Reps pass copyrights bill for second reading

THE House of Representatives on Tuesday passed for second reading a bill that sought to ‎amend the Copyright Act 2004 to provide stiffer penalties for persons involved in pirating creative works and illegally reproducing intellectual property.

The bill sponsored by Hon Bede Eke‎ was entitled “a bill for an Act to Amend the Copyright Act, Cap. C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to Provide for stiffer penalties for Contravention of the Act and for Other Related Matters (HB. 987)”

Leading debate on the motion, Hon Eke said that, there was need to protect intellectual property, saying that, millions of Naira is being lost to pirates on monthly basis.

While calling for support of the bill, he said that, “‎though Nigeria is signatory to various international conventions on copyright protection, these conventions are hardly enforced owing to the fact that they have not been domesticated”.

He added that the bill if passed would help protect owners of intellectual property.

The bill amongst other, “seeks to amend Section 20(1) of the principal Act to increase from five years to a ten year jail term or a fine of N100 thousand from N1,000, for anyone convicted of reproducing for sale, hire and business, copies of a work of which copyright subsist.

The bill also seeks the amendment of Section 21(1) of the principal Act to prescribe a N1 million fine in place of N500 thousand fine or ten years in jail as replacement for a five year jail term, for any individual who usurps the role of the Nigerian Copyright Commission by prescribing design or mark as anti-piracy to a work which copyright subsists. “.

Most of the lawmakers who spoke supported the bill.

When the, Speaker, Hon Yakubu Dogara put the bill to a voice vote, it was supported by majority of members and subsequently referred it to the committee on Justice for further legislative action.