Societe Congolaise des Droits d’Auteur et des Droits Voisins
DR Congo's sole copyright collecting body, mired in an unresolved governance dispute.
- Based in
- Kinshasa, DR Congo
- Founded
- 2011
The Société Congolaise des Droits d’Auteur et des Droits Voisins (SOCODA) is the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s sole body for the collection and distribution of copyright and neighbouring-rights royalties, authorised by presidential ordinance 11/022 of 18 March 2011, which converted the earlier SONECA (founded 1969) into a cooperative society. It is based in Kinshasa’s Gombe commune.
SOCODA collects from hotels, broadcasters, bars, casinos and other commercial users and redistributes to authors, composers, dramatists and producers; a 2024 collection round paid out to 206 rights-holders for the 2022 second semester. The organisation has been affected by a prolonged internal governance dispute between rival factions, and Congolese reporting from late 2025 alleged that a government financial inspection found most collected funds unaccounted for, with a much smaller sum reaching rights-holders. Congo’s Council of Ministers reportedly moved in April 2025 toward creating a new public body to replace SOCODA, without a confirmed timeline.
SOCODA’s cited website, socoda-coop.org, no longer resolves. Given the unresolved governance dispute, rights-holders are advised to confirm the currently authorised body with the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage before dealing with SOCODA.
