In a development for Nigerian creatives, the new copyright law of 2022 which was gazetted by the Presidency in March 2023 is expected to significantly impact the creative industry in Nigeria.
The country’s creative sector which is valued at $9 billion has seen enhanced legal protection for its intellectual property, contributing to the growth and prosperity of the industry.
During a gathering of the NESG Creative Economy Thematic Group, where experts convened to deliberate on the urgent need for a robust framework to govern Nigeria’s creative economy, Lynda Alphaeus, Deputy Director (Legal), Nigerian Copyright Commission’s (NCC) shed light on the transformative implications of the law for the country’s creative community.
She said the copyright act of 1970 was insufficient for creatives and has failed to actively combat piracy and other infringement issues. After being promulgated in 1988, the law was amended in 1992 by virtue of Amendment No. 98. The Act was incorporated into the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 which has now been repealed by the Copyright Act 2022 which was signed into law on the 17th March 2023 and published on the official gazette No. 56 Vol 110 on March 27, 2023.
The objectives of the new Copyright Act include protecting the rights of authors to ensure just rewards and recognition for their intellectual works, providing appropriate limitations and expectations to guarantee access to creative works, facilitating Nigerians’ compliance with obligations arising from international copyright treaties and conventions, and to ensure the capacity of Nigerian copyright commission for effective regulation, administration and enforcement of the Act.
Here are some of the notable changes the new Copyright Act provides:
Online Protection
The Act has made provisions for the protection and enforcement of copyright works in the digital space. Among the provisions are ‘Scope of Rights’ which exclusively provides the right to make a work available to the public. In music terms for example, as provided by section 9(1), copyright in a literary or musical work includes the exclusive right to make a work available to the public by wire or wireless means in such a way the members of the public are able to access the work a place at a time independently chosen by them.
For example, if you are a musician and you create a song, this law gives you the right to control how your song is shared with the public. You can choose to make it available for people to listen to through various channels, such as radio, streaming platforms, or even online downloads. You have the power to decide when and how people can access and enjoy your music independently, based on their own preferences and choices.
Digital Enforcement
The Act makes provision for digital enforcement by the owner of the copyrighted work with the help of Internet intermediaries and Internet service providers (ISP). In part VII Section 54 of the Act, provides that the owner of a work in which copyright has been infringed may send a notice of infringement to the ISP requesting the service provide to take down the work or disable access to the infringing content or link hosted in its system
To put it simply, when an artist or producer creates a song and someone uploads it on a website or a streaming platform without your permission. This law allows the artist to notify the ISP responsible for hosting that website or platform and request them to take down the unauthorised music or prevent access to it. By doing so, the artist is protecting your rights as the owner of the copyrighted music and ensuring that others cannot use it without your permission.
This and other sections under this part according to the statement by Alphaeus will enhance the ability of the Nigerian creative industry to compete more effectively in the global market.
Enhancing the power of the commission
The Act has enhanced the regulatory, administration and enforcement powers of the commission. The new act now makes provisions like ‘Power to make regulations’ which gives the commission the power to make certain regulations as found in section 97(1).
It states that the commission with the consent of the Minister makes regulations specifying the conditions necessary for the operation of a business involving the production, publication, public exhibition, distribution, sale, hiring, rental, storage, warehousing or any other dealing with a work in which copyright subsists.
This means that the commission, in consultation with the Minister, can set conditions and regulations for businesses in the music industry. These regulations might cover areas like licensing requirements, royalty payments, copyright infringement prevention, and other aspects that ensure the proper use and protection of copyrighted music.
Furthermore, the new Act specifically provides that these duties of the copyright officers can be performed without a warrant thereby making the power of the Copyright Officer equal to that of a Police Officer albeit restricted to copyright issues. This also includes sealing up premises where he/she reasonably suspects copyright infringement is taking place.
Dispute resolution panel
According to section 90(1), the commission may constitute a dispute resolution panel to resolve any dispute arising from the payment of royalties, terms of a licence or any matter in respect of which a determination by the commission is required under the Act.
Alphaeus explained that this provision was birthed from the complaint of copyright cases taking as long as 10 to 12 years in court before they are resolved. The commission may no longer have to take matters up to the federal high court which takes longer to settle copyright cases and is now licensed to set up panels that can look into copyright issues which may not necessarily need to go to court which would decongest the courts and make cases solved quicker.
It further states that people who will belong to these panels are people who are vast in copyright matters.
Registration
The Act has given statutory backing to copyright registration by the provision of section 87(1) of the Act stating that the commission shall establish and maintain a Register of the work. This means the commission shall have the power to reproduce, and store all or any of the registered works electronically or in any format by virtue of section 87(5).
The Act also provides that the information of the register shall in the first instance be taken as the correct information about the work and when such information is certified by the commission it can be admitted as evidence in court.
Penalties for copyright offences
Most of the punishments for copyright offences have been made more deterrent in order to provide greater protection for copyright work and strengthen the enforcement of the commission. The Act now provides the minimum sentence a person can get rather than the maximum punishment which was the case in the repealed Act.
Previously, when someone committed a crime, the law would only specify the highest possible punishment they could receive if found guilty. However, with the new Act, there is a minimum sentence established, which means that the person convicted of the offence must receive at least that specific minimum punishment.
This change ensures that there is a baseline level of punishment for certain crimes, and judges are obliged to impose a sentence that is equal to or higher than the minimum specified in the Act. By setting a minimum sentence, the law aims to provide consistency and clarity in the legal system by ensuring that offenders are held accountable with a predetermined level of punishment.
The NESG thematic group has been set up to provide a way forward for creatives in Nigeria as they plan to Create a national policy for the creative economy, establish a creative economy agency, provide adequate funding for the sector, liaise with the Central Bank of Nigeria on implementation of the monetary policy for the Creative Economy and so on.
