COPYRIGHT
INFRINGEMENT IN NIGERIA AND CHALLENGES IN A DIGITAL WORLD
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
It is
a known fact that the greatest heritage of a nation remains the creativity of
its citizens, and therefore one of the primary functions of law enforcement
agents and other appropriate authorities is to protect the ingenuity,
resourcefulness and innovation of the citizenry. However, Nigeria has joined
the league of nations that have enacted domestic legislations to protect the copyrights
and creativity of its citizens against any undue infringement. The principal
legislation in this regard is the Nigerian Copyright Act, which is hinged on
the fact that any copyright infringement is stealing (Thomson, 2009).
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the
world has continued to experience astronomical advancement in scientific and
technological innovations which have changed the face of modern society,
leading many thinkers to term this present civilization ‘the jet age’ (Ajirere,
2008). This technological advancement has had enormous impact on the world’s
copyright enforcement authorities and the legal systems in general, disrupting
traditional modes of protection of intellectual property, and has left the law
completely in a state of flux, literally gasping to catch pace with the ever
changing forms of innovations (Ethan, 1992). In Nigeria, the life of every
average citizen now revolves around one or more of these technologies, such as
computers including palmtops and hi-tech phones, satellite and cable
receivers/signals, facsimile transmissions and the perpetually growing internet
(Ayemi, 2010).
Over the years, since the country achieved
independence, Nigeria has benefited immensely from the magnanimity of copyright
related products. Section 1(1) of the Copyright Act provides protection and
confers copyright status on the following innovative products: literary works,
musical works, artistic works, cinematograph films, sound recordings, and
broadcasts. The spectrum of these products implicitly covers digital
innovations like computer software, satellite and cable broadcasts, and
reprographic transmissions. Thus, as at 2008, the totality of copyright based
industries operating in the country contributed just about N1.2 trillion to the
Nigeria gross domestic income, a figure publicly made known by the authorities
during the 50th anniversary of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (Ayemi, 2010).
Notwithstanding the above, and especially the
enormous benefits which the country has derived from copyright related
products, Nigeria still remains the largest piracy destination and market in
the world invariably in the same products ostensibly protected by the Copyright
Act, particularly computer software. This is due to a number of factors,
essentially bordering on the obsolescence and inability of the Act to meet
contemporary challenges in the protection of copyrights of particularly new genres
of innovations within the above broadly provided products. Also, though Nigeria
is signatory to various international conventions on copyright protection, these
conventions are hardly enforceable in Nigeria owing to the fact that they have
not been domesticated.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It is an indisputable fact that copyright is
a monopoly of limited duration, but unlike most monopoly, it is a legitimate
monopoly created by the law and enjoyed by the author of an original work. However,
digital technology in the varied forms known to us today was not expressly
contemplated for protection under the Nigerian Copyright Act; most of the new
digital innovations can be accommodated in some form under the copyright Act if
they approximately fall under any of the intellectual property of individuals
protected under the Copyright Act. For instance, take satellite and cable
broadcast and computer software, how would certain digital products derived
from these innovative technologies relate to the protected categories under the
copyright Act. This necessitated this study on the copyright infringement in Nigeria
and challenges in a digital world.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The
following are the objectives of this study:
1. To
examine the spate of copyright infringement in Nigeria.
2. To
identify the challenges of copyright infringement in a digital world.
3. To
determine how copyright infringement can be handled considering digital
technology.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What
is the spate of copyright infringement in Nigeria?
2. What
are the challenges of copyright infringement in a digital world?
3. How
can copyright infringement be handled considering digital technology?
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The
following are the significance of this study:
1. The
outcome of this study will sensitize the government, the law enforcement
agents, authors of intellectual properties and the general public on the spate
of copyright infringement in Nigeria considering the advent of digital
technology with a view of finding a lasting solution to the issues.
2. This research will also serve as a
resource base to other scholars and researchers interested in carrying out
further research in this field subsequently, if applied will go to an extent to
provide new explanation to the topic.
1.7 SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This
study on the copyright infringement in Nigeria and challenges in Digital world
will cover issues of piracy and copyright violation in Nigeria considering the
challenges of digital technology which has made piracy and copyright
infringement difficult to tackle.
LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the
efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature
or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire
and interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will
simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently
will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
REFERENCES
Ajirere T.
(2008). “The Anniversary of the Nigerian Copyright” available at
URL://http://www.ndunigeriadailynews. com
Ayemi Ayo,
(2010) “Why Legal Framework for Broadcasting Industry may be Strengthened Now”,
available at: URL: http://www.allafrica.com/12009…html.
Ethan drone
(1992). A Treatise on the Law of
Property in Intellectual Productions,(2nd ed. London,
Butterworths publishers, 1992), p.44
Wikipedia
the free encyclopedia “Meaning of Copyright” [WWW document], available at: URL:
http://www.wikipedia.org.wiki-copyright (visited 30th March, 2015).
Thomson
Reuters, “Introduction of Copyright”, (created 2009), [WWW document], available
at: URL: http://www.findlaw.com/copyright/8456/html.