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Tag: Nigerian Copyright Commission

  • Reading, performances excite at NCC

    Reading, performances excite at NCC

    Readings and performances excite guests at a book and copyright event held at the Lagos Office of Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC).

    With the  theme being “Read Your Way”, the event also featured; statement of the Director-General of the Commission, Dr John Asein, goodwill messages from stakeholders, lecture, spokenword poetry, book reading in English and traditional languages, poetry  from selected secondary school students in Lagos State; and book donations.

    The celebration, which was in commemoration of the 2025 World Book and Copyright Day,  commenced with a welcome address by the Director of Lagos Office of NCC, Mrs. Lynda Alphaeus, informing the participants of the importance of the. She also stood in for the Director-General of the Commission and delivered his statement to mark the occasion.

    The Director-General of the Commission, Dr John Asein disclosed that: “In commemoration of this year’s celebration, the NCC will continue to reaffirm its commitment to champion and promote models that will make more books available in accessible and readable formats, enhance and promote reading among young readers and develop policies and strategies to promote copyright awareness and respect for authors and copyright works.”

    He stated further that: “Through deepened synergy with Commission’s stakeholders in the renewed fight against piracy, Rights will be better protected and Authors encouraged to create more readable materials, readily available to a greater population of people and in accessible formats for persons living with disabilities, especially blind and visually impaired persons.”

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    The celebration, which was anchored by Deputy Director/Head, Operations, Lagos Office, Mr. Charles Amudipe, featuredperformances from students of Christ Dominion Imperial School. And the first performance of the day was rendered by Muiz Shodeinde. He read a poem titled “Eko” in Yoruba language. His performance was followed by another exciting poetry reading by Uzomba Success, who read a poem titled “Izunna Okafor” in Igbo language.

    There was also a poetry rendition by Ezeasor Anita Ijeoma, a teenager who has written over 40 poems. Other performances included; book readings from Sharon, who wrote her first book when she was five years old. She read from her book titled “Freedom”.

    Students of Christ Dominion Imperial School also captivated the audience with different versions of book readings. Temitope Princess read from a book written in Yoruba language titled “Ika Abamo” by Okedokun Ayoade. Christian Treasure read passages from a story book written in Igbo language titled “Odoziaku”.

    There were also goodwill messages from General Manager, Metropolitan Publishers, Mr Banjoko Samuel and representative of Tonad Publishers, Mr Kayode Adediran.

    The event concluded with a presentation by Mrs Lynda Alphaeus on copyright: its definition, provisions of the Copyright Act, 2022 and the mandate of the commission. She called on the public to be aware of copyright, to create copyright works and to respect copyright.

    The World Book and Copyright Day, usually marked on April 23 of every year, is a day set aside by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to focus on the importance of books, promote reading and raise awareness on the role of copyright in promoting and protecting the rights of authors.

  • NCC renews operational licence for MCSN

    NCC renews operational licence for MCSN

    The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has renewed the operating license of the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Ltd/Gte (MCSN) to operate as a Collective Management Organization (CMO) in respect of rights in musical works and sound recording.

    The approved renewal takes effect from January 1, 2025.

    In a letter, NCC/ADM./364/T/256, dated January 16, 2025, the renewal was conveyed to the Society stating that, “the Nigerian Copyright Commission has approved the renewal of the license of the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (Ltd/Gte), to operate as a Collective Management Organization in respect of rights in musical works and sound recording. This renewal is with effect from 1st January, 2025.”

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    The letter further states that, “Please note that the renewal is subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act, 2022, and the Copyright (Collective Management Organizations) Regulations, 2007.”

    Meanwhile in another letter,NCC/ADM.364/T/22,dated 12 December 2024, the commission commended the Society for its performance, particularly in the area of collection of license fees for the use of works in MCSN’s repertoire.

    The Commission commended MCSN’s performance, particularly, in the collection of licensing fees for the use of works in your repertoire. The Commission urges the Society to continue to build on its achievements, for the benefit of its members and affiliates and in line with global best practices”.

  • Copyright Commision gets new DG

    The new Director-General of Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Mr. John Ohireime Asein, has declared his commitment to the reconstruction and repositioning of the Commission for effective regulation and development of the nation’s copyright industries.

    Following his appointment as Director-General by President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. Asein made this declaration at a management meeting upon his assumption of office at the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja last week.

    Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Justice and Solicitor-General of the Federation, Mr. Dayo Apata SAN, who conveyed the President’s approval in a letter dated 15th January 2019 with Ref. No. MT:4511/T/106, stated that the appointment of Mr. Asein for an initial four-year tenure took effect from 8th January 2019.

    Mr. Asein who had reported at the Commission’s Headquarters on 16th January called for dedication and team work among the Management and staff of the Commission.

    The Director-General, having taken over from the Acting Director-General, Mr. John Asein, indicated that the Commission under his watch would develop a comprehensive intervention strategy that would impact positively on every sector of the creative industries.

    He assured that the Commission would be proactive in the execution of its mandate under the Nigerian Copyright Act CAP C28 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, adding that areas of its mandate like the visual arts and others which have not received sufficient attention would be covered.

    “We must change the copyright narrative in Nigeria positively to impact the copyright-based industries to the benefit of all copyright stakeholders,” he stated.

  • Supreme court declares MCSN legal

    The Supreme Court has once again asserted that the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) doesn’t need the approval of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) as collecting society or an exemption as one to enforce it rights.

    In an appeal filed by MCSN at the apex court in Suit No. SC 425/2010 between MCSN vs.  Compact Disc Technology Ltd, Nu Metro Home Entertainment (WA) Ltd and Nu Metro Retail Nigeria Limited, the panel, consisting of Honourable Justice Mary Peter-Odili(JSC), Honourable Justice Olukayode(JSC),  Honourable Justice Ariwoola (JSC), Honourable Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun,(JSC), Honourable Justice Amina Adamu Augie(JSC) and Honourable Justice Sidi Dauda Bage(JSC), set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal which held that MCSN can’t enforce its rights unless it is approved as a collecting society or given an exemption by the NCC.

    In the lead judgment delivered by Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili (JSC), the Supreme Court held that, “I am in agreement with submission of the learned counsel for the appellant, that Copyright (Amendment) Decree No. 42 of 1999 which introduced Section 15A (now 17) is not retrospective.

    The recourse to the Supreme Court arose when MCSN sued Compact Discs Technology Ltd, Nu Metro Home Entertainment (WA) Ltd and Nu Metro Retail Nigeria Ltd. in 2007 for the violation of its copyright. As a defence the defendants claimed that having no approval as a collecting society or an exemption from the NCC, MCSN had no locus standi to institute the suit under the Copyright Act as amended.

    Justice J. E Shekarho of the Federal High Court thought otherwise and ruled in favour of MCSN.

    The defendants disagreed with the ruling and appealed to the Lagos division of the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal panel of I. M. M Saulawa (JCA), P. A. Galinje (JCA) and R. O. Nwodo(JCA) agreed with Compact Discs Technology Ltd and its sister companies that without NCC’s approval or exemption, MCSN had no locus to institute the case.

    Dissatisfied, MCSN through its counsel, DA Awosika and Associates, appealed the decision of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court which now set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal.

    MCSN was represented by Dada Awosika Esq. and N. F. John (Miss).

  • Okoroji promises bumper year for COSON members

    As the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON)’s office, Lagos, reopens for 2019, Chairman of the Collecting Society, Chief Tony Okoroji, has asked members and affiliates to see 2019 as a bumper year for them and their organization.

    According to Okoroji, with new leadership at the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), “the destabilization, meddling and unending interference in the internal affairs of COSON, a 100% private sector organization set up without one Naira of public money, should cease.”

    The former President of PMAN said that instead of the continuation of the adversarial relationship that has not produced any good for anyone in the copyright system, the leadership of COSON looks forward to a more co-operative relationship with the NCC so that the tremendous local and international goodwill and expertise available to COSON can be deployed not just for the good of COSON members but for the progress of the entire Nigerian creative community and the Nigerian nation.

    In his New Year message to the creative community, Okoroji said that he was aware that many friends of COSON were deeply concerned about the battle for the soul of COSON which started in 2017 and went through 2018. According to him, “some of our friends were scared that in 2018, COSON will scatter or die like many creative industry organizations before it”.

    “Rather than die,” he said “COSON has become stronger.”

    He explained that the challenges of recent months have created the opportunity for the laws dealing with collective management of copyright in Nigeria to be vigorously queried and the internal rules of COSON to be properly examined.

  • ‘Broadcast industry loses over N.5bn annually to piracy’

    Augustine Amodu is the Director of Enforcement at the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC). In this interview with JIDE BABALOLA, Assistant Editor, Abuja, he speaks on the alarming wave of piracy within the broadcast media vis-à-vis its socio-economic implications, among related issues. Excerpts:

    How big is the problem of broadcast and music piracy in Nigeria?

    Broadcast piracy concerns lots of things. We are looking at an industry that is worth well over N500million in terms of losses for the stakeholders annually. I say this because in the broadcast industry, you are expected to buy your content. ABG, Ashtronic, and all have the right to rebroadcast within the confines of the law stipulating the licences given to them by the NBC. You are supposed to source for your contents and contents are given exclusively, if it is CNN, if it is premier league, if it is La-liga, you will go to the right owners and they broadcast it but if you come on air and steal somebody’s content without his authority and you broadcast it for monetary gains, it is piracy. What you have done is that you have choked the right owner of the necessary revenue he needs to make ends meet and you now broadcast to your customers. Most at times, you see CTL, Ashtronic, Metrodigital, CAN TV, Worldlink CMTV, and ABG; they have their own decoders but they steal contents from others and those contents are geo-located. Sky Sport has the right to broadcast in the European countries, BeamSport has the right to broadcast in Middle East and North African countries and multi-choice has the right to broadcast in the west African countries and down Sub-Saharan. So, you see that the contents are geographic in nature but that is not the case. They just go buy their boxes, come here with very big dish and come here to steal contents. They don’t have contents bought by themselves, so when they do that, it affects the rights owner and their customers because they have already paid for the content and they are expected to sell it and make money out of it. So most times, you find out that they don’t even make ends meet.

    In what way has it impacted on the business of established, high net worth firms like Multichoice?

    Broadcast business is subscriber base. When you steal contents and you sell it cheaper than how you are expected to sell it, certainly what you do is take my rightful customers and every industry is all about subscribers. If I happen to have X amount of subscribers and you are selling my content which is supposed to be N5 and you sell it for N1.5k, then you will make me lose my customers and when I lose them, it will impact on my overall revenue generation.

    Specifically, what programmes are we talking about?

    The programmes they steal are mostly sports. English Premier League, UEFA champions league, La-liga, Serie-A because this is the juicy contents that most Nigerians love. They even go as far as taking contents from DSTV. They take contents like Telemundo, CNN. They use our contents and rebroadcast it. Most times, they think they have the political will saying that Multichoice is a South African company while they are Nigerian company but they forget to understand that being an indigenous company does not give them the guarantee to steal people’s content. Piracy is piracy.

    What has been the response from police and other security agencies?

    The major stakeholder that has the statutory right to fight piracy is NCC. We are the ones that go to get the police to come in. Even if the police do anything that has to do with copyright, they reversed the case file to NCC. NCC has the statutory right to enforce the law and they are solely there to fight piracy and Section 38 of the Copyright Law gives the NCC the powers and privileges of the Nigeria Police when it comes to enforcing the Copyright Law.

    What has been NCC operatives’ experience in terms of cooperation from the police?

    The Police have been cooperating very well. Sometimes they are even proactive and then they hand over the case to NCC for further investigation and prosecution.

    How many cases are in court now?

    On a general note, we have had about 63 convictions between2010 when the present Director-General, Afam Ezekude got on board, and now.

    How many are related to broadcast piracy? About seven and we have over 170 cases in court.

    With so many cases in court, what would you like the government or the general public to do?

    We want to use this opportunity to sound a note of warning to those who are engaged in this illicit business to desist because the omission is everywhere and if they do not desist; especially when it comes to piracy of any content that belongs to them, we are bent more than ever before under the leadership of Ezekude to fight piracy and if we cannot end it, we will reduce it to the barest minimum. Piracy is a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabric of the economy of this nation. Government loses tax, revenue, government loses a lot of people and people who are working in the industry are inept to work there. It affects employment and also kills creativity which is what the Commission is supposed to protect. The Commission has come a long way in trying to see that the menace of piracy is reduced. Many developed countries of the world live on intellectual; property, why should that of Nigeria be different? Is there anything that we are not doing right? We have to start righting the wrongs.

    What kind of people are behind the piracy business in Nigeria?

    They call themselves businessmen and they have a lot of political will. They also have the support of the Nigerian populace because most Nigerians prefer to pay small amount of money for contents without knowing the implication of what they are doing. The political will they have is huge. Sometime ago when we went on raid, the kind of people who came out to obstruct the raid were high leveled people and powerful people in government. This makes it difficult for our personnel to do their work properly and it dampens their morale. I could remember we were in the field in Lagos trying to fight piracy but all of a sudden, a DSP who led the police team said he just received an order from above that they should leave us amidst the raid and go. We had to join them to leave the area to avoid attack. A case happened last year in Sapele; we raided Warri and while our operatives were coming back in a bus, they ambushed them in Sapele roundabout and told the Police that they were armed robbers. Our operatives were handcuffed until we intervened. That is part of the hazard that we go through in line of duty. If you hear the amount that Multichoice buys the content that is being shown and people steal; you will be shocked beyond words. I know the money runs into billions of naira. They steal all these content because of greed.

    Our activities seem not to be yielding result because our operatives are not armed. Under the law, Section 38, sub section 5 of the Copyright Act gives the NCC officers the same powers and privileges of the Nigeria Police.

    Do you want NCC operatives to be allowed to carry arms?

    Of course yes. We want to be trained to carry arms. In the US, it is called Homeland security and they carry arms. If they carry arms, it would make their jobs easy and make us to be more relevant. We are using this opportunity to warn anybody engaged in rebroadcasting of content without licence of peoples content to desist because we will do our job when we get complain. What are the likely sanctions or punishment for those found culpable?

    Most of the offences are with an option of fine. The largest imprisonment we have had is a year plus because the law is not strong but we are in the National Assembly to amend the Copyright Act. The old Act gives us teeth but we cannot bite with it, the new Act if approved would give us teeth that can bite. If the Act is amended, then stringent punishment would be meted out to offenders.

    How ridiculous are the fines?

    In Nigeria, millionaire piracy kingpins pay N100 fines. For books, one copy of book you seize from them is N100. One optical disc you seize is N100. So if you seize like 20 copies, that is N2000. In broadcast, it depends on the judge’s discretion because the sanction is not specified. The sanctions have been jerked up in the new bill that is before the National Assembly and we hope to see it become an Act. We hope it scales through to become part of the laws of the federation.

  • NCC seizes pirated works worth N926m

    NCC seizes pirated works worth N926m

    The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) says it has seized pirated materials worth about N926 million in the last eight months in Lagos metropolis.

    Mr. Obi Ezeilo, the Zonal Manager of the Commission, Lagos Office, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

    He said that the seizures were made between January and August 2017 in several locations within the city.

    “NCC has scaled up its enforcement activities in the last eight months and we have seized pirated items to the tune of over N926 million, removed from containers at Apapa Port, warehouses and shops.

    “So, in terms of enforcement and prosecution, things have dramatically changed over the last eight months and the creative industry should be well aware of that.”

    According to him, 12 suspected pirates were arrested in the last eight months while 21 pending cases are in court.

    He said that the Commission had also closed case files of seven of the suspected pirates.

    Ezeilo said that three containers of pirated materials were seized at Apapa Terminal Port and in seven warehouses in Mushin, Ajegunle, Surulere and Amuwo-Odofin.

    The materials seized included cinematographic works, literary works, CDs and video CDs.

    He said that the commission would introduce a new legislation to strengthen the fight against piracy in the country.

    “The draft copyright bill is undergoing fine-tuning at the office of the Attorney-General.

    “We are hoping that when the new bill becomes law, it will help to make the copyright industry more vibrant, encourage more creativity and address the issue of piracy on the internet.

    “These are the sort of things we are hoping to achieve so that the industry will become a more vibrant industry and contribute more to the economy and the GDP of the country.’’

    Ezeilo said that the commission recently carried out another anti-piracy raid, tagged ‘Operation No Mercy’ at Yaba Book market in Lagos, suspected to be a piracy activity zone.

    “The anti-piracy raid was carried out following intelligence and surveillance report.

    “ They were accompanied on the raid by officers of the Nigeria Police.

    “The anti-piracy action proved to be successful as major literary book titles were seized and three suspects arrested.’’

    Ezeilo commended the unwavering support and collaborative efforts by the Nigeria Police and stakeholders in the copyright industry towards the fight against piracy in Lagos.

    NAN reports that the Copyright Decree No. 47 of 1988 established NCC in August 1989.

  • WHY NCC MUST RELOCATE TO CULTURE MINISTRY

    WHY NCC MUST RELOCATE TO CULTURE MINISTRY

    An Intellectual Property Lawyer, Sandra Oyewole takes a look at the current moves by the Minister of Information and Culture to turn the creative industry into a creative economy. In this interview with VICTOR AKANDE, Oyewole, partner with Olajide Oyewole LLP who canvasses criminal penalty for piracy offenders, also believes that it is time the Nigerian Copyright Commission left the Ministry of Justice to its lawful place in the Ministry of Information and Culture for the benefit of all stakeholders. Excerpts:

    WHAT is your take on the current economic situation of the creative industry, vis- à -vis the renewed interest showed by the Federal Government?

    The creative industry is our source of entertainment. It provides incredible amounts of information and is an educational resource. Statistics show how important the industry is in respect of employment and it is a viable source of revenue for the public and private sectors. For Nigeria’s creative industry to reach its maximum potential, the government must:

    *Ensure that its intellectual property laws are up to date and strong;

    *Implement practical and suitable funding structures;

    *Create financial incentives, tax breaks etc;

    *Ensure that the regulatory and security agencies as well as the judiciary are operating at maximum capacity; and

    *Create the required infrastructure and enabling environment for the production and exploitation of creative works.

    The stakeholders in the industry, i.e. the filmmakers/producers, directors, scriptwriters composers of music, authors, book publishers, artists (artworks), actors and other performers, the investors/financiers, legal service providers, guilds and associations, etc) have to continuously petition/appeal/lobby for any changes required.

    Could you shed light on the aspect of the intellectual property laws being up to date and strong?

    Nigeria does have laws that govern the industry and this reflects the attention of the government to the industry. However it is abundantly clear that some of our intellectual property laws such as the Copyright Act and the Trademark and Patent Act need to be urgently updated.  With the growth of the industry over the years, the role of the government of Nigeria has steadily increased. Consider Project ACT and the Nollywood Fund set up a few years ago.

    Other instances of efforts being made by the government of Nigeria include that of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) which has driven the drafting of a brand new and much needed revision to the Copyright Act. In the last month, it has been announced that Nigeria’s Police Force will establish Intellectual Property units in each state and that the Federal Executive Council has approved pioneer status for investors in the industry. These measures will significantly improve the economics of the industry and Nigeria, but efforts must not stop here.

    There seems to be a rising interest among lawyers in the affairs of creative industry; is this as a result of economic viability of the sector or the need to protect intellectual property rights of the clients?

    The creative industry is one in which the role of lawyers is vital to understanding intellectual property rights. Let us not forget that the creative industry is also a business in which all stakeholders require legal advice on not just intellectual property rights but also other areas such as licensing and contracts, commercial and other transactions, tax matters, corporate and company related matters, dispute resolution, etc. There are a few very well-known firms in the industry and there is no doubt that as it grows there will be more legal service providers.

    One of the major problems of the entertainment industry is piracy. What in your opinion is the reason the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has not been able to make considerable impact since it was created?

    Piracy, infringement, counterfeit, fake etc are a global problem and are not unique to Nigeria. Data available from INTERPOL and the Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom gives one a sense of the scale of the problem worldwide. It is an economic crime and for any country to seriously tackle the problem, a number of measures must be implemented and these include:

    *Strong laws as stated earlier;

    *Properly funded and equipped security and regulatory agencies;

    *A judiciary that is able to hear cases within the shortest possible time;

    *A culture and custom of nationwide public awareness and enlightenment; and

    *The political will to stamp out or reduce the piracy levels.

    These measures must be sustained over an indefinite periods of time and this will help to ensure that piracy levels are kept down/low. Piracy is an economic crime and has been responsible for the financial hardship of countless rights holders. The NCC is the agency with the responsibility of dealing with the piracy and infringement of films, music, books, artworks and other forms of copyright works..

    What is the challenge of the NCC really?

    Funding is one key challenge for the NCC. A visit to its office in Lagos also gives one a good sense of the tough conditions under which NCC officers have to operate. Despite its challenges, as I mentioned earlier, the NCC has been instrumental in ensuring that we have a brand new copyright bill that addresses the evolution of technology as well as the introduction of stiffer and more suitable penalties for the crime of copyright infringement.

    When it is eventually passed into law, it will contribute significantly to curbing the piracy levels. It is now for the office of the Attorney General as well as the National Assembly to ensure that the copyright bill is passed into law within the next few months and without any further delays. A review of daily newspapers both traditional and online provides information on the investigations, raids, seizures and prosecution conducted by the NCC. Its website reveals the number of prosecutions it is involved in each year. The NCC is key in this war against piracy and with the requisite funding and support via the outlined measures; its operations can only expand and be even more effective.

    There is a clamor for the relocation of the NCC from the Justice Ministry to Information and Culture, what, in your own views are the likely advantages if this is actualised?

    The Nigerian Copyright Act clearly states that the supervising ministry of the NCC is the ministry responsible for culture which is effectively the ministry for information and culture. The choice of supervising ministry was carefully considered by the draftsmen of our Copyright Act. It was determined (and rightly so) that the functions of the ministry for information and culture are the most aligned with the creative industry.

    This is evident in the activities of the ministry and the creative industry. It is for these reasons that stakeholders are unanimous in the request for NCC to be under the correct ministry as provided for by law. The law must be complied with and when all facts are considered, it is to the advantage of the industry that the ministry of information and culture is enabled to supervise the NCC.

    Of what disadvantage will this relocation be to the Ministry of Justice?

    None. The role and functions of the Ministry of Justice as enshrined by our laws remains clear and unequivocal. The ministry of justice should continue to carry out its functions diligently and judiciously.

    Do you think that ‘Justice’ would miss anything is NCC is taken out of its domain?

    No

    Do you think that the AGF will or should play politics with the relocation of the NCC which the Minister of Information is asking?

    The office of the AGF/the Ministry of Justice is bound by the laws of the land. There is no reason to play politics. Bearing in mind the importance of the creative industry to Nigeria, the two ministries should cooperate with one another to give effect to the provisions of the Copyright Act.

    Does the AGF possess the power to stall the process? If yes, how do you think the Minister of Information can go about actualising this?

    The AGF has no reason to stall the process. As I mentioned earlier, as the number one law officer of the law, the office of the AGF is aware of the laws of the land. Internally the ministries can work out the details of the transfer to make it happen.

    PMAN is claiming that the Ministry of Information and Culture stole its idea of a creative industry summit, to what extent do they have a case?

    The Copyright Act is clear on what amounts to a work protected by law. There is no copyright in an idea.

    With the nature of the creative industry, is anyone or group capable of claiming ownership of an idea like a conference/summit to advance the lots of creatives?

    A claim to ownership is one thing and a legal right is another. Conferences/summits cannot and are not construed to be copyright works under the Copyright Act (or even any other known laws).

    From your romance with the creative industry so far, how prepared would you say practitioners are to maximize the new business environment that have them as engineers of the envisaged rise in GDP?

    Historically, lawyers have been pivotal to the creative industry. For instance, it was a lawyer that led the eventual changes in U.S policy allowing Fox Networks to become the 4th network, after decades of dominance by NBC, ABC and CBS. Lawyers with a deep understanding of the laws, the operations of the industry itself as well as the economics are key to its growth.

    Such lawyers are in a unique position to advise the creators of works, consider business plans and viability of the project, advise on the funding structure from the perspective of the financers and or the creators of works, draft the required agreements and lobby for any changes in policy, guidelines, regulation and the laws when needed. As the viability of the industry grows and becomes more apparent, it will in turn contribute to the growth of the GDP.

  • NFVCB, FVPMAN’s bust of Alaba, a slap on NCC

    FOR decades, any attempt by right owners and law enforcement agencies to raid Alaba International Market Alaba International Market, Ojo, Lagos, in the name of piracy activities was considered a suicide mission.

    I was a witness in 2006, when suspected pirates in Alaba market resisted arrest by mobilizing other marketers who launched a vicious attack on officers of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and men of the Nigerian Police.

    The Police arrived the market with the anti-piracy team of the NCC. They had barely gone 30 minutes into the operation when a suspect dealt a police officer a blow in the face. Another brought out a gun and shot an officer in the leg. Members of the team scampered in different directions as stones, bottles and other dangerous objects were hauled at them. The Police abandoned their lorries in the pandemonium.

    The incident occurred on June 12, 2006, two weeks after former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Emmanuel Adebayo, assured the then Director General of NCC, Adebambo Adewopo, of full Police support.

    The incumbent government of Muhammadu Buhari’s desire to turn the creative industry to creative economy took a serious look at issue of piracy, and after the last Creative Industry Summit, a collaboration was announced between the Police and a special taskforce set up by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. But just before the committee could settle down for work, the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) hit a sudden blow on Alaba, by arresting four piracy suspects, and confiscating film titles and replicating machines worth over N50 million.

    The NFVCB raid was carried out by members of the Film and Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN) who constitute an earlier taskforce, set up by the newly appointed Executive Director of NFVCB, Adedayo Thomas, to fight unauthorized distribution, as well as unlicensed and uncensored films.

    It is instructive to note that the chief players in the recent ambush on Alaba include the NFVCB boss; notable film marketer, Gabriel Okoye, aka Gabosky; Chairman of FVPMAN, Emeka Aduah, and film marketer and lawyer, Nobert Ajaegbu.

    “This is the first time I am seeing a very coordinated raid of these intellectual thieves,” a filmmaker noted.

    It is interesting to know that a consistent raid of Alaba, over a period of five days could be successful. It is also curious, as one would imagine that this became successful the first time the NCC was not involved in the operation. This is lending credence to the popular belief that bad eggs in the Commission may have been acting as informants to the pirates. This feat is a slap on the NCC, and an indication that indeed, it is possible to break the ranks of the notorious Alaba market pirates.

    Not only was the NFVCB able to beat the NCC to its game, the former embarked on a ride that could offend the latter’s mandate, by utilizing its mandate on licensing for distribution, classification and censorship to set a pace for possibility.

    With this eye-opener, the NCC and the larger taskforce of the creative industry should move in swiftly to keep the fire burning. The mandate of the NFVCB is not to fight piracy, but fortunately, the pirated works cannot be taken to the agency for censorship or distribution bid. Thus, the pirates are potential captives of the NFVCB. This can only be more interesting, as the offence of the pirate is multiplied.

    With the bad eggs in the NCC in mind, and the need to keep the anti-piracy moves watertight, the fight can only be sustainable, if the NFVCB man is able to identify the bad eggs in his agency and put them where they belong.

    Stakeholders must be wary of divide and rule antics which the pirates have used to keep themselves on top. There is no doubt that they (pirates) may want to infiltrate the anti-piracy team.

    Actors and other popular faces should support this new energy by speaking against piracy and educating fans on the need to patronize original copies of DVDs alone.

    It can only be a win-win situation for the right owners if this energy is sustained, long enough for the pirates, who are enamoured of this business to seek the legitimate way, deploying their financial and material resources to help the surplus that proper distribution require nationwide, and in fact, internationally.

  • Copyright Commission secured 57 convictions in six years, says D-G

    Copyright Commission secured 57 convictions in six years, says D-G

    Mr Afam, Ezekude, the Director-General, Nigerian Copyright Commission says it has secured more than 57 convictions of persons involved in piracy and copyright entrenchments in the country.

    Ezekude made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.

    “I want to categorically say that over the last six and half years, the commission in terms of prosecution has secured 57 convictions.

    “However, some of them have led to prison sentences for copyright infringements. So you can see that the commission is doing enough to sanitise the creative industry.

    “I totally disagree with any view point that we are not doing enough in addressing piracy in the country.  With these convictions, it is obvious that the commission is up and doing, Ezekude said.

    The NCC boss also maintained that the recent meeting of the National Working Group on copyright licensing in tertiary institutions organised by Reproduction Rights Society of Nigeria (REPRONIG) was a welcome development.

    He explained that the meeting was organised to design a framework for licensing of tertiary institutions in terms of photocopy of copyright materials in their campuses.

    “The framework will facilitate the establishment of structures with the view to authors and publishers of such works that are being photocopied in their campuses to be compensated for their works.

    “So, the meeting is going to come up with that framework to start the process of licensing of tertiary institutions in the country,’’ Ezekude said.

    NAN reports that that NCC was established in August 1989, by the Copyright Decree No.47 of 1988 now codified as Copyright Act (CAP. C28, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004).

    Sequel to the copyright amendments of 1992 and 1999, the statutory mandate of the commission was expanded to include the administration, enforcement, protection, promotion and regulation of copyright in Nigeria.