‘Modern law taming piracy coming soon’

Nigeria will soon get a modern copyright legislation that adequately protects rights, provides for appropriate exceptions and facilitates the effective administration, regulation and enforcement of copyright in a digital environment.

AS players in Nigeria’s book industry continue to incur losses from the activities of pirates, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has assured it will work with everyone to ensure the country has a modern copyright law.

Director-General of the NCC, Dr John Asein, said a modern law that would tame the menace is in the pipeline while delivering the keynote address at the 21st Nigeria International Book Fair. The conference themed ‘Copyright and Sustainable Growth in the Book Ecosystem: Setting A New Agenda’ happened on May 14 in Lagos.

“The Nigerian Copyright Commission will work with all stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria gets modern copyright legislation that adequately protects rights, provides for appropriate exceptions and facilitates the effective administration, regulation and enforcement of copyright in a digital environment. We are also determined to rebuild a wholesome, functional and dependable copyright system that would restore a book ecosystem that stimulates growth,” Asein said.

He noted that though in a pathetic state with myriads of challenges, publishing has remained relevant and will get better with the NCC’s proactive steps. One of the bold steps is the ongoing amendment of the Nigerian Copyright Act, last amended in 1999. The Senate passed the new bill on April 6, while it went through its first reading in the House of Representatives on May 11.

Asein explained that the new Act would tame piracy like never before and introduce more protection for rights owners, even with technological advancements.

He said NCC “sought to energise the copyright system ‘to considerably improve the living prospects for Nigeria’s authors and creators while facilitating further growth of the country’s core copyright industries and stimulating innovation and investment in new sectors.’ This was the basis of the new agenda, starting with a new Copyright Bill which has now in Clause 1 set out the following cardinal objectives:protect the rights of authors to ensure just rewards and recognition for their intellectual efforts;provide appropriate limitations and exceptions to guarantee access to creative works; and facilitate Nigeria’s compliance with obligations arising from relevant international copyright treaties and conventions.

“In addition to the revision of the copyright legislation, the reform process also contemplates a robust implementation strategy ‘to strengthen the capacity of various sectors [including the book sector] to penetrate new overseas markets and more effectively leverage Nigeria’s comparative advantages.’”

The NCC helmsman added that new issues addressed in the Bill “include the right of remuneration for some categories of copyright owners, special exceptions for blind, visually impaired and print disabled persons.”

There are also provisions concerning technological protection measures, rights management information, an elaborate enforcement mechanism for online infringement, and stiffer sanctions for criminal violations.

There’s also “significant progress in implementing the Copyright Levy provisions in the Copyright Act. The Copyright (Levy on Materials) Order aims to cushion the effect of the untracked reproduction of copyright works and provide support for the enforcement mandate of the Commission. The Order imposes levies on materials used or capable of being used to infringe copyright in work. It lists eleven (11) storage media items and sixteen (16) equipment/devices, which are subject to between 1% -3% charge on the Cost Freight and Insurance (CFI) for imported items or cost of manufacture, production and assembly for items produced in Nigeria.”

Substantial proceeds from the collection, Asein said, “will be paid to right owners through their Collective Management Organisations. Some percentage would be retained by government as part of its revenue and to fund anti-piracy campaigns and promote creativity.”

On other proactive strategies to fight piracy, Dr Asein said there’s a need for general reorientation as people enable pirates.”There is a penchant by most consumers for pirated works even when they are well aware that such works are pirated. This is a major challenge in the fight against piracy. Unlike pharmaceuticals or other products where the dire consequences of consuming the counterfeit is a deterrent, the lure of cheap pirated products makes the fight against piracy even more daunting.”

He added that “one soft intervention that has been agreed upon with publishers is to curb the use of schools and public places as under the radar distribution points for pirated books.”

Earlier, while welcoming guests, Chair, Nigeria Book Fair Trust and CEO of Accessible Publishing Ltd, Mr Gbadega Adedapo, emphasised the importance of this year’s conference theme ‘Copyright and Sustainable Growth in the Book Industry: Setting New Agenda’.

He said, “book piracy, whether in print or digital form, is costing publishers around the world billions of dollars annually. It creates significant harmful effects throughout the book value chain, hurting publishers, distributors and retailers, authors and even readers… I sincerely believe that if we get it right in the area of copyright, the entire narrative of the book ecosystem will change for good.”

Adedapo also called on governments and corporate organisations to assist the book industry to resolve some of the myriad challenges facing it, including expensive production costs and poor funding.

Chief Executive Officer, National Library of Nigeria, Prof. Chinwe Victoria Anunobi and Emeritus Professor Femi Osofisan were guests at the conference where performance poet Akeem Lasisi performed.

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