The Nigerian Senate in Wednesday’s plenary session reviewed Nigeria’s copyright laws to further strengthen sanctions against re-broadcasting an original work posted online without obtaining consent from the originator.
What’s happening
The lawmakers passed the bill to revise the current copyright laws to provide a legal framework to protect and administer copyright laws in Nigeria. The lawmakers are revising the bill to align with international standards.
- Contents classified under the bill include audio or visual production posted on social media applications such as TikTok, Facebook, etc.
- The bill places a fine of N100,000 or 1 year imprisonment for defaulters of the copyright laws and a N2 million fine if a criminal case arises from such infringement.
What this means
The bill, when signed into law, would protect the intellectual property of content creators, artists, performers and many others.
What they are saying
The Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Trade and Investment; and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Saidu Alkali said that the bill would encourage competitiveness in the creative industry as a strengthened copyright law protects the right of originators.
Bottom line
Piracy in Nigeria is depriving originators of fair rewards and recognition for their intellectual works. For example, in the movie industry, the world bank says that just one out of every ten movies produced in Nigeria is legitimate. A strengthened and well structured framework of copyright law in Nigeria would ensure the just recompense of reward for originators.