Nigerian Copyright Law- a toolkit

What Nigerian Law defines as Copyright.

The main law governing Copyright in Nigeria is the Copyright Act of 2004. This Law at Section 1 provides the categories of works, which qualify for Copyright protection. These being: literary works; musical works; artistic works; cinematograph works; sound recording; and broadcasts. This paper shall thus focus on the most relevant areas Music and Sound Recordings

Works qualifying for protection

The act also provides that for a Musical work to qualify for protection, it must be expressed in a form that is original and in a definite medium, in which it can be communicated or perceived e,g Compact disc, LP, cassettes etc. Thus for a work to qualify for protection, it would have to have a sufficient amount of originality, for which the owner can identify a unique creative effort, of which it exists in a definite format that can be heard, seen or broadcast.

Registration of Copyright.

In general, publication of a copyright work in a definite format, entitles the author to exercise a copyright, of which delivery in electronic or hard-copy format would reinforce such publication. However in Nigeria, additional protection is provided by the Nigerian Copyright e-Registration System (NCeRS), operated by the Nigerian Copyright Commission, which provides for the electronic registration of Copyright, in a straightforward process and upon payment of a fee. More information in this can be found by clicking on this link Nigerian Copyright e-registration.

Who is entitled to Copyright protection under Nigerian Law?

Also the act provides Copyright protection for authors of works, who are either Nigerian Individuals and Corporations domiciled in Nigeria or works originating from a country, which is signatory to a Treaty to which Nigeria is a signatory. These treaties include the Universal Copyright Convention (UCC), The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The World Copyright Treat (WCT) of the World Intellectual Property Organisation. The list of nations subject to these treaties generally includes nations who are members of the World Trade Organisation and a list of those countries can be found by clicking on the link WTO members. The list covers virtually all member nations of the United Nations. Ownership of Copyright, gives the author the right to reproduce, publish, produce, perform, distribute, adapt or broadcast the work in Nigeria. In relation to Sound recording, Nigerian Law gives the author, the right to recording, broadcast and distribution of the work to the public in whole or in part. The law also gives the owner the right to transfer, assign or licence the copyright to the work in whole or in part.

Infringement

A copyright owner will always have the right to exercise a right of ownership over a work, and to challenge the infringement of copyright, where that work has been reproduced, broadcast, or performed by a person without prior permission having been obtained either by way of an assignment, licence or any other kind of legal transfer of the copyright, by the copyright owner. The only exception would be where the works are stored at the Nigerian National Archives offices and are supplied to the public, by the Archives Office in the legal exercise of its duties.

Enforcement

A Copyright owner is entitled to make a Claim in Court to obtain legal relief where they feel their rights have been infringed. The protocol involves firstly writing to the guilty party, warning of the Copyright infringement and requesting that the infringement should stop and warning further that a claim will be made to Court for financial or other compensation if the infringement does not stop. In some instances where there is clear and brazen infringement of copyright, an owner would go to Court for what is called an order of Injunction, to prevent the infringing party from continuing to carry out the breach of copyright, in some instances the order of court would involve the seizure of goods such as CD’s, Tapes, Video’s etc which have been employed in the Infringement.

The appropriate court for Claims involving Copyright in Nigeria, is the Federal High Court, a specialist court dealing with Commercial claims amongst others. A Copyright holder is entitled in a claim to obtain damages, for loss of earnings, caused by the breach of copyright, as well as any profits made by the person in breach of copyright and order stopping any further acts of breach.

Nigerian Law also provides for Criminal sanctions for persons wilfully breaching Copyright, such as the brazen, wholesale reproduction of Musical works. The punishment being a N100 fine for each item copied illegally or a 5-year prison term. There are also sanctions for persons, providing buildings and equipment for the breach of Copyright, this being a fine of N100 or a 2-year prison term. These are in addition to any civil claim for damages, the owner may choose to pursue, as listed above. The law however provides that a person who unknowingly breaches Copyright, such as one who reproduces a work, unaware of the existence of the copyright, will not be liable for damages, however the person would be liable to account for any profits made from the breach.

In all circumstances, professional legal advice and representation is strongly advised and a list of Lawyers in Nigeria offering such services, is contained in the Music in Africa directory.

The Nigerian Copyright Commission and the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) ae Nigeria’s sole regulatory body and Collecting Society respectively and provide useful information on steps to be taken for registration, protection and enforcement of Music in Nigeria

Conclusion

The Nigerian Copyright environment offers a robust platform of registration and enforcement for artistes. The key being to as much as possible seek advice from professionals and professional bodies whilst ensuring detailed accounts and documentation on your copyright works.