Hereinafter referred to as Copyright Act Section 1 1 provides for works eligible for copyright thus; 1 subject to this section, the following shall be eligible for copyright- a literary works; b musical works; c artistic works; d cinematograph works; e sound recording; and f broadcasts. Any work which doesn't fall under the foregoing categories will not therefore be eligible for copyright. Also, for a work to be eligible for protection the work must be sufficiently original and must be in a form which is expressed.
As could be seen from the foregoing statutory provisions, ideas alone cannot be protected by copyright. To be protected, the work must be more than an idea; it must be "fixed in a definite medium of expression. Originality within this context does not connote inventiveness or novelty. It simply denotes that the work was not copied or plagiarised. However, an artistic work shall not be eligible for copyright, if at the time when the work is made, it is intended by the author to be used as a model or pattern to be multiplied by any industrial process.
Section 2 1 thus provides as follows; 2 1 Copyright shall be conferred by this section on every work eligible for copyright of which the author or, in the case of a work of joint authorship, any of the authors is at the time when the work is made, a qualified person, that is to say- a an individual who is a citizen of, or is domiciled in Nigeria; or b a body corporate incorporated by or under the laws of Nigeria.
Section 3 1 meanwhile provides that; 3 1 Copyright shall be conferred by this section on every work, which is eligible for copyright and which- a being a literary, musical or artistic work or a cinematograph film, is first published in Nigeria; or b being a sound recording, is made in Nigeria, and which has not been the subject of copyright conferred by section 2 of this Act.
Copyright is also conferred on every work eligible for copyright made by Government, or prescribed international organization. Economic rights allow right owners to derive financial reward from the use of their works by others.
Moral rights allow authors and creators to take certain actions to preserve and protect 6 Copyright Act s1 3 7 Copyright Act s4 1 8 One of the 15 specialized agencies of the UN. Others must seek permission from him in order to enjoy use of his property. The Copyright owner therefore has the right to benefit exclusively from his work and is usually allowed to have control over any financial or profit bearing aspect of his work.
Right owners can therefore authorise or prohibit: reproduction of the work in various forms, such as printed publications or sound recordings; distribution of copies of the work; public performance of the work; broadcasting or other communication of the work to the public; translation of the work into other languages; and adaptation of the work, such as turning a novel into a screenplay. In an assignment, a Copyright owner sells his or her rights completely to another party and has no control over how that party uses those rights.
In Nigerian law, the transmission of Copyright is seen as the same with that of movable property. The subject of the assignment must be clear as to what copyright is being assigned in which work s. A license is thus preferred over an assignment if the Copyright owner still wants to exercise some control over the rights.
A license may be written or oral, or maybe inferred from conduct. The Copyright law provides for definite duration for Copyright after which they become public and free from all kinds of exclusivity. When this happens, authorization is no longer required for the use of the work. The length of the term can depend on several factors, including the type of work e. In most of the world, the default length of copyright is the life of the author plus either 50 or 70 years.
For Literary, musical or artistic works other than photographs, the Copyright subsists for Seventy years after the end of the year in which the author dies; in the case of government or a body corporate, seventy years after the end of the year in which the work was first published.
The NCC was established by section 30 of the Copyright Act, it is a corporate body empowered to sue and be sued in its name. Section 30 3 provides for its statutory functions. You do not have to register your copyright. It subsists automatically in a work from the moment the work is created29 The Nigerian Copyright Council NCC has however, established a voluntary copyright registration scheme, designed to enable authors and right owners notify the Commission of the creation and existence of a work.
Registration can be done online or physically at the NCC office. In fact, a good survey of recent decisions will reveal that more cases involve criminal liabilities than civil liabilities. According to the NCC the ongoing criminal proceeding when concluded will serve as stronger deterrent against Copyright infringement38 The extant law, it is submitted adequately provides for relevant issues in Copyright law.
Theoretically then, it could be said, that Nigeria is on the fore front in the fight against Copyright infringement. The reality is however not so promising. Copyright infringement occur everyday. Advise and regulate conditions for the conclusion of bilateral and multilateral agreements between Nigeria and any other Country. Enlighten and inform the public on matters relating to Copyright Maintain an effective data bank on authors and their works. Be responsible for such other matters as relating to Copyright in Nigeria as the Minister may, from time to time, direct.
Works eligible for Copyright- as earlier stated, not all works can be copyrighted. Section 1 1 of the Copyright Act provides that the following listed works qualify for Copyright; Literary works; Musical works; Artistic works; Cinematograph films; Sound recordings and; Section 1 2 of the Copyright Act provides that a literary, musical or artistic work shall not be eligible to be copyrighted except the following occurs; Sufficient effort was expended in making the work to give it its original character; The work has been fixed in a definite medium of expression that is now known or to be developed later from which it can be perceived either directly or with the aid of any machine; While Section 1 3 of the Copyright Act provides that an artistic work shall not be eligible for copyright if at the time the work was done, it was intended by the author to be used as a model or pattern to be multiplied by an industrial process.
Copyright under Nationality or Domicile — under Section 2 of the Copyright Act, Copyright can be conferred on every work eligible for Copyright of which the author or in the case of joint authorship, any of the author is a qualified person, that is to say, that the individual is domiciled in Nigeria or is a body corporate incorporated by the laws of Nigeria. General Nature of Copyright- according to Section 6 of the Copyright Act , Copyright in work shall be the exclusive right to control the doing in Nigeria, in the case of a literary or musical work, to do and authorize the doing of any of the following acts; Reproduce the work in any material form; Publish the work; Perform the work in public; Produce, reproduce, perform or publish any translation of the work; Make any cinematograph film or a record in respect of the work; Distribute to the general public, for commercial purposes, copies of the work, by way of rental, lease, hire, loan, or similar arrangement; Broadcast or communicate the work to the public by a loudspeaker or any other similar device; Make any adaptation of the work; Do about a translation or an adaptation of the work.
Assignment and Licencing- Section 11 of the Copyright Act makes provisions for the assignment and licensing of copyright in Nigeria. It states that Copyright shall be transmitted by testamentary disposition or by operation of the law, as moveable property.
The assignment will be limited to apply to only some of the acts which the owner of the Copyright has exclusive right to control, or to a party only of the period of the Copyright or to a specified country or geographical area. The assignment of Copyright and exclusive license to do an act controlled by the Copyright must be in writing to be effective. Co-owners of a Copyright- by Section 11 6 of the Copyright Act , co-owners of copyrights are persons who have a joint interest in the whole or any part of Copyright or if they have interests in the various copyrights in composite production, that is to say, a production consisting of two or more works.
Copyright is infringed by any person who, without the license or authorization of the owner of the Copyright does the following acts; Does or causes any other person to do an act, the doing of which is controlled by Copyright. Import or causes to be imported into Nigeria any copy of a work which it had been made in Nigeria would be an infringing copy.
Exhibit in public any article in respect of which copyright is infringed. Distributes by way of trade, offers for sale, hires, or otherwise for the purpose prejudicial to the owner of the Copyright any article in respect of which Copyright is infringed.
Makes or has in his possession plates, master tapes, machines, equipment, or contrivances used for making infringed copies of the work. Permits a place of public entertainment or business to be used for a performance in public of the work, where the performance constitutes an infringement of the Copyright in work, unless the person permitting the place to be used not aware, and had no reasonable ground for suspecting the performance would be an infringement of the Copyright.
Performs or causes to be performed for trade or business or as supporting facility to a trade or business, any work in which Copyright subsists. Action for Infringement - Section 16 of the Copyright Act provides that an action for infringement of Copyright shall be actionable at the suit of the owner, assignee, or an exclusive licensee of Copyright in the Federal High Court exercising jurisdiction in the place where the infringement occurred.
In action for infringement, all reliefs by way of damages, injunctions, accounts, or otherwise shall be available to the plaintiff. The registration process of a Copyright in Nigeria It is essential to state that registering a copyright is not a precondition for the work to be protected. Software Copyrights in Nigeria The software also known as a computer program can be registered as part of literary works in Nigeria.
Olusola John Jegede. Winifred Idiaru. Nigeria Intellectual Property Copyright. Over the years, authors and artistes have been faced with infringement issues across the world. In the era where hardcovers thrived, copyright authorities were able to curtail infringement to a very large extent.
As industries race to gain a legal monopoly on their unique innovations through marks registration, we are inundated with an ever-increasing number of products with. Kahari Legal Practitioners. One of the requirements in Angola for the registration of any IP right through a legal representative is a power of attorney on behalf of the applicant. Hassan Elhais. Intellectual property covers any original ideas, designs, discoveries, inventions and creative work produced by an individual or group.
Copyright, trademark, patent and design When entering a new market, it is vital to carefully analyze all aspects of Intellectual Property IP that may be involved. Sign Up for our free News Alerts - All the latest articles on your chosen topics condensed into a free bi-weekly email.
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