Babajide Sanwo Olu, governor of Lagos State has called for collaborative action between Federal, states and practitioners in the creative industry to tackle the challenge of copyright piracy which costs Nigeria about $3 billion annually.
He said “when we work together we will be able to implement measures that will safeguard intellectual property and cultivate an environment where creativity is not only protected but also flourished”.
The governor who spoke Thursday at a forum on Art of Technology Lagos 5.0 forum with the theme: ‘The Creative Economy and a digital Lagos’ said piracy presents a significant threat to Nigeria’s growing creative market and “certainly we cannot fold our hands and watch where a significant portion of creative content falls victim of piracy which results into substantial economic losses annually”.
The Art of Technology Lagos in its 5th edition is a gathering that serves as a melting point for visionaries, innovators and leaders that are committed to propelling Lagos into the digital future.
He said there is need to scale up regulation to discourage people stealing from creative minds.
The governor told about 2, 500 audience of digital creative minds that Lagos wants to collaborate with World Intellectual Property Right organization to establish a robust framework for enforcing copy right laws.
Presently, he said the creative industry employs 4.2 million across all sector media, entertainment, beauty and fashion, visual art and tourism hospitality and has the potential to do more.
To boost the sector, he said Lagos is investing in infrastructure and technology, and “we are expecting support from federal government. Currently we have done 50% of 6,000 km metro fibre connectivity in the state to enable access to content. We are executing a film city in Lagos with facilities for film makers, writers and operators in that space. The campus will discourage operators to travel abroad for some jobs”, he said.
Also speaking, the Olatunbosun Alake, Commissioner to Science and technology Lagos State said the idea of the forum is to carve a way for young people to connect, build ideas and things of value for the economy to drive the innovation eco-system.
He said in the last four years, AOT had recorded 61,000 attendees from more than 30 countries who are interested in Lagos eco-system. Each AOT in each year addresses peculiar issues and this year is the creative economy which is one of the fastest growing sectors.
In his speech, Bosun Tijani, minister of communication, innovation and digital economy said the present generation is in a path of changing the old story of the country. He said any nation that wants to develop or create economic opportunity for its people must prioritise science and technology, creativity and innovation.
He commended Lagos State government which is at forefront of technology on its efforts in promoting creativity and innovation in the state.
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