Copyright Commission-NCC
NCC to Prosecute Online Service Providers for Copyright
Infractions
Online service providers, including hosts of e-libraries, would
be held responsible for any copyright infractions on their
platforms, Director-General of Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC),
Mr. John O. Asein has declared.
Speaking during deliberations with the newly elected executive
of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) on a courtesy call at the
Commission’s Head Office in Abuja recently, the Director-General
disclosed that the Commission was paying more attention to online
activities with a view to curbing the sale of pirated books through
online stores.
Addressing a seven-man delegation led by the new ANA President,
Mr. Camillus Ukah, accompanied by its immediate past President, Mr.
Denja Abdullahi, the Director-General called on ANA to constitute
an anti-piracy committee to interface with the Commission for
proactive, sustained and effective anti-piracy campaign.
He decried contract gaps between authors and publishers in the
country and indicated that the Commission would collaborate with
ANA to develop model contracts to ensure proper rights clearance
and adequate remuneration for authors in the book industry.
Noting that the absence of proper contractual agreements between
authors and publishers has left many authors with unpleasant
experiences, the Director-General also observed the necessity for
new business models to ensure adequate recompense for authors,
particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stressing the importance of the literary field, Mr. Asein noted
that creative writing was the bedrock of the wider creative
industry, including Nollywood.
In his words: “The movie industry could not have been where it
is today without the literary talents turning out excellent film
scripts. The author of the film script is often unsung, but they
set the tone for good films and, like the faces of Nollywood, these
scriptwriters also deserve to be celebrated,” he stated.
The Director-General gave special commendation to the Nobel
Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka for recently demonstrating his
unalloyed commitment to copyright values and lending his voice to
denounce copyright infringement and abuses. He said the Commission
would be pleased to adopt the Nobel Laurette as a Copyright
Champion to help fight book piracy in the country. He called on
other notable authors to also step up support for the campaign
against copyright piracy.
The Director-General urged ANA members to take advantage of the
Commission’s copyright e-registration system and avail themselves
of the whistleblowing policy of the NCC by alerting the Commission
on suspected pirates for effective enforcement.
“We should not allow rogues to take over the copyright space.
ANA should intensify its copyright enlightenment campaign and
encourage its members to sound an alarm wherever they find pirates
at work. The Commission, on its part, pledges to always respond
promptly to any alarm,” he stated.
While calling on the new executive to upscale the association’s
reading campaign, the Director-General urged ANA to support the
efforts of the Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB) to make more
books available in accessible formats for the benefit of blind and
visually impaired persons.
He further thanked ANA for helping to sustain the Reproduction
Rights Society of Nigeria (REPRONIG) and expressed hope that
REPRONIG would be assisted further to become a viable collective
management organisation (CMO) for the benefit of Nigerian authors.
“When CMOs are threatened with extinction, we owe them a lifeline
to keep afloat”, he said.
Mr. Asein commended the enviable legacy of visionary leadership
in ANA, adding that the Association has demonstrated quality
leadership, worthy of emulation in the creative industry.
The newly elected President of ANA, Mr. Camillus Ukah, stated
that the Association was committed to reforms and strengthening of
the copyright regime to address gaps in a bid to promote the
economic interests of authors and advance the literary
industry.
He expressed appreciation for the Commission’s proactive
measures towards checking piracy, citing its recent timely
intervention to curb the online piracy of books belonging to the
literary icon, Professor Wole Soyinka.
Mr. Ukah lauded the Commission’s long-standing cooperation that the
Association has enjoyed, particularly during the reform of the
copyright system and assured of its continued collaboration with
NCC.
The ANA President further assured the Commission that the new
executive would work closely with the NCC to promote copyright
knowledge among authors and ensure that literary authors continued
to use the copyright system optimally.
Representatives of the Commission and ANA were constituted into
a working group to identify areas of immediate interest and
facilitate collaboration.
Other newly elected ANA executives in attendance were Mrs.
Farida Mohammed, Vice President; Mr. Mark Ortserga, General
Secretary; Mr. Freeman Okosun, Assistant General Secretary; Mr.
Torlafia Benjamin Terhile, Legal Adviser and Mr. Umar Yogizaj,
Publicity Secretary, North.
Vincent A. Oyefeso
Director, Public Affairs
For: Director-General