security, data minimisation, lawfulness, fairness, transparen - cy, purpose limitation, storage limitation, accuracy, accountability, and related obligations – remain fully applicable.
In practice, however, many sports bodies have not yet achieved strong compliance with their data pro - tection and privacy duties, and enforcement levels remain relatively low. Despite this, awareness among parents is gradually increasing, particularly as they register their children in academies and junior teams. This growing awareness is steadily drawing attention to data protection issues and contributing to improved compliance levels.
6. Dispute Resolution 6.1 Role of National Court Systems
Previously, the Courts of Law would entertain sports- related matters, and a number of cases were handled by the High Court, with some remaining active to date. However, the nascent National Sports Act, Cap 151, now prohibits the filing of any sports matters before the ordinary Courts of Law. Going forward, it is expected that all sports matters will be subject to mandatory arbitration under the National Sports Act, and that decisions arising from this process will be final and binding. However, the dispute resolution system established under the Act is not yet operational. This has left many questions unre - solved regarding the appropriate dispute resolution forum for issues arising during this transitional period. 6.2 ADR Mechanisms Where a dispute is an internal club dispute, and sub - ject to the contractual provisions binding the parties, the matter should first be addressed through the club’s internal mechanisms. Clubs often have internal appel - late processes available for any party dissatisfied with the initial findings. Any person not satisfied with the final internal out - come may then appeal to the responsible sports fed - eration. Federations typically have their own internal dispute resolution panels that handle disputes arising between clubs, as well as other matters assigned to them under their statutes. Federations also operate appellate tribunals that review matters escalated from the first‑instance panels.
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